Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko called the move a “catastrophe,” while Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the foreign affairs committee, said it appeared Trump was “pushing us towards capitulation.”

“To stop aid now means to help [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Merezhko told Reuters.

“On the surface, this looks really bad. It looks like he is pushing us towards capitulation, meaning [accepting] Russia’s demands.”

The decision is the latest setback for Ukraine, which is still reeling from a tense Oval Office press briefing Friday, where friction between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky boiled over.

Kremlin officials were quick to celebrate. “The Trump administration no longer wants to feed the Nazi mutt in Kyiv,” said Dmitry Medvedev, a top Russian official and former president. Putin spokesman Dmitry Leskov added that the move “can push the Kyiv regime toward a peace process” but did not acknowledge Russia’s role as the aggressor in the war.

Is Trump’s move illegal?

In the U.S., the decision sparked backlash. Pennsylvania Rep. Madeleine Dean, whose district includes a large Ukrainian-American population, condemned the move as illegal.

“Congress appropriated these funds to support our allies in Ukraine,” she wrote. “Trump’s disrespect for the rule of law is disgraceful and un-American.”

Trump campaigned on ending the war but has so far leaned on Kyiv to accept territorial concessions without securing Russian guarantees in return.

No concessions from Russia

Unlike President Biden, who strongly backed Ukraine, Trump has distanced the U.S. from Kyiv, casting himself as a neutral mediator.

Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with Russian officials in the highest-level U.S.-Russia meeting since the war began. A day later, Trump labeled Zelensky a “dictator” and echoed Moscow’s claims that Ukraine provoked the war.

Trump has also reportedly instructed his cabinet to explore lifting U.S. economic sanctions on Russia and ordered the Pentagon to halt cyber operations targeting the country.

Yet, despite these overtures, Russia has made no concessions.

Musk floats exile for Zelensky

As Trump moves away from Zelensky and toward closer ties with Russia, some of his allies have sought to justify the shift. While Trump’s MAGA base largely supports Putin over Zelensky, most Americans still view Putin as an authoritarian who has imprisoned or killed political opponents.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk added to the controversy Monday by suggesting that Zelensky be offered exile.

“As distasteful as it is, Zelensky should be offered amnesty in a neutral country in exchange for a peaceful transition back to democracy in Ukraine,” Musk wrote—a statement that, critics noted, would make more sense if applied to Putin and Russia instead.