WASHINGTON (AP) – The US stops some shipments from weapons to Ukraine in the midst of concern that her own stocks have fallen too much, civil servants said on Tuesday, a setback for the country while it is trying to ward off escalating attacks by Russia.
Certain ammunition was previously promised to Ukraine under the Biden administration to help her defense during the more than three-year-old war. The break reflects a new series of priorities under President Donald Trump and came after officials from the Ministry of Defense investigated the current American stocks and expressed concern.
“This decision was made to bring the interests of America for the first time after a revision of military support and help from our nation to other countries around the world,” said spokesman Anna Kelly of the White House in a statement. “The power of the armed forces of the United States remains undisputed – just ask Iran.”
That was a reference to Donald Trump who recently ordered our rocket attacks against nuclear locations in Iran.
Pentagon shares of some weapons that have been found low, says officially
The Pentagon Review has determined that shares were too low for some previously promised weapons, so pending shipments of some items will not be sent, according to an American officer who spoke, due to anonymity to provide information that has not yet been made public.
The Ministry of Defense did not give any details about which specific weapons were stopped.
“The US Army has never been ready and capable,” said spokesperson Sean Parnell, adding that the large tax reduction and the spending package by the Congress Moving “ensures that our weapons and defense systems are modernized to protect against the coming generations for the 21th century for the coming generations.”
The socket of some weapons from the US is a blow to Ukraine, because Russia has recently launched some of its largest air strikes of the war, in an escalating bombing that has further deposited hope for a breakthrough in peace efforts that have been defended by Trump. Conversations between the sides have come to a halt.
The American interruption was first reported by Poloo.
To date, the US has offered Ukraine for more than $ 66 billion in weapons and military aid since Russia invaded his neighbor in February 2022.
In the course of the war, the US has routinely insisted on allies to offer anti -aircraft systems to Ukraine. But many are reluctant to give up the high-tech systems, in particular countries in Eastern Europe that also feel threatened by Russia.
Elbridge Colby, the Ministry of Defense Unders Secretary for Policy, said that civil servants continue to offer “the president of robust options to continue military help to Ukraine, in accordance with his goal of ending this tragic war.”
“At the same time, the department is rigorously investigating its approach to achieve this goal and at the same time retain the willingness of the US forces for the defense priorities of the administration,” Colby said in a statement.
Last week Trump met a meeting with the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit and had left the possibility to send Kiev more in the US made in the US Patriot Air Defense Missile Systems, and acknowledged that they would help the Ukrainian business.
“They want the antimissile rockets, ok, as they call them, the patriots,” Trump said then. “And we will see if we can make something available. We also need them. We deliver them to Israel, and they are very effective, 100% effective. Hard to believe how effective. They want that more than any other thing.”
Trump administration shifts the prospects for Ukraine military aid
Those comments hinted that she thinks about providing weapons to Ukraine that have started to change throughout the administration in recent months.
In testimony for legislators in June, Minister of Defense Pete Hegseeth said that he has quickly moved to destroy wastage programs and manage financing by leading Trump's top objectives.
Hegseeth said that a negotiated peace between Russia and Ukraine, who has been promoted by Trump for months, looks very strong in America, although Moscow is the aggressor in the conflict. He also said that the defense budget includes difficult choices and “reflects the reality that Europe should rise more for the defense of its own continent. And President Trump deserves the honor for this.”
The Minister of Defense said the legislators last month that some American safety spending for Ukraine were still in the pipeline, without providing details. But he said that such help – which has been robust for the past two years – would be reduced.
“This administration has a very different view of that conflict,” said Hegseeth. “We believe that a negotiated peaceful arrangement is in the interest of both parties and the interests of our nation.”
The change comes after Hegseeth skipped a meeting last month from an international group to coordinate military aid to Ukraine that the US created three years ago. The predecessor of Hegseeth, Lloyd Austin, formed the group after Russia had attacked Ukraine, and the absence of Hegseeth was the first time that the American Minister of Defense was not present.
Under the leadership of Austin, the US served as chairman of the group, and he and the chairman of the joint staff chefs attended monthly meetings, which were both personally and per video.
Hegseeth had previously left a leading role of the Ukraine defense contact group – which transferred to Germany and the United Kingdom – before he had completely left the meeting.
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Associated Press writer David Klepper has contributed to this report.
