President Donald Trump has paused the US military aid to Ukraine, saying this is to review it and ensure of its contribution to a solution.
A White House official told BBC’s US Partner, CBS News, said the President is focused on peace.
"The President has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well,” the official said.
“We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”
The development was first reported by US outlet Bloomberg.
"The US is pausing all current military aid to Ukraine until Trump determines the country’s leaders demonstrate a good-faith commitment to peace," Bloomberg reports.
Neither the Pentagon, nor President Donald Trump, have commented so far.
Bloomberg added that all US military equipment not currently in Ukraine would be paused, including weapons in transit and at depots in Poland.
Earlier on, Trump had said that he had not "talked about" suspending military aid to Ukraine following his angry exchange in the Oval Office with Volodymyr Zelensky.
But he added that "we'll see what happens".
This news comes after last week's angry meeting between Trump and Zelensky in Washington.
The visit was supposed to be about ending the war in Ukraine, and the signing of a minerals deal.
What happened instead was a public clash in the Oval Office that saw Zelensky being told to leave the White House.
Reactions to the White House move
Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the White House's decision to halt aid "a shameful abandonment of Ukraine".
"This decision won't make our country safer," she said on X.
"It will embolden Putin and our adversaries while weakening our relationships with democratic partners."
Peter Welch, a Senate Democrat from Vermont, also expressed his dismay on X.
"Putin is a war criminal. Zelensky is a hero. Trump is weak," he said.
Oleksandr Merezhko, a Ukrainian member of parliament in President Zelensky's party, said he is "shocked" at the news.
He told the BBC's Newsday: "It's unbelievable what's unfolding because I couldn't imagine in my worst dreams that Trump would be cutting off military aid to Ukraine when we need it so much."
He said he thinks US President Trump is trying to side-line Ukraine and Europe and make a deal with Russia.
"I think Mr Trump should seriously think about how he's going to enter in history. To me it's a date that will go down in history infamy."
On the daily Kremlin conference call, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said that the United States had been the main supplier of weapons for Ukraine.
“Of course, we still need to check the details,” Dmitry Peskov said. “If it’s true, then this is a decision which could really push the Kyiv regime to a peace process.”
If the US stops, or pauses these supplies, this will probably be the best contribution to the cause of peace.”
US military aid to Ukraine
The US Congress has approved more than $180bn (£140bn) in total assistance for Ukraine since Russia's invasion nearly three years ago.
There is also budgetary assistance mostly delivered through a World Bank trust fund and through the US Agency for International Development, which has been sharply cut by the Trump White House.
A chunk of this funding helps Ukraine pay the wages of teachers and doctors to keep the government running.
The just-announced pause in military aid applies mainly to aid previously approved by the Biden administration. Those shipments have already slowed to a trickle since President Trump took office in January.
Trump has not approved any new assistance to Ukraine under his own presidential authority and there is no sign of a fresh congressional aid package coming any time soon.
How does Ukraine military aid work?
The flow of US military aid to assist Ukraine's war effort can be complex, but it has taken three main forms including the presidential drawdown authority, State Department Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI)
The Presidential Drawdown Authority allows the US military to dip into its own stocks to send supplies to Ukraine.
There is approximately $3.85bn (£3.03bn) remaining in drawdown authority for equipment that can be taken from US stockpiles, a senior defence official told the BBC on Monday. The White House determines whether that assistance is released.
There is a separate $1.5bn in State Department Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Ukraine that could be released to the Ukrainians, as either a grant or a direct loan. FMF is currently under review by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) gives Ukraine money to take directly to US manufacturers.
It's unclear at this stage exactly how today's announcement will impact each of these aid streams, and what may happen to them going forward.
President Trump has done this before – put pressure on President Zelensky by withholding aid.
Five years ago Trump held up congressionally authorised assistance to Ukraine, in an attempt to get Zelensky to dig up dirt on then rival Joe Biden.
Ukraine had been fighting Russia and Russia-backed insurgents since 2014.
The moment led to Trump’s first impeachment, where he was accused of an abuse of power - only the third American president to be in that situation.
He was acquitted by the Senate.
Zelensky would later go on to say there was no blackmail by Trump and there were no "conditions" from the American side.
