Washington: The United States has paused certain weapons deliveries to Ukraine, the White House confirmed, following a Department of Defence review of US global military assistance. The move comes as Russia ramps up its offensive, launching one of the largest aerial attacks on Ukraine since the war began.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said the decision was made to put America’s interests first as Washington reassesses its defence commitments and resource allocations. While specific details were not disclosed, air defence missiles and precision-guided munitions are reportedly among the shipments now on hold.
The US has provided Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in military support since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. However, concerns have grown within the Trump administration over declining US weapons stockpiles.
Elbridge Colby, US Undersecretary of Defence for Policy, stressed that the Pentagon is still offering robust options to continue assisting Ukraine. Colby stated that, “At the same time, the Department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving US forces’ readiness for Administration defence priorities.”
An US official conveyed that the decision was based on growing concerns that American military stockpiles are becoming too depleted. Kelly added that, “The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned, just ask Iran,” referring to recent US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
The suspension comes days after US President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit in the Netherlands. Asked whether additional Patriot systems could be made available to Ukraine, Trump said officials are going to see if we can make some of them available. He described the meeting as cordial, despite earlier tensions between the two leaders.
In March, Trump had frozen military aid approved by the Biden administration and temporarily paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv. Both measures were later lifted. More recently, a US-Ukraine agreement signed in April granted Washington access to Ukraine’s mineral reserves in exchange for continued military support.
The Ukrainian government has yet to comment on the latest development. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron held a rare phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, their first in over two years.
Macron called for an immediate ceasefire, while Putin blamed the West for escalating the conflict, accusing NATO countries of turning Ukraine into an anti-Russian bridgehead. The shift in US posture comes as Russia intensifies its military campaign. Over the weekend, Moscow launched more than 500 drones and missiles in one of the largest coordinated attacks since 2022.
Three people were killed in a Ukrainian strike on a Russian factory in Izhevsk, over 1,000 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. Russia currently occupies about 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.
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