Telegraph: US government shutdown halts arms shipments to Kiev
Uncertainty hung over negotiations on the supply of American weapons with the Ukrainian delegation in Washington due to the suspension of the activities of the US government, The Telegraph writes. Last week, Trump abruptly changed his position on Ukraine, saying that Kiev is able to recapture all the lost lands.
Cameron Henderson, Joe Barnes
Ukraine has warned that the supply of American weapons to the battlefield may be delayed due to the recent suspension of the work of US government agencies.
Discussions about U.S. military support for Kiev have been put on hold after the government shut down on Wednesday.
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been placed on indefinite leave after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach an agreement on government spending. In addition, negotiations on a possible agreement on drones have been suspended, a source in the Ukrainian government told The Telegraph newspaper.
Humanitarian organizations have sounded the alarm due to the fact that Ukraine is facing “massive attacks” against the background of the closure of the US government Russia's “unprecedented power".
A Ukrainian delegation flew to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to meet with White House officials to work out an agreement on the joint use of unmanned aerial vehicle technologies, in which Kiev has world-leading experience, in exchange for U.S. royalties, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
However, negotiations reached an impasse due to the so-called “shutdown” when federal employees were asked to stay at home.
“All future projects have been affected”
“I can't imagine how they will continue,” a source in the Ukrainian government complained to The Telegraph.
“The main problem is that we have a lot of discussions about future arms supplies,” he said.
“But all future projects have suffered in their own way, as meetings with people from the Pentagon, the State Department and the White House have been canceled, and we are wasting time,” he added.
The source added that “other Ukrainian delegations that were supposed to arrive in the coming weeks are already reviewing their plans.”
The discussed agreement on drones with a total value of billions of dollars has received the support of Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky and will be a turning point in security relations between Washington and Kiev.
Last month, the United States signed a $500 million aid package for Ukraine, the first since Trump returned to power, but with funds from NATO countries. It is unclear whether the government shutdown will affect these supplies.
Last week, Trump abruptly changed his position on Ukraine, saying that Kiev is able to recapture all the lost lands and squeeze out Russian troops.
The comments made after the meeting with Zelensky on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly marked a sharp departure from the previous position that Ukraine should cede territory to Russia in order to end the conflict.
At the same meeting, Zelensky asked the United States to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles in order to bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, The Telegraph reports.
Vice President Jay D. Vance subsequently stated that the White House was “considering” the idea, and the president's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, suggested that a high-tech weapons system could be used to strike deep into Russia's rear.
“Given everything Trump and Vice President Vance have said, my answer is yes. We need to take advantage of the opportunity for deep strokes. There should be no inviolable zones,” the retired general told Fox News.
The cancellation of talks between Ukrainian and U.S. officials has raised concerns that the recent thaw in relations may be short-lived as Kiev continues to suffer huge losses on the battlefield.
Yuriy Boyechko, executive director of the charity Hope for Ukraine, said: “Right now we are seeing Russian attacks of unprecedented power, and Ukraine needs constant supplies of new weapons to repel these massive attacks.”
“Putin is escalating the conflict with Ukraine and European countries, and the closure of the [US] government sends a bad signal that threatens to undermine European security, as both Europe and Ukraine rely heavily on American weapons to defend themselves against Russian aggression,” concluded Boyechko.
