Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the country’s forces retain capabilities and tools to sustain their frontline forces amid the new U.S. aid pause.
The Ukrainian government is conveying optimism that its forces will be able to hold out after President Donald Trump halted aid deliveries to the embattled country.
At a March 4 press conference, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukrainian forces have continued to fight, despite shortages of supplies for one reason or another throughout the past three years of conflict, and could do so again.
“Our military and the government have the capabilities, the tools, let’s say, to maintain the situation on the front line,” he told reporters.
The Ukrainian prime minister did not say what additional capabilities Kyiv may be holding in reserve to sustain its forces. He said that these means are “not subject to disclosure.”
It remains to be seen how long the U.S. aid pause for Ukraine will last. Trump ordered the move after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to the White House last week became heated and negotiations fell through.
During the Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting, Trump remarked that Ukrainian forces wouldn’t have been able to hold out for as long as they have against Russia without the support Washington has supplied over the last three years. Trump suggested that such U.S. support appears to have incentivized Kyiv against making compromises and negotiating for peace with Moscow.
“I’ve empowered you to be a tough guy, and I don’t think you‘d be a tough guy without the United States,” Trump told Zelenskyy during the Oval Office spat. “And your people are very brave, but you’re either going to make a deal, or we’re out. And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.”
During his Tuesday press remarks, Shmyhal said the Ukrainian government would remain engaged with Washington despite the recent clash between Trump and Zelenskyy and the newly announced U.S. aid pause.
“We will continue to work peacefully with the United States of America, with the Congress of the United States of America, with the administration of President Trump, with President Trump, so that Ukraine and the United States can continue our fight for a just, lasting, and stable peace in Ukraine,” he said.
While on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance faced questions about the potential duration of the U.S. aid pause. Rather than specify a timeline for the pause, Vance said the Trump administration is looking for Ukraine to commit to negotiations. He further called for Kyiv to engage privately with Washington, rather than allowing disagreements to flare up in front of the press, as was the case during the Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting.
“We need the Ukrainians privately to come to us and say, ‘This is what we need. This is what we want. This is how we’re going to participate in the process to end this conflict.’ That is the most important thing, and that lack of private engagement is what is most concerning to us,” the vice president said.With U.S. support no longer flowing, Kyiv’s various other international backers are deliberating their next steps.
Shortly after the White House announced the U.S. aid pause, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles pledged that his country would transfer 49 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in a “timely fashion.”
On Monday, a UK government spokeswoman announced that Britain is working with other key partners to address the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The UK government spokeswoman noted several recent measures of British support for Ukraine, including a new £2.26 billion ($2.8 billion) loan to Kyiv backed by frozen Russian assets, a commitment to provide Ukraine and an additional £3 billion ($3.8 billion) worth of military aid each year “for as long as it takes.” She noted another deal providing Ukraine with £1.6 billion ($2 billion) in UK export financing to buy as many as 5,000 air defense missiles.
A pause in U.S. aid deliveries may not be as detrimental to Ukraine’s forces now as it was earlier on in the war. Ukrainian forces continued fighting for months without much U.S. support last year, as Congress deliberated their last round of Ukraine-related appropriations.
“It’s pretty significant, but not nearly as impactful as it would have been earlier in the war because Ukraine is far less dependent on direct U.S. military assistance now than it was previously,” Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment, said on Monday.
Kofman said the pause will still hinder Ukraine’s forces and predicted these negative effects will become more pronounced as weapons inventories become depleted.
Trump could further dry up the flow of arms to Ukraine by blocking producers from countries with U.S. weapons production licenses from continuing to supply Ukraine.
“If our European partners have the freedom to act, if they have the time, the desire, the money, and the ability to help us, this will not be a disaster,” Ukrainian lawmaker Serhiy Rakhmanin said.
Reuters contributed to this report.