U.S. pauses some Ukraine weapons shipments; Kyiv scrambles to respond

KYIV - Ukrainian officials scrambled to clarify Washington’s intentions Wednesday after the United States announced it was halting deliveries of air defense munitions to Ukraine - weapons the country desperately needs as Russia pummels it with unprecedented waves of aerial attacks.

The U.S. Defense Department decided to halt some shipments to Ukraine after a review found American military stockpiles to be low, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement emailed to U.S. media outlets.

“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,” she said.

The decision was signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a senior White House official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to talk about an internal decision. Some weaponry will continue to be supplied to Ukraine, the official said, declining to elaborate on which weapons had been halted.

Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell told reporters Wednesday that the Pentagon is conducting an “ongoing” review and that no final decision to withhold munitions has been made. Parnell stopped short of saying which munitions were under consideration, but noted that the review encompasses military aid provided to countries beyond Ukraine and must be aligned with Trump’s “America First” agenda.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said it had “not received any official notifications” about the “suspension or revision of the delivery schedules” for U.S. military assistance and had requested a phone conversation “to further clarify the details.”

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said in a statement that there were “reports of delays in the delivery” of “certain elements” of military aid packages.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry summoned the top official at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and said afterward that “any delay or slowing down in supporting Ukraine’s defense capabilities would only encourage the aggressor to continue war and terror, rather than seek peace.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that Kyiv and Washington were “now clarifying all the details regarding the supply of defense support, including air defense components.” He added that “one way or another, we must ensure protection for our people.”

Russia, for its part, welcomed the news about a suspension in weapons deliveries. “The less weapons are supplied to Ukraine, the closer the end of the special military operation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has launched a summer offensive against Ukraine, especially in the eastern region.

President Donald Trump recently indicated he might supply Ukraine with Patriot missiles, a system that the Ukrainians need to repel Russian ballistic missile attacks.

After U.S. airstrikes on Iran last month, some European officials expressed concern that Washington might decide to divert air defenses planned for Ukraine to the Middle East.

U.S. officials have stressed that arms shipments to Ukraine are contingent on maintaining a balance with strategic reserves of certain weapons needed for global operations.

Tehran’s retaliatory attack on a U.S. base in Qatar last month, for instance, prompted the largest single engagement of Patriot air defense missiles in U.S. history, the Pentagon said. The sophisticated system, which has been provided to Ukraine, costs more than $1 billion, and some versions of the interceptor missiles cost nearly $4 million apiece.

“The truth of the matter is, we use munitions faster than we can make them,” a U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing evaluations.

Democratic lawmakers blasted the move, saying Congress was not consulted and there was no explanation of what trade-offs were considered.

“Cutting off promised support to Ukraine harms U.S. national security and only benefits [Russian President] Vladimir Putin,” Rep. Adam Smith (Washington), the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.

Russia has launched massive waves of drones and missiles against Ukraine in the past few weeks - attacks that are increasing in intensity. In June alone, Russia sent more than 5,000 self-detonating drones crashing into Ukrainian cities, causing substantial civilian casualties.

On Sunday, Ukrainian officials said, Russian forces pounded Ukraine in the largest air assault of the war, firing 537 drones and missiles at locations across the country.

Ukraine has been pushing repeatedly in international forums for increased air defense capabilities to defend itself against the onslaught. At a NATO summit last week, Trump met with Zelensky on the sidelines and said Washington could try to find more air defenses for Kyiv.

“They do want to have the antimissile missiles. Okay. As they call them. The Patriots. And we’re going to see if we can make some available. Yeah, they’re very hard to get. We need them, too,” Trump said during a news conference.

Trump’s administration appears divided on the issue of the war, with some members pushing for closer relations, especially commercial, with Russia, while others have seen Ukraine as the victim of foreign aggression.

Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, accused Russia on Monday of stalling in peace negotiations while it continues to conquer Ukrainian territory.

“We urge an immediate ceasefire and a move to trilateral talks to end the war. Russia cannot continue to stall for time while it bombs civilian targets in Ukraine,” he said.

Lesia Orobets, the founder of Price of Freedom, an advocacy group that supports the Ukrainian air force and works with the Defense Ministry, said it was unclear “whether this reflects a Trump policy.”

“Is it … an attempt to pressure Ukraine, an attempt to pressure Europe? Or are we talking about an administrative delay?” she said, describing the Patriot systems as irreplaceable and vital to countering the threat of Russia’s ballistic missiles.

“There is simply no alternative in the world to the American Patriot system in terms of both quality and quantity. There are no substitutes,” she said. “So this kind of disruption in supplies not only hits Ukraine’s skies - it also undermines global confidence in American weapons.”

Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at the government-linked Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Studies, said the “repositioning of the U.S. role in the war has already happened,” as Trump “inherited $4 billion from [President Joe Biden]” in Ukrainian military aid “and did nothing in almost the last six months.”

The loss of air defense systems like the Patriot would “negatively affect” Ukraine’s air antimissile defense, he said, “especially in the antiballistic-missile segment as Russia has increased production of short-range ballistic missiles and imported them from North Korea.”

“In general, such an action of the Trump administration, if it indeed happened, would be counterproductive in terms of quick peace settlement,” he said. “For Russia, there would be even less incentive to negotiate earnestly.”

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Lizzie Johnson in Kyiv, Ellen Francis in Brussels and Michael Birnbaum in Washington contributed to this report.