Ukrainian officials were told in early August that the US had frozen nearly $400 million in military aid to the country, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The bombshell revelation throws a wrench into President Donald Trump's key defense to allegations that he dangled security assistance in exchange for politically motivated investigations.

Trump has claimed that because Ukraine didn't find out about the frozen aid until it was publicly reported in late August, there was no possibility of a quid pro quo.

But The Times' reporting found that Ukrainian officials had learned of the freeze weeks earlier — while Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani were trying to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch investigations meant to help Trump's 2020 campaign.

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Ukrainian officials were aware as soon as early August that President Donald Trump had frozen nearly $400 million in military aid to the country, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The bombshell revelation throws a wrench into Trump and his allies' key defense to allegations that the president dangled security assistance in exchange for politically motivated investigations meant to help his 2020 campaign. Those allegations are at the center of Democrats' impeachment inquiry.

Trump has claimed that because Ukraine didn't know the aid was frozen while he was trying to press Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch politically beneficial investigations, there was no possibility of a quid pro quo.

No witnesses who have testified before Congress so far have "provided testimony that the Ukrainians were aware that military aid was being withheld. You can't have a quid pro quo with no quo," Trump tweeted Wednesday, quoting Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe.

But according to The Times, Ukrainian officials learned of the aid freeze in early August — weeks before it was first publicly reported by Politico.

The Times reported that Ukrainian officials were told that the holdup was not a bureaucratic glitch and that they would have to get in touch with the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to sort it out.

The timing of when Ukraine found out about the freeze is critical. In early August, Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and other US government officials were still pressuring Zelensky to cave to Trump's demand for investigations.