Ukraine war latest: 'Thousands will die' - Ukrainian MP pleads with Trump to rethink 'catastrophic' aid pause

Von der Leyen reveals five-point 'rearm Europe' plan

We're now hearing from the president of the European Commission, who says Europe is ready to "massively" boost its defence spending and that we are in an "era of rearmament".

Ursula von der Leyen says she has written a letter to European leaders and is outlining a five-point rearm Europe plan:

1. Unleash the use of public funding on defence - if member states increase defence spending by 1.5% of GDP, von der Leyen says this could create fiscal space close to €650bn over four years
2. New instrument providing €150bn of loans to member states for defence investment
3. Using the power of the European Union's budget
4. Mobilising private capital through the Savings and Investment Union
5. Mobilising private capital through the European Investment Bank

Von der Leyen explains the plans to strengthen Europe's defence and increase military capabilities could mobilise around €800bn.

"This is Europe's moment and we must live up to it," she adds.

UK ministers 'absolutely committed to securing lasting peace'

We've just received the first reaction from the UK government to Trump's decision to pause military aid to Ukraine.

"We remain absolutely committed to securing a lasting peace in Ukraine and are engaging with key allies in support of this effort," a UK government spokesperson has said.

"It is the right thing to do, and is in our interest to do so."

The statement goes on to explain the UK has bolstered Ukrainian military capabilities through its commitment to provide Ukraine with £3bn a year in military aid for "as long as it takes" and through a £2.26bn loan using sanctioned Russian assets.

"In addition, we've set up a partnership with Ukraine that allows them to use £1.6bn of UK export finance to buy 5,000 air defence missile manufactured in Belfast, putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position for peace," the spokesperson added.

Ukrainian MP: US aid decision is catastrophic - thousands will die

Donald Trump's decision to pause military aid decision has been described as "catastrophic" by a Ukrainian MP, who tells Sky News "thousands of people will die".

"I understand we have a crisis in relationships right now after Friday's meeting in the Oval Office, but I just want to ask Donald Trump to reconsider... maybe just give us some time to get out of this because this is catastrophic for us," Oleksiy Goncharenko told our presenter Wilfred Frost.

He went on to say Trump's decision will "embolden" Putin, making the division even bigger.

In a message to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Goncharenko called on the Ukrainian president to do "everything he can in order to get out of this" and said "he needs to go and apologise" to Trump.

"We need to heal this division, we need to work together with America, we need to be together," he said.

When asked whether Volodymyr Zelenskyy should step aside, Goncharenko explained Zelenskyy said he would not seek re-election after becoming president in 2019.

"I think it's time to remind this and maybe to say openly after the end of the war there will be elections, and I think he should at least think about not running," he said.

Analysis: Is this the art of the deal or the art of blackmail?

Donald Trump's evening announcement came after a weekend through which the question was "he wouldn't actually do that, would he?"  

But given his actions over the past 43 days, his rhetoric during the campaign, and his truly transactional negotiating style, the answer was always to be "of course he would". 

It still doesn’t make the move any less dramatic. 

As late as yesterday afternoon, in the White House, Trump claimed he hadn't discussed the prospect of cutting or pausing American military weapons shipments to Ukraine. 

But it was clear his anger and animosity against Zelenskyy after the Friday showdown was growing. 

And just an hour or two later, after a meeting with his defence and security officials (who are all wholly aligned to his thinking, unlike those in his first administration) he had paused all military aid. 

Sources both sides of the Atlantic have told me this is just the latest step in his game of brinkmanship. The White House emphasis on "pause" is important and hints at the moves they expect Zelenskyy now to make. 

Trump is determined to pressure Zelenskyy to sign his minerals deal - the first step in his peace plan which he eventually expects will culminate in Ukraine and Russia round a negotiating table. He has not explained quite how this happens or what concessions Vladimir Putin might be asked to make. 

In the immediate term, Trump wants to be able to hail the mineral deal as a massive win for the American people as a material return for the money they sent to fund Ukraine's war and the first step to peace in Ukraine. So much of this is about a domestic trumpeting of his successes as he sees them. He had hoped to do that tonight at his address to a joint session of Congress. 

Zelenskyy is resisting not because he doesn't want peace but because he wants American commitments that it has his back militarily if he is to enter into peace talks with an unreliable Putin, which will require him to make concessions. 

He wants American security guarantees. All of Europe wants those, while committing to spending more on defence themselves. They are alarmed that Trump won't give them yet. 

