The suspension of military aid to Ukraine was a unilateral step by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, citing three congressional aides and a former US official familiar with the matter, NBC News reports, writes UNN.
Details
"The Department of Defense (US) this week delayed the delivery of American weapons to Ukraine due to, according to officials, concerns about its low stockpiles. But an analysis by senior military officers showed that the aid package would not jeopardize the American military's own ammunition supplies, according to three US officials," the publication states.
The move to halt arms supplies, as the publication writes, "surprised the State Department, members of Congress, officials in Kyiv, and European allies," as reported by numerous sources familiar with the matter.
Among the critics of this decision were Republicans and Democrats who support aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
"We are not at some lower point, in terms of stockpiles, than we were during 3.5 years of conflict in Ukraine," Democratic House Representative Adam Smith, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, told NBC News.
Smith said his staff "saw the numbers" and, without going into detail, that there were no signs of shortages that would justify suspending aid to Ukraine.
The suspension of military aid to Ukraine was a unilateral step by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, according to three congressional aides and a former US official familiar with the matter. This was the third time Hegseth had unilaterally suspended aid to Ukraine, sources said. In the two previous instances, in February and May, his actions were reversed within days
"A senior Pentagon official, Elbridge Colby, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (US) for Policy, supported these steps," sources said. Colby has long advocated for reducing US involvement in Ukraine and shifting weapons and resources to the Pacific region to counter China, the publication notes.
According to congressional aides, lawmakers from both parties were frustrated that they were not notified in advance and were checking whether the delayed delivery violated legislation mandating security assistance to Ukraine. These lawmakers and some European allies tried to determine why the Pentagon ordered the suspension and strongly tried to reverse it.
The White House defended the decision, stating that it followed an ongoing Department of Defense review of US aid to allies and partners abroad, which began last month.
The review began after Hegseth issued a memo ordering the Pentagon's Joint Staff to review all ammunition stockpiles. According to three officials familiar with the matter, the assessment found that some precision ammunition stockpiles were at lower levels but had not yet exceeded critical minimums.
"The Joint Staff concluded that providing further aid to Ukraine would not reduce US stockpiles below the necessary threshold required to ensure military readiness," officials said.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell called the assessment a "capabilities review" at a briefing on Wednesday.
"We can't give weapons to everyone around the world," Parnell said. "Part of our job is to provide the president with a system he can use to assess the amount of ammunition we have where we send it. And that review process is happening right now and is ongoing."
"In Poland and other European countries, some American weapons had already been loaded onto trucks, ready for delivery to Kyiv. (...) Then military officers and officials managing the cargo received a message that the delivery was canceled," two sources familiar with the matter said.
The arms delivery was approved during the Biden administration, three US officials said. Some of the weapons were withdrawn from US stockpiles, and the Pentagon received funds to replenish them. Other ammunition falls under a program that provides funds to purchase new weapons for Ukraine from American defense companies, officials said. These weapons are not taken from American supplies, the publication writes.
US did not stop military aid to Ukraine - Trump04.07.25, 02:41 • [views_197414]