White House confirms pause in Ukraine arms, citing 'America first'
Photo: Trump halts delivery of Patriot missiles to Ukraine to protect it from Putin's missiles (Getty Images)
Donald Trump's administration is suspending the supply of artillery shells and air defense equipment to Ukraine, explaining that America's interests must come first, reports Bloomberg.
The White House confirmed Politico's report on the pause, which said that the move was made after a review of US ammunition stockpiles and amid concerns that they had fallen too low.
Among the weapons to be cut off are 155mm artillery shells, Stinger man-portable missiles, Patriot air defense batteries, and Hellfire missiles, PBS Newshour's Nick Shifrin reported.
"This decision was made to put America’s interests first following a DOD review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe," White House press secretary Anna Kelly said in an email confirming the pause.
She added: "The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned — just ask Iran."
A pause in a difficult situation
The decision comes as Ukraine struggles to repel large-scale Russian missile and drone strikes across the country. On July 29, Russia fired a record 537 missiles and drones in a massive nighttime attack. Russia has stepped up its attacks in recent weeks, and Vladimir Putin has ignored calls from the United States and Europe to agree to a ceasefire to hold peace talks.
Just last week, US President Donald Trump said he would consider sending more Patriots to Ukraine after a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, where the allies pledged to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP and mentioned the security threat posed by Russia.
Pentagon's decision
The move was initiated by Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, Politico reports. Colby has long argued that the United States is militarily active abroad, and he joined Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in repeatedly stating that European allies should take greater responsibility for the continent's security, including the defense of Ukraine.
In his statement, Colby said that the Pentagon "continues to provide the President with robust options to continue military aid to Ukraine, consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end."
"At the same time, the Department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving U.S. forces’ readiness for Administration defense priorities," he said.
Pauses in aid
The Joe Biden administration has used two methods to send weapons to Kyiv, relying on short-term reductions in stockpiles of equipment from US arsenals and allocating money to purchase new equipment.
Although the United States still has billions of dollars in congressional funding from the Biden administration to supply weapons to Ukraine, it could take years to produce and deliver them. Trump has previously made it clear that he is ready to cut back on support and has not asked lawmakers for additional money.
All US arms aid to Ukraine was briefly suspended in February, followed by a second longer pause in March.
According to Bloomberg, Europe is wary of buying weapons from the US because the US has suspended arms sales and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
