The pause in U.S. military aid to Ukraine is temporary and tied to the fallout from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's heated Oval Office exchange with U.S. President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson said on March 4.
"It's a temporary pause," Johnson said during a press briefing when asked about the reported freeze on over $1 billion in weapons and ammunition deliveries.
The move follows a heated Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting between Trump, Zelensky, and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, during which the two American leaders berated Zelensky.
The meeting ended without a planned U.S.-Ukraine mineral agreement being signed.
Since then, senior U.S. officials have repeatedly suggested that Zelensky should express regret for the confrontation.
Johnson said Zelensky should "make right what happened last week, the shocking developments in the Oval Office."
"If he does that (signs the minerals deal), I think this is the win-win-win scenario for everybody involved," he added.
Zelensky, in a statement earlier on March 4, called the outcome of the Oval Office meeting "regrettable" and emphasized Ukraine's readiness to sign the minerals deal "at any time and in any convenient format."
Trump's senior adviser, Jason Miller, told CNN that the aid freeze is part of a broader pressure campaign to push Zelensky toward peace talks with Russia.
U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz previously said Washington expects Zelensky to show "regret" for the Oval Office clash and commit to finalizing the deal.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
