This is despite the fact that recent analyses indicate that the weapons package will not affect US preparedness.

This week, the US Department of Defense held back a shipment of US weapons to Ukraine, citing concerns that the US had been running low on weapons.

But an analysis conducted by senior military officers showed that the aid package that is now being withheld would not endanger the US military's own ammunition supplies, reports NBC. They have spoken to three government sources who confirm this.

Earlier on Friday, it was reported that Trump and Zelensky had held a phone call. The two reportedly discussed Ukraine's air defenses and possible cooperation on weapons production, procurement, and investment between the countries.

This comes as Russia continues to carry out massive airstrikes on Ukrainian cities. June was the worst month yet of drone and missile attacks since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

On Friday night alone, the Russians launched over 550 drones and missiles against Ukrainian targets. Russia has deployed new, much faster and more advanced drones that are harder for the Ukrainians to shoot down.

Cutter in air defense

The delayed arms shipment includes dozens of Patriot interceptor missiles, according to NBC. These are weapons that Ukraine has requested to shoot down incoming Russian missiles.

The package also contained an unknown number of 155 mm artillery shells, Hellfire missiles, precision-guided missile systems known as GMLRS, grenade launchers, Stinger surface-to-air missiles, and AIM air-to-air missiles for Ukraine's fleet of F-16 fighter jets.

The weapons delivery was reportedly agreed upon during the Biden administration.

Adam Smith, a leading Democrat in the House of Representatives, says it is dishonest for the Pentagon to use military readiness as a pretext to halt aid. He believes the real reason was to cut US aid to Ukraine.

– The stock is no lower now than it has been during the 3.5-year war, he says.

Not the first time

It was a unilateral decision by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to NBC, citing anonymous sources. According to the same sources, this is the third time Hegseth has unilaterally stopped aid to Ukraine.

The first two are said to have taken place in February and May, but were reversed after a few days.

Hegseth's Undersecretary for Policy, Elbridge Colby, has supported the decision.

He has long advocated reducing US involvement in Ukraine and instead moving weapons and resources to the Pacific region to counter China.

The White House defends the decision

The White House has defended the decision, saying it comes as a result of an ongoing review of the Defense Department's assistance to allies that began last month. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell called the assessment a capabilities review at a briefing on Wednesday.

“We can’t give guns to everyone all over the world,” Parnell said.

"Part of our job is to provide the president with a framework he can use to evaluate how much ammunition we have where we're sending it. That evaluation is still ongoing and not complete."

The review began after Hegseth issued a memo ordering the Pentagon's Joint Staff to review the stockpiles of all war materiel.

Parts of the weapons cargo are in Europe

According to NBC, some of the weapons are already in place in Poland and other European countries, where they were loaded onto vehicles to be sent to Kyiv. The goal was to help Ukrainians defend themselves against Russian missile attacks and hold the line against ground forces in the country's east.

But then military officers and officials who handled the shipment were told that the delivery had been canceled, according to two sources NBC spoke to.