President Donald Trump ordered a halt to all American military aid to Ukraine Monday, after a heated meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office Friday.
But the U.S. Supreme Court quickly reinstated the order to un-freeze foreign aid in a 5-4 vote, according to the Associated Press.
Friends of Ukraine Communications and Media Director Natalka Akulenko expressed concern about the state of Ukrainians in Madison following Trump’s decision.
“Ukrainians who are here through the humanitarian parole programs that the previous administration provided as a safe and legal way for people to escape the war are now in danger,” Akulenko said. “Now those programs are in question and under threat, and it is unclear what will happen to people who escape the war.”
Akulenko is also concerned about the potential for Ukrainians to be sent home. She mentioned some have nowhere to go back to and those who may still have a home intact will have to deal with the missiles and bombs that are still flying.
Friends of Ukraine hosted a rally outside the Capitol building Sunday to protest the administration’s recent actions, drawing a large turnout.
UW Professor of Political Science Yoshiko Herrera mentioned Trump’s initial decision may have been the final straw in a plan that had been in the works for quite a while. Herrera described two situations in which the President and his administration had been hinting at a major shift in foreign relations.
During the fall of 2022, Republicans in the Senate tried to block a congressional bill to Ukraine — citing a threat to border security. According to Herrera, this was during a critical turning point in the Ukraine-Russia war, when Ukraine started to run out of ammunition.
The second event Herrera mentioned occurred just a few weeks ago during the Munich Security Conference.
At the conference, Vice President J.D. Vance discussed various European nations’ recent moves to censor their ideological opponents, claiming the actions pose a greater security threat than Russia.
“The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor,” Vance said during the conference Feb. 14. “And what I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values — values shared with the United States of America.
Both of these instances, along with Trump’s labeling President Zelenskyy as a dictator, have all been indicators that a drastic shift, such as pausing military aid, was in the works, Herrera said.
Trump’s decision to pause military aid to Ukraine has caused confusion, worry and distress among many — specifically the population of Ukrainian individuals within Madison.
Akulenko and Herrera said the most important step UW students can take to support Ukrainians is to stay informed on the war.
