Ukraine says it will do all it can to maintain US ties

Ukraine said on Tuesday it would do all it can to maintain its ties with the United States, after US President Donald Trump paused military aid to Kyiv in the most dramatic step yet in his pivot towards closer ties with Russia.

Trump has upended US policy on Ukraine and Russia, culminating in an explosive confrontation at the White House on Friday, when Trump upbraided President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for being insufficiently grateful for Washington's backing.

"President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution," a US official said on Monday.

Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Kyiv still had the means to supply its frontline forces. US military aid was precious and saving thousands of lives, he said, and Kyiv would do all it could to maintain relations with Washington.

"We will continue to work with the US through all available channels in a calm manner," Shmyhal told a press conference. "We only have one plan - to win and to survive. Either we win, or the plan B will be written by someone else."

The Kremlin, for its part, said cutting off military aid to Ukraine was the best possible step towards peace, although it was still waiting to confirm Trump's move.

Military experts say it could take time for the impact of missing US aid to be felt on the battlefield. When US assistance was held up for several months last year by Republicans in Congress, the most notable initial impact was shortages of air defences to shoot down incoming Russian missiles and drones. Later, Ukrainian forces in the east complained of shortages of ammunition, including for artillery.

The pause puts more pressure on European allies, led by Britain and France, whose leaders both visited the White House last week and have publicly embraced Zelenskyy since the Oval Office blow-up.

Europeans are racing to boost their own military spending and provide alternative support for Kyiv, including a plan to put troops on the ground to support any ceasefire, though they say they still need some form of US support.

France condemned the aid freeze. Suspending arms to Ukraine made peace "more distant, because it only strengthens the hand of the aggressor on the ground, which is Russia," said French junior minister for Europe, Benjamin Haddad.

Britain was more circumspect. A government spokesperson said London remained committed to securing peace in Ukraine.

Ukrainians, who have endured three years of war against a more powerful foe, were stunned by a move many described as a betrayal. Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said it looked like Trump was "pushing us towards capitulation".

"Yes, it is betrayal, let's call it like it is," said lawyer Olena Bilova, 47 in Kyiv. "But let's hope that American civil society and the elites of the European Union will not leave us alone."