The administration of US President Donald Trump has halted some shipments of weapons to Ukraine over concerns that the country’s own stockpiles are too low, a senior White House official says.
In a statement on Tuesday, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said that President Trump has stopped the delivery of some air defense interceptors and precision-guided bombs and missiles to Ukraine, after a Pentagon review determined that stocks have declined too much on some weapons previously pledged to Kiev.
“This decision was made to put America’s interests first following a review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe,” Kelly said.
The decision to halt delivery of air defense missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine comes as Russia’s military action against the former Soviet Republic has intensified.
Senate Democrats have warned that the pause would hurt Ukraine’s fight on the battlefield.
To date, the US has provided Ukraine more than $66 billion worth of weapons and military assistance since Russia launched its military operation in February 2022.
Back in June, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the US has given the military aid promised to Kiev by the Biden administration to American forces based in West Asia.
Zelensky said former Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin had promised to send Kiev 20,000 anti-drone missiles with “special technology” featured in them.
He confessed that without the advanced US military aid, including American-supplied weapons and munitions, the Russian side had “more chances” of gaining victory in the war and Ukraine would have “much more losses.”
Trump has consistently expressed opposition to the Ukraine war, arguing that American taxpayers should not bear the financial burden of ongoing U.S. military aid to Kiev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has frequently voiced his opposition to the US-led sending of arms and ammunition to Kiev, saying flooding Ukraine with guns and bullets will not change the definite course of the conflict, which is Russian victory, and would only lead to more human loss and damage.
