Date: 2025-08-22 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00028803
RUSSIAN AGGRESSION IN UKRAINE
ANOTHER US MISTAKE
Ukraine says it was not told U.S. halting military aid, as Russia intensifies attack
ANOTHER US MISTAKE
Ukraine says it was not told U.S. halting military aid, as Russia intensifies attack
A fire after a Russian strike on Kyiv on June 23. (AP)
Original article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/07/02/us-ukraine-weapons-halted-air-defense/
Russia, which has been sending massive waves of drones and missiles against Ukraine, said the U.S. move would help end the war early.
Written by David L. Stern
David L. Stern has worked for news outlets in Russia, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East and Central Asia. He has lived in Ukraine since 2009, covering the 2014 Maidan revolution, war in the country’s east and now Russia’s 2022 invasion.follow on X@loydstern
July 2, 2025 at 8:28 a.m. EDT
KYIV — Ukrainian officials scrambled to clarify the situation Wednesday after the United States announced that it was halting deliveries of air defense munitions to Ukraine — weapons that Ukraine desperately needs as Russia pummels the country with unprecedented waves of aerial attacks.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said that it had “not received any official notifications” about the “suspension or revision of the delivery schedules” for U.S. military assistance and had requested a phone conversation “to further clarify the details,” the statement said.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said in a statement there were “reports of delays in the delivery” of “certain elements” of military aid packages.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry summoned the top official at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and said afterward that “any delay or slowing down in supporting Ukraine’s defense capabilities would only encourage the aggressor to continue war and terror, rather than seek peace.”
Russia, for its part, welcomed the news about a suspension in weapons deliveries. “The less weapons are supplied to Ukraine the closer the end of the special military operation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. Defense Department decided to halt some shipments to Ukraine after a review found American military stockpiles to be low, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement emailed to U.S. media outlets.
“This decision was made to put America’s interests first following a review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe,” she said.
The announcement comes as Russia has launched a summer offensive into Ukraine, especially in the eastern region.
President Donald Trump recently indicated he might supply Ukraine with Patriot missiles, a system that the Ukrainians need to repel Russian ballistic missile attacks.
American officials did not specify which weapons were being halted, but news reports indicated that they could include air defense systems, which had been allocated to Ukraine by the previous Biden administration.
After the U.S. struck Iran, some European officials expressed concern that Washington may decide to divert air defenses planned for Ukraine to the Middle East.
Russia has launched massive waves of drones and missiles against Ukraine in the last few weeks — attacks that are increasing in intensity. In June alone, Russia sent more than 5,000 self-detonating drones crashing into Ukrainian cities, with substantial civilian casualties.
On Sunday, Ukrainian officials said Russian forces pounded Ukraine in the largest air assault ofnthe war, firing 537 drones and missiles at locations across the country.
Ukraine has been pushing repeatedly in international forums for increased air defense capabilities to defend itself against the onslaught. At a NATO summit last week, Trump met with Zelensky on the sidelines and said Washington could try to find more air defense for Kyiv.
“They do want to have the antimissile missiles. Okay. As they call them. The Patriots. And, we’re going to see if we can make some available. Yeah, they’re very hard to get. We need them, too,” Trump said during a news conference.
Trump’s administration appears divided on the issue of the war, with some members pushing for closer relations, especially commercial, with Russia, while others have seen Ukraine as the victim of foreign aggression.
Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, accused Russia on Monday of stalling in the negotiations while it continues to conquer Ukrainian territory.
“We urge an immediate ceasefire and a move to trilateral talks to end the war. Russia cannot continue to stall for time while it bombs civilian targets in Ukraine,” he said.
Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at the government-linked Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Studies, emphasized what weapons have actually been halted — if any — is still not known.
But he also said that the “repositioning of the U.S. role in the war has already happened,” as Trump “inherited $4 billion from Biden” in Ukrainian military aid “and did nothing in almost the last six months.”
The loss of air defense systems like the Patriot would “negatively affect” Ukraine’s air missile defense, he said, “especially in anti