Pentagon suspended arms supplies to Ukraine without White House knowledge: details

US Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth did not inform the White House before sanctioning the suspension of arms supplies to Ukraine last week. This is reported by UNN with reference to CNN.

Details

According to journalists, this episode highlights the often unsystematic policymaking process in the Trump administration, especially under Hegseth's leadership at the Pentagon. It is noted that Hegseth decided to stop the flow of American weapons to Ukraine for the second time this year, which caught high-ranking national security officials by surprise.

The first time the supply of weapons to Ukraine was stopped was in February 2025, but then this decision was quickly canceled, journalists report.

When asked whether Hegseth informed the White House before approving the pause in supplies, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the Pentagon conducted a review "to ensure that all support provided to all foreign states is in America's interest." She added that Trump "made the decision to continue providing defensive weapons to Ukraine to help stop the killings in this brutal war, which the Pentagon says they are actively working on."

She also added that "the President has full confidence in the Secretary of Defense."

Recall

The Pentagon confirmed the sending of additional defensive weapons to Ukraine at the direction of US President Donald Trump. Before that, the White House stated that the US was stopping the supply of some types of weapons to Ukraine due to low levels of its own military stocks.

UNN also reported that Donald Trump told Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he did not stop arms supplies to Ukraine, but only ordered a review of Pentagon stocks.

At the same time, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce stated that the US will continue to supply weapons to Ukraine.