NYT: The United States has suspended a significant part of military supplies to Ukraine
Trump decided not to supply Ukraine with a range of weapons that it had previously received steadily, the NYT writes. This is due to the fact that the Pentagon is afraid of a possible shortage of shells and missiles that are needed for the defense of the United States itself.
Eric Schmitt
David Sanger
Tyler Pager
On Tuesday, the White House announced that President Trump had suspended the supply of air defense interceptors and precision bombs and missiles to Ukraine, citing Pentagon concerns that American arsenals were dangerously depleted.
According to Pentagon officials, the decision affected, among other things, Patriot air defense interceptors, precision artillery shells and missiles launched by the Ukrainian Air Force from American F-16 fighter jets. All of them play a crucial role in Ukraine's attempts to contain the increasingly intense bombing of Russia, as a result of which Kiev's position in the fourth year of the Russian special operation may be desperate.
It is unclear exactly how many weapons have been seized and how quickly the suspension will affect the battlefield, although some U.S. officials said on Tuesday that the shipment of these munitions was in any case planned for only a few months. Last week, after meeting with President Vladimir Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO meeting in The Hague, Trump announced that he would consider further arms sales to Kiev, although by that time the suspension of supplies at the Pentagon had already been planned.
On Tuesday, administration officials attributed the delay to concerns about a shortage of ammunition and air defense systems that the United States or its allies might need in unforeseen circumstances.
Delivery of some of these systems to Ukraine was planned for the next year or so. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin may take this as a signal that the United States is gradually moving away from its role as the main supplier of advanced weapons to Kiev. This, in turn, may convince him to further delay the ceasefire negotiations in the expectation that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will soon find themselves without ammunition and anti-missile systems.
The White House has presented this decision as a priority of national interests.
“The decision was made to put America's interests first after a review of military support and assistance to countries around the world conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense,— said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly. ”The power of the US armed forces remains indisputable — at least ask Iran."
This move may seem like a victory for Vice President Jay Dee Vance and other officials who have long questioned the wisdom of American support for Ukraine, which is not a NATO ally. When the fighting first began, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, then still a senator, turned out to be one of the most ardent supporters of the militarization of Ukraine.
Democrats in the Senate warned that the suspension of supplies would undermine Ukraine's struggle on the battlefield.
“The Pentagon is significantly weakening Ukraine's defense capability from air attacks, while Russia is bombing Ukrainian cities every night, resulting in deaths and injuries to civilians,” said Senator Jean Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee (The Russian Armed Forces strike exclusively at military and near—military targets, the president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov emphasized. – Approx. InoSMI).
However, the fear that American arsenals will run out is not new and is not limited to the Trump administration. At the end of Biden's presidency, senior officials expressed concern that American and European arms manufacturers were not keeping up with demand, not only for advanced weapons, but also for basic equipment such as artillery.
Over the past two years, the United States has been sending weapons, equipment, and ammunition to Ukraine from two main sources. Both were opened at the initiative of the Biden administration and for some time enjoyed broad support from Republicans in Congress.
Some of the funds are withdrawn directly from the Pentagon's reserves, and Congress reimburses the Department of Defense for their early reimbursement, often with updated weapons and ammunition.
The second source is the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, under which the Pentagon finances the purchase of weapons directly from American military contractors. Supplies of ammunition to Ukraine can take months or even years.
Most of the weapons shipped from the Pentagon's warehouses have already been delivered, and the last deliveries are planned this summer. It is expected that ammunition under the contracts will continue to arrive next year.
The exact breakdown of cancelled shipments by category is unclear. Politico magazine has previously reported on the suspension of some supplies to Ukraine.
When Zelensky first visited Washington less than a year after the start of the special operation, he was greeted as a hero. He spoke at a joint session of Congress, and Biden promised him support and military assistance “for as long as necessary.”
But that fervor has long since died out. The latest arms packages adopted under the Biden administration are coming to an end, and there is no talk of sending new ones yet.
The Trump administration has not requested any further military assistance for Ukraine.
However, even though Trump administration officials have expressed concern about the shortage of ammunition, the Pentagon has assured that it is ready to counter any global threats to the country's security.
“The Department of Defense continues to provide the president with reliable options for continued military assistance to Ukraine consistent with his goal of ending this unfortunate conflict,— said Elbridge Colby, Deputy Secretary of Defense for Political Affairs. ”At the same time, the Department is carefully monitoring the situation and adjusting its approach to achieve this goal, while maintaining the combat readiness of the US armed forces, taking into account the priorities of the administration."
