Because of clash with Zelenskyy, Trump suspended aid to Ukraine and left US Embassy unprotected – former Ambassador Brink
US President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine in March 2025 put not only Ukrainians but also the staff of the US Embassy in Kyiv, which numbered around 1,000 people, under direct threat from Russian air strikes.
Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said this, Censor.NET reports, citing Reuters.
What is known?
According to her, the freeze on supplies and intelligence sharing with Ukraine came immediately after the high-profile clash between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump at the White House in January 2025. The pause in weapons supplies was introduced suddenly and without any warning.
The packages blocked by the Pentagon contained critically important air defense munitions.
Brink stressed that the security of the US diplomatic mission was ensured by Ukrainian troops using US and Western air defense equipment, so halting the supply of missiles endangered the lives of Americans themselves.
Pentagon gave no explanation for decision
"The suspension of military aid happened without warning. I immediately contacted the Pentagon, the State Department and the White House, but no one responded to my request," the former envoy recalled.
She added that her team worked behind the scenes for a long time to persuade the Trump administration to unblock the weapons. Supplies were eventually resumed on 11 March 2025, but Brink never received an official explanation from the White House as to why the aid had been suspended in the first place.
- A month after the incident, Bridget Brink resigned over her categorical disagreement with Trump’s policy toward Ukraine. She later announced that she would run for the US Congress as a Democrat.
