this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2025
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U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered a suspension of all military aid to Ukraine, escalating pressure on President Volodymyr Zelensky mere days after a heated exchange in the Oval Office cast doubt on U.S. support for Kyiv.

A senior Defense Department official told Bloomberg that all U.S. military assistance to Ukraine is on hold until Trump determines that Ukrainian leaders are making a genuine effort toward peace.

The pause affects not only future aid but also weapons already in transit, including shipments on aircraft and ships, as well as equipment awaiting transfer in Poland.

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Edit: changed source from Bloomberg to Kyiv Independent b/c there's no paywall and more detail in the story.

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[–] Lanske@lemmy.world 21 points 2 hours ago (3 children)

I have not a lot of knowledge how American politics work, but isn't this for congress to decide? how is Trump so powerful? (sorry for my daft question)

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 10 points 42 minutes ago (1 children)

It's very illegal. He has already been impeached once for withdrawing military aid to Ukraine in his first term.

And you see where that got us.

[–] Lanske@lemmy.world 4 points 41 minutes ago

Yeah indeed, but now he has got the full backing and more Trump tronies?!

[–] Soulg@ani.social 23 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Republicans hold the majority in congress, so they're refusing to push back and are just allowing him to usurp power from them.

[–] Lanske@lemmy.world 5 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Thnx for your reply! i understand that, but it seems nothing goes via congress?!

[–] Tyfud@lemmy.world 5 points 39 minutes ago

Congress is a check and balance to executive power, just like the judicial.

They are not checking or balancing his power. So they are in effect, impotent.

[–] ALoafOfBread@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

It isn't daft. The Republicans since Reagan have pushed a fringe legal theory called the Unitary Executive Theory. Basically, they want the president to fully control the executive branch and military such that theirs is the only voice that matters for much of the government. Not unlike a king, but partially checked by congress and the courts. They have been taking (illegal) actions to try to get sued, and also have been suing others/other branches of government, to try to get the Supreme Court to hear cases that will support this fringe legal theory so that it becomes the law of the land.

I am not a lawyer, but this is possibly something Trump can legally do since he is Commander in Chief of the armed forces. However, this seems more like an apportionment thing, which is Congress' responsibility. Congress has allocated funds to send military aid to Ukraine. So, even if Trump as Commander in Chief could say "no more weapons to ukraine", it seems doubtful to me that he could (legally) stop weapons shipments currently en route.

But, by the time whatever government office sues the office of the president to get a judge to enjoin them to send the agreed upon weapons that were already apportioned, it will already have hurt Ukraine somewhat. Trump often weaponizes inefficiency. And these sort of illegal acts aren't crimes per se - they're just procedural breaches - the legal remedy is just to reverse the action.

So, probably not legal. But Trump gets to weaponize his administration's incompetence (or feigned incompetence) to at least delay aid. More competent people may support these actions, knowing they're illegal, to try and strengthen the president's role even further.

[–] Lanske@lemmy.world 6 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Wow! Thanks so much for this reply! this is very helpful, thnx a lot

[–] AES_Enjoyer@reddthat.com 3 points 56 minutes ago

The answer is simpler than that: the "checks and balances" system is a facade created to prevent meaningful progressive policy from passing. There's a reason why Trump can modify a billion laws from day 1, but poor Biden couldn't possibly do anything to codify abortion as a right or prevent the bombing of children in Gaza.

[–] brygphilomena@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

I would love to see everyone just start ignoring Trump and everything he says and just keeps doing their job.

[–] Soulg@ani.social 5 points 1 hour ago

The way it should be

[–] index@sh.itjust.works 10 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

https://www.itamilradar.com/2025/03/04/look-who-we-have-here/

"The ambiguous American behavior continues: on the one hand, they (verbally) threaten to withdraw support for Ukraine, including intelligence assistance, while on the other hand, they are increasing SIGINT flights over the Black Sea."

[–] RecursiveParadox@lemmy.world 14 points 2 hours ago (5 children)

Who says those SIGNT flights are for Ukraine anymore?

[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 11 points 2 hours ago

At best they won't share, at worst it's for russia

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[–] GrymEdm@lemmy.world 91 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

The US wouldn’t stop military aid to Israel while the IDF destroyed hospitals and killed children and journalists among many other war crimes. They will freeze aid to Ukraine as it defends itself in a war of conquest. Evidence suggests the USA would rather align with criminals like Putin and Netanyahu than war victims.

[–] Spzi@lemm.ee 17 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

That really is a stark contrast. What do the apologetics say about this?

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 11 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Probably "we won, you lost, get over it" as if that's how any of this works.

[–] SufferingSteve@feddit.nu 5 points 2 hours ago

They won, all lost

[–] yankfreelive@lemmy.cafe 39 points 5 hours ago
[–] Sati1984@lemmy.world 50 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

Each time I read "Trump orders", "Trump does X", I always ask myself: "Wait, can he do that? Congress? House? Judiciary? Cheks? Balances? Hellooooooooooo...?"...

... but this is still the first few months of his second term. At this pace, he will be a literal king in a few more months.

A scary prospect to say the least, and I hope it's not too late for America to do something about this. This should not be normalized. This cannot be normalized.

[–] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

The average us citizen doesn’t have a solid grasps of how our government actually works.

Defunding education and gutting curriculum and removing civics education has … been impactful.

[–] AES_Enjoyer@reddthat.com 1 points 54 minutes ago (1 children)

I'd say the average republican does have a solid grasp of how the government works, seeing the extremely high activity of Trump's government. Turns out the "checks and balances" and the "branches of government" and all of that shit only serves to slow down progressive policy. When it's about bombing brown kids or defending healthcare, policy can speed through the fucking system

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 38 minutes ago

Checks and balances are only are good as the morals of the people enforcing them.

[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago

Laws only have value as long as someone is willing to enforce them. It's all a social construct.

I'm not from the US and am far from being a legal expert, but your country appears to be close to being lawless (or is getting there at an accelerated pace).

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