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The United States halted all shipments of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine, including shells and spare parts, The Economist reported on July 2, citing Ukrainian officials.
The officials who spoke to the British news journal linked Washington’s actions with an “effort by the Trump administration to squeeze political concessions out of Ukraine, as it did in early March when it briefly stopped arms deliveries and intelligence co-operation after an infamous televised bust-up” between U.S. President Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky.
The sudden pause in military supplies was first reported by The New York Times a few days earlier. The American publication said that the supplies of Patriot air defenses interceptors, GMLRS precision-guided rockets for HIMARS launchers, Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, Stinger man-portable air defense systems, and a number of other munitions were halted.
The U.S. has already denied any attempt to pressure the Kiev regime as well as the complete halt on military supplies to Ukraine.
Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell, said that the deliveries were still ongoing, without providing further details. Meanwhile, the Pentagon said that the partial pause was intended to preserve the U.S. “military readiness and defense priorities.”
Still, the pause led to worries in Kiev. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on July 2 that it had summoned U.S. Charge d’Affaires John Ginkel after it was made known that Washington suspended deliveries of some weapons, including Patriot interceptors.
“The key topic of the conversation with the U.S. diplomat was U.S. military assistance and defense cooperation between the two countries,” the ministry said in a statement. “The Ukrainian side stressed that any delay or procrastination in supporting Ukraine’s defense capabilities will only provoke … to continue war, rather than seek peace.”
Commenting on the issue, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on the same day reduction or suspension of Western arms supplies to Ukraine will bring about the end of the conflict.
“As far as we understand, the reasons behind this move were empty warehouses, as well as a lack of arms in these warehouses. But in any case, the fewer arms supplied to Ukraine, the closer the end of the special military operation will be,” TASS quotes Peskov as saying.
The U.S. remains the main sponsor of the Kiev regime. By last December, Washington had already allocated $182.8 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine, with most of the aid going to military supplies. This support is critical for the survival of the regime.
Despite all justifications, the recent pause in military supplies does indicate that the Trump administration is not very satisfied with the Kiev regime. Ukraine has been stalling peace efforts, led by the U.S., for the last few months, all while suffering one defeat after another on the battlefield.
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