London, Mar 4 (AP) The US has been Ukraine's biggest military backer since Russia's full-scale invasion began three years ago. The suspension of that aid by the Trump administration doesn't mean Ukraine's defences will quickly collapse.

But it's a major blow that threatens to remove some of the most formidable weapons in Ukraine's battlefield arsenal, and ratchets up pressure on Kyiv to accept a peace agreement.

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Here's a look at the decision and its implications.

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How much of Ukraine's aid comes from the US?

The United States has given the Ukrainians more than USD 180 billion in assistance since Russia launched an all-out war on February 24, 2022, including more than USD 66.5 billion in military aid.

Washington provides about 20 per cent of Ukraine's military supplies, and that fifth includes the most lethal and important equipment, including longer-range missiles and Patriot air defence systems that can shoot down the most powerful Russian projectiles.

American military assistance also goes far beyond weapons and ammunition.

Ukrainian troops rely on satellite communications systems supplied by Elon Musk's Starlink to communicate on the front line, and on American intelligence to track Russian troop movements and select targets for Ukrainian strikes.

If the US stops sharing data from satellites and other assets, it would badly affect Ukraine's capability to strike back at Russia, and Ukraine's other allies lack the resources to fill the gap.

“A lot will depend on what's covered by the American suspension,” said Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director-general of defense think-tank RUSI. “Will they suspend all technical assistance to Ukraine? That would have a more dramatic, more rapid impact than simply stopping the pipeline of arms.”

Why has Trump cut it off?

The White House said that the US is “pausing and reviewing” its Ukraine aid to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution.” The order will remain in effect until Trump determines that Ukraine has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia.

The halt came days after an explosive meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which Trump and US Vice President JD Vance said that Ukraine's leader hasn't expressed sufficient gratitude for American support.

How will it change the battlefield?

The US move won't have an immediate impact on the battlefield, where Kyiv's forces are struggling to stem a relentless Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have slowed Russian advances along the roughly 1,000-kilometre front line, where Russia is slowly gaining ground at a huge human and material cost.

The pause in aid will weaken air defences and will hit Ukraine's ability to hit Russian targets far behind the front lines.

Alexander Kots, a Russian war blogger, noted that while Ukraine's European allies can fill some of the gaps and provide artillery systems, they don't have alternatives to the US-made Patriot and NASAMS air defence missile systems and longer-range HIMARS missile systems that can strike ground targets up to 300 kilometres away.

Kots said that for Ukraine, “the US aid suspension is unpleasant but not deadly.”

Ukraine has stockpiles of artillery shells and other munitions, and has ramped up domestic production of drones, which are now among the most important weapons in the war. It's estimated that just over half of the military hardware used by Ukraine is domestically produced.

Chalmers, the RUSI expert, said that the Ukrainians have built up their defence production, and “are innovating at an incredible rate because of the pressure they're under.”

“I think they will survive for quite some time,” he said. “But it's a material blow, and it's also a challenge to Europe.”

Can Ukraine's other allies step up?

A summit in London on Sunday was aimed at getting European leaders to step up and put Ukraine in the best possible position before potential peace talks.

The UK announced that it would use 1.6 billion pounds (USD 2 billion) in export financing to supply 5,000 air defence missiles. The European Union has proposed an 800 billion-Euro (USD 841 billion) plan to bolster the defences of EU nations and provide Ukraine with military muscle.

But Samir Puri, director of the Centre for Global Governance and Security at international affairs think tank Chatham House, said that European and American aid are intertwined.

“This was always a joint effort,” he said. “The US gives a lot, the Europeans give a lot. You take away the Americans from that joint effort and … there's just a huge component missing to the structure.” (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)