Trump’s remarks came after reports emerged of a regime change in Syria, Russia’s ally in the Middle East, where rebels claimed to have taken over the Syrian capital Damascus and toppled President Bashar Assad’s 24-year rule. Trump speculated that this happened because Assad’s “protector”, Russia, “was not interested in protecting him any longer”.

“[Russia] lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever, Trump stated, claiming that Russia is currently “in a weakened state… because of Ukraine and a bad economy”.

“Likewise, Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin,” the President-elect said, adding that if the conflict is not resolved, “it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse”.

Trump made the statements after three-way talks with Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Saturday. In a post on X, Zelensky described the talks as “good and productive” and focused on the fact that “we all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just way”.

Zelensky previously insisted that the only viable path to what he calls a “just peace” with Russia is his ten-point ‘peace formula’, which includes the “complete withdrawal” of Russian forces from former Ukrainian territories and the restoration of the country’s 1991 borders. However, he has changed tack over the past few weeks, signaling he could agree to a ceasefire without the territories if Kiev became a NATO member.

Moscow has maintained that any settlement must begin with Ukraine withdrawing its forces from Russian territory, including the former Ukrainian regions, ensuring the rights of Russian-speakers and becoming a neutral state.

Trump has repeatedly promised that he would end the Ukraine conflict within “24 hours” of taking office, but has never explained how. Recent media reports claimed that he could push for a freeze in fighting along the current line of contact and force both sides to sit down for talks using US aid to Kiev as leverage.

The latest package will include more drones and munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, that the U.S. has provided. While these weapons are critically needed now, they will be funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for longer-term systems to be put on contract.

The weapon systems purchased are often intended to support Ukraine’s future military capabilities, not make an immediate difference on the battlefield.

The $988 million package is on top of an additional $725 million in U.S. military assistance, including counter-drone systems and HIMARS munitions, announced Monday that would be drawn from the Pentagon’s stockpiles to more quickly get to the front lines. The U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $62 billion in military aid since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

“The baton will soon be passed,” Austin said.

“Others will decide the course ahead. And I hope that they will build on the strength that we have forged over the past four years,” he added.

Ukraine is facing an intensified onslaught by Russia. Moscow also has launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile and regularly strikes Kyiv’s civilian infrastructure.

With questions about whether Trump will maintain military support to Ukraine, the Biden administration has been trying to spend every dollar remaining from a massive foreign aid bill passed earlier this year to put Ukraine in the strongest position possible.

“This administration has made its choice. So has a bipartisan coalition in Congress. The next administration must make its own choice,” Austin stated in a speech at an annual gathering of national security officials, defense firms and lawmakers at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

Trump had a hastily arranged meeting Saturday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and France’s Emmanuel Macron while in Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. Macron and other European leaders are trying to persuade Trump to maintain support for Ukraine.

Trump, a longtime admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has criticized U.S. aid for Ukraine and called for bringing a quick end to the war, raising concerns in Ukraine about what terms may be laid out for any future negotiations.

Austin noted he was “confident that President Reagan would have stood on the side of Ukraine, American security and human freedom”.

It was one of Austin’s last major speeches as President Biden’s defense secretary and a cap to his more than 41 years serving as a soldier and general.

Under Austin’s watch, the Pentagon in 2022 launched a regular meeting that now counts more than 50 countries to figure out how to get the tens of millions of rounds of ammunition and billions of dollars in advanced weaponry to Ukraine. Without that flow of support, it’s possible the country would have fallen to Russia after it invaded.

“Together, we have helped Ukraine survive an all-out assault by the largest military in Europe,” Austin stressed.