Republicans urge Trump to restore aid and intelligence access to Ukraine

Republican lawmakers are calling on the US President Donald Trump, also a Republican, to restore US military and intelligence aid to Ukraine.

This is reported by The Hill.

According to Republicans, Trump had the right to temporarily halt arms supplies to Ukraine in order to assess the course of the war, put pressure on NATO allies, and create a window for negotiations on a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.

But at the same time, Republican lawmakers warn that halting arms and ammunition supplies for too long could have a devastating impact on Ukraineʼs combat capability, undermining its leverage in negotiations with Russia.

They also stress the need to immediately resume intelligence sharing with Ukraine, saying the US is unlikely to benefit from depriving Ukraine of critical battlefield intelligence.

"It’s a concern for the Ukrainian people. I worry more about how people on the battlefield," said Senator Thom Tillis, commenting on the pause in American military supplies.

Tillis warned that a pause in aid to Ukraine “could be helpful to Putin”. According to him, Ukraine currently has enough weapons and ammunition to hold the front line for now. It is to be hoped that the pause in military aid will not last long. At the same time, he is “not against” a pause if it is a short-term “negotiation tactic”.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins said she opposes ending military aid.

"I do not think we should be pausing our efforts. It’s the Ukrainians who are shedding blood," she said, calling this moment "a critical time for Ukraine".

Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune emphasized that the pause in military aid to Ukraine will be temporary.

"It’s a pause, importantly, not a stop. I think it’s part of a negotiation. And I’m hopeful that in the end, that we’ll get folks to the table and be able to negotiate a deal that will bring a peaceful resolution to this three years-long conflict, and one hopefully that will respect the sovereignty of the Ukrainian people," Tune emphasized.

Senator Lindsey Graham also noted that he was concerned about Trumpʼs announced pause in intelligence sharing with Ukraine. And the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee John Cornyn emphasized that the intelligence that the Ukrainians received from the United States was very important for "continuing their fight."

Mike Round, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said he does not support the decision to halt intelligence sharing with Ukraine. He hopes the pause in military aid to Ukraine will be only temporary.

Stopping aid to Ukraine

Bloomberg, citing its own sources, reported on March 4 that the US President Donald Trump has ordered the suspension of all military aid to Kyiv, including that currently on the way. This is supposedly to put pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky after their dispute at the White House on February 28.

On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed to receive official information from the United States about the suspension of military aid to Ukraine.

After that, during his address to the US Congress, Trump did not announce the suspension of military aid to Ukraine. According to him, he received an “important letter” from Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump was referring to the message of the Ukrainian president, where he noted that Ukraine was ready to sit down at the negotiating table as soon as possible.

The WSJ reported that the military aid freeze will continue until Trump determines that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky supports peace talks with Russia. They said it is unclear whether Zelenskyʼs statement will be enough to convince Trump to restore US military aid to Ukraine.

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