Every European leader was privately appalled by Trump's treatment of Zelenskyy last Friday. But some European diplomats have told me they think Zelenskyy took the bait when he could have reacted differently. 

Zelenskyy's friends in Europe may now be quietly telling him to shift position, mend the rift with Trump, sign his deal, commit to a ceasefire and then work, with them, to push Trump on the security guarantees. 

In Trump's brutally transactional world where, like it or not, he holds the cards, it may be the only way. 

Analysis: 'Devastating' US decision will have immediate impact on Ukraine

Donald Trump's decision to pause US military aid to Ukraine is devastating for the country, our security and defence editor Deborah Haynes reports from Kyiv.

"It will have an immediate impact on its ability to fight on the frontline and to defend cities from Russian attacks," she says.

Hayes notes that Ukraine's air force has said it shot down 65 out of 99 Russian drones launched towards the country overnight.

"That's about one third of those drones getting through and it really underlines the vital importance for Ukraine of support from allies, principally the US, to have the ammunitions and the weapons to be able to defend its skies," Haynes said.

By taking the weapons away from Ukraine like this, she adds, Trump is only giving one country an advantage - and that's Russia.

Russia attacks Odesa energy infrastructure

As the US announced a pause in aid to Ukraine overnight, a Russian drone attack injured four people and damaged energy infrastructure in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa, according to the local authorities.

"A strike has damaged energy infrastructure, there are power cuts in parts of the city," regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.

Two of the injured have been taken to hospital, Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov said, adding several residential houses and two private kindergartens were damaged.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that Russia's continued attacks show Moscow does not want an end to the war - sharing a video of what he called the "aerial terror" inflicted on Ukrainian towns and cities.

JD Vance accuses Zelenskyy of having a 'sense of entitlement'

US Vice President JD Vance has directed fresh criticism towards Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accusing him of "needling" Donald Trump and having a "sense of entitlement".

In an interview on Fox News, Vance said the showdown between the US and Ukrainian president in the Oval Office on Friday "really set Zelenskyy off".

"He showed a clear unwillingness to engage in the peace process that Trump said is the policy," he said.

"That's the real breakdown. I think Zelenskyy wasn't yet there., and frankly, still isn't there. But I think he'll get there eventually, he has to."

Vance confirmed Ukrainian officials made at least one attempt to restart talks after leaving the White House, but efforts were shut down by Trump.

But he added that "door is open" so long as Zelenskyy "is willing to seriously talk peace".

Trump's blow to Ukraine defences is music to Putin's ears

It began with an unseemly shouting match in the Oval Office but has escalated into something with far greater implications.

Donald Trump's decision to pause military aid to Ukraine marks a significant shift in US foreign policy, one previously considered unthinkable.

This blow to Ukraine's defences in the face of Russian aggression will be music to the ears of Vladimir Putin.

US military aid – some $175bn of it – has kept Ukraine in this David and Goliath battle for three years.

It has funded what military analysist simplify as "the big stuff" of battle – artillery, anti-tank weapons, rockets and armoured vehicles.

Trump's decision to push pause disregards efforts by Sir Keir Starmer and other European leaders to devise a peace plan.

Those already questioning Europe's reliance on the United States for defence will conclude they have been given the answer.

But the decision sets Trump up for a potential confrontation with Republicans in Congress, who had approved the funding.

White House sources say he wants Volodymyr Zelenskyy to go on television and apologise for the jaw-dropping showdown last Friday.

But the Ukrainian president feels he has no apology to make for expressing his doubt about Russian’s commitment to peace.

Earlier, Trump side-stepped a question about a Kremlin diplomat claiming the US administration and Moscow were now aligned on foreign policy.

This weakening of Ukraine's defence capability moves that question front and centre as he prepares to address Congress on Tuesday.

Trump pauses US military aid to Ukraine

Donald Trump has paused US military aid to Ukraine days after his row in the Oval Office with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Speaking anonymously, a White House official said: "President [Trump] has been clear that he is focused on peace.

"We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing ad reviewing our aid to ensure that is contributing to a solution."

There has been no indication about the possible length of the pause, with Ukraine currently yet to comment on the move.

The decision to pause US military aid to Ukraine comes after Trump hit back at Zelenskyy by saying he had made "the worst statement that could have been made" after he commented that peace was still "very, very far away".

"America will not put up with it for much longer!" he wrote in a statement on Truth Social.

"It is what I was saying, this guy [Zelenskyy] doesn't want there to be peace as long as he has America's backing."

-SKY NEWS