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WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Ukraine was given 鈥渇air warning鈥� by the White House before President Donald Trump this week ordered a pause on U.S. military assistance and intelligence sharing with Kyiv, a senior administration official said Thursday.

The Republican administration announced the pauses this week after Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’sOval Office meeting devolved into a shouting match, with the U.S. president and Vice President JD Vance excoriating the Ukrainian leader for being insufficiently grateful for tens of billions of dollars in U.S. assistance sent to Ukraine since Russia invaded three years ago.

Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump鈥檚 special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, said the pause is already having an impact on Kyiv, adding that the Ukrainians “brought it on themselves.”

鈥淭he best way I can describe it is sort of like hitting a mule with a two-by-four across the nose,鈥� Kellogg said at an event Thursday at the Council on Foreign Relations. 鈥淵ou got their attention.鈥�

Kellogg said it was made clear to the Ukrainians before last week鈥檚 Oval Office meeting that the talks would focus on signing a critical minerals deal. The agreement, which the two sides still have not signed, would give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth deposits and could be of value to U.S. aerospace, electric vehicle and medical manufacturing.

Trump administration officials have said the economic pact would bind the U.S. and Ukraine closer together and would give Russian President Vladimir Putin pause before considering malign action against Ukraine in the future. Zelenskyy had been pressing the White House for explicit security guarantees, to no avail.

Kellogg said last week’s talks went sideways because Zelenskyy pressed Trump 鈥� who is trying to play the role of intermediary to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia 鈥� to side with Kyiv.

Zelenskyy later called the heated words 鈥渞egrettable鈥� and said he鈥檚 ready to sign an agreement.

But Kellogg said he couldn鈥檛 guarantee a resumption of weapons deliveries even if Zelenskyy accepts the deal.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 up to the president,鈥� Kellogg said. He added, 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 negotiate peace discussions in public. You don鈥檛 try to challenge the president of the United States in the Oval Office.鈥�

Trump said in a speech before Congress on Tuesday that Zelenskyy had written to him to say he appreciates U.S. support for his country in its war with Russia. Trump said Zelenskyy told him that Ukraine is ready to negotiate a peace deal with Russia as soon as possible and would accept the minerals agreement with the U.S. to facilitate that.

Although Trump said he 鈥渁ppreciated鈥� getting the letter, he did not say if it would affect his policy toward Ukraine.

The suspension of U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine will damage Ukraine鈥檚 ability to defend itself against ongoing Russian attacks against military and civilian targets, according to an The research group said suspension of all U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine would also allow Russian forces to intensify their drone and missile strikes against the Ukrainian rear, affecting millions of Ukrainian civilians and the growth of Ukraine鈥檚 defense industrial base.