Ukraine 'determined' to maintain US ties after aid halt

Prime Minister Denys Shmygal looks on during a press conference in Kyiv on March 4, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [AFP] Ukraine on Tuesday sought to maintain bonds with Washington after President Donald Trump ordered US military aid deliveries be suspended following a public clash with counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump's stunning decision strengthened fears in Ukraine and in many European capitals that America was pivoting away from its allies -- and toward Moscow. "Ukraine is absolutely determined to continue cooperation with the US," Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal told reporters, adding: "The US is an important partner and we need to preserve this." US and Western security guarantees were "existentially important" for Ukraine and for Europe, he said, adding Kyiv was ready "at any time" to sign a strategic minerals extraction deal demanded by Trump. The prime minister's outreach followed Trump's decision, which sent shockwaves across Ukraine, but which was also hailed by Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was a "solution which could really push the Kyiv regime to a peace process". "If the United States stops (military supplies), this would probably be the best contribution to peace," Peskov said. The European Union, which along with Ukraine, has been excluded from US-Russian negotiations towards a potential truce in Ukraine, has been scrambling to up its support for Kyiv.That urgency heightened on Friday, when Trump and Zelensky clashed in the White House, with Trump warning his Ukrainian counterpart "won't be around very long" without a ceasefire deal with Moscow. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday presented an EU plan to mobilise some 800 billion euros ($840 billion) for Europe's defence. She said the funding would permit EU countries to "massively step up their support to Ukraine" and provide "immediate military equipment for Ukraine". Poland's government noted that America's decision was made without consulting NATO allies, and the impact was already being seen at a weapons and aid logistics hub for Ukraine it hosts. "Reports coming in from the border, as well as from our (logistics) hub... also confirm the announcements made by the American side," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said without elaborating. The US pause has gone into effect immediately and impacts hundreds of millions of dollars of weaponry in the process of being sent to Ukraine, The New York Times reported. Ordinary Ukrainians who spoke to AFP were shocked and angry at what they viewed as a betrayal by Trump. "It's like a stab in the back," a 33-year-old financial assistant in Kyiv who gave only her first name, Sofia, told AFP. Trump "wants Ukraine's surrender, the deaths of our people, the surrender of our territories," one army volunteer, Sergiy Sternenko, said on Telegram. With the US aid pause, "everything can change," a 48-year-old military recruiter in Kyiv, Volodymyr Perkhrest, told AFP. "I don't think Europe is able to meet these needs," he said. Ukraine's prime minister vowed in a news conference that "we will do everything to hold out" despite the US aid cut. A Zelensky aide, Mykhailo Pdolyak, said on X his country was "discussing options with our European partners." Zelensky has yet to comment publicly on the halt of the US aid. Last week, he visited Washington to sign the multi-billion-dollar minerals deal -- but ended up not doing so after his showdown with Trump and US Vice President JD Vance. Trump -- who has labelled Zelensky a "dictator" -- said Ukraine should be "more appreciative" of US support. Zelensky has accused Trump of succumbing to "a disinformation space" created by Russia, which he says is not serious about pursuing peace. Ukraine is seeking tough security guarantees around an end to the war. With the United States opposing its bid to join NATO, Kyiv is turning to other measures backed by Western countries. After weekend crisis talks in London, Britain and France are investigating how to propose a one-month Ukraine-Russia truce "in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure" -- potentially backstopped by troops on the ground.

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