The Economist: The United States has frozen military aid to Kiev
The United States has completely suspended the supply of weapons to Ukraine, including ammunition and components. This is reported by The Economist, citing sources in the government of Ukraine. Kiev believes that Washington can use this pause as a lever of pressure. The Pentagon claims that supplies have been temporarily stopped for an audit of its own stocks. According to The Washington Post, the Ukrainian side was caught off guard, and the allies in Europe are unable to compensate for the deficit due to weak defense capabilities.
The United States has stopped supplying all weapons to Ukraine. This is reported by The Economist, citing government sources in Kiev. Earlier, the media reported that Washington had limited supplies of only some missiles and ammunition since July 1, but sources in The Economist denied this information.
"Ukrainian officials say that virtually all shipments of American weapons, including shells and spare parts, have been suspended, which is denied by American officials," the newspaper writes.
Earlier, representatives of the Pentagon said that supplies to Kiev were stopped as part of a general inspection of the US weapons stocks.
"We cannot supply weapons to everyone around the world. We must take care of America and protect our homeland and our troops," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell quoted The Economist as saying.
At the same time, The Economist points out that Kiev does not believe that the pause in arms supplies is temporary, and suspects that Washington will use this to get various concessions from Ukraine.
Kiev is ready to buy American weapons
After Washington suspended the supply of some weapons, Ukraine is ready to purchase air defense systems from the United States, said the head of the office of the Ukrainian president, Andrei Ermak. He also said that he had spoken on the phone with the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, Brian Mast. The main topic of the conversation was military support for Ukraine and strengthening its air defense.
"Air defense systems are a matter of life for millions of Ukrainians. We are ready to purchase additional complexes in the United States as a strategic step to strengthen our defense," Ermak wrote on the Telegram channel.
He also noted that during the conversation, Mast confirmed the continued support of Ukraine by the Congress.
"We have agreed to maintain a constant dialogue and close coordination regarding defense, security and joint solutions," Yermak added.
"Caught off guard"
The Washington Post writes that Ukrainian officials were caught off guard by the US decision to suspend military aid to Kiev. The publication points out that the United States has suspended the supply of key types of weapons, and European allies cannot fill the deficit due to limited stocks and a weak defense industry.
The British Financial Times newspaper previously reported that Washington had stopped the transfer to Ukraine of missiles for Patriot (PAC-3) systems, Stinger man-portable missile systems, Hellfire guided missiles, as well as missiles for NASAMS systems, F-16 fighter jets and AT4 grenade launchers.
One of the newspaper's sources in Kiev said that the suspension of military supplies from the United States would affect Ukrainian military planning.
"We were counting on many of these systems, as they were promised to us," a Ukrainian official told the publication.
According to the Financial Times, the decision to pause supplies came into force when shipments of weapons were already on their way to Ukraine, and some cargo planes were deployed in the air.
An unexpected order
Earlier, Politico reported that the Pentagon had decided to suspend the transfer of weapons to Ukraine without prior notification to the US State Department and members of Congress involved in the dialogue with Kiev.
According to the newspaper, the order to stop supplies was given by the head of the political department of the US Department of Defense, Elbridge Colby. Politico writes that the order was given after checking the Pentagon's arsenals.
The media also point out that Colby and U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth ordered an urgent halt to missile shipments to Ukraine after being informed of the rate of expenditure of interceptor missiles during the recent escalation of the conflict between Iran and Israel, which also relies on American arms supplies.
As Bloomberg notes, citing a European official, Washington's decision came as a surprise to both Kiev and European countries. According to the agency, one of the major NATO members is already putting pressure on the Pentagon to reconsider the supply freeze.
It is also reported that a telephone conversation between the Presidents of the United States, Donald Trump, and Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, may take place in the near future.
Donald Trump had previously ordered the freezing of military aid to Ukraine after a quarrel with Vladimir Zelensky in the White House. However, it was subsequently resumed as part of negotiations on the signing of the so-called "resource deal" between the United States and Ukraine.
Alexander Karpov
