(NewsNation) — The Trump administration will stop paying for security aid programs to European countries that border Russia, a source inside the White House told NewsNation.
News of the shift follows President Donald Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a group of European leaders on Thursday. The cut in aid would impact millions of dollars spent on the programs, which focus on training and equipping militaries in Eastern Europe.
Trump has also turned up the pressure on European leaders to stop buying Russian oil. Zelenskyy has said cutting off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s funding and resources is the key to ending the war in Ukraine.
“President Trump expects a stronger Europe with closer US coordination. But he’s disappointed some countries still buy Russian oil, funding Putin’s war machine,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post. “Energy independence from Russia is vital for Europe’s security and is a key to strong relations with the US.”
The primary European Union customers for Russian oil are Hungary and Slovakia, which have exemptions from European Union import bans, according to Axios.
Zelenskyy met with around three dozen European leaders in Paris on Thursday, as part of an ongoing effort to pledge security guarantees for Ukraine once the war ends.
In a social media post, Zelenskyy wrote, “We are preparing documents on guarantees and defining each country’s investment into security. Already 26 countries have agreed to provide Ukraine with security guarantees.”
Trump told reporters Thursday he plans to speak with Putin in the near future. When asked directly by NewsNation, he noted the difficulty in finding a peace deal.
“The one that I thought would maybe one of the easiest, you know that feeling? You think one thing is going be easier? Turns out to be a little bit tougher. But the one that I thought would be an easier one because of my relationship with President Putin and with Ukraine,” Trump said. “This one turned out to be more difficult, but we’ll get it, we’re going to get it settled.”