"Difficult for Europe to fill the gap": Trump decision to pause Ukraine aid provokes mixed reaction

Political watchers in the European Union (EU) on Tuesday warned that it will be "difficult for the EU to fill the gap" in defence support for Ukraine, after President Donald Trump paused military aid to Kyiv in the most dramatic step yet in his pivot towards closer ties with Russia.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that reports from southern Poland confirm that United States aid for Kyiv has been paused.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian lawmakers called the U.S. military aid pause problematic and hoped that European partners could help soothe strained relations with the United States.

"This is about Russia wanting to wipe Ukraine off the map. But it is also about Russia wanting to wipe the current European security order off the map, so we will have to collectively defend Ukraine, help Ukraine even more than we have done before," said Chief Executive Fabian Zuleeg at the European Policy Centre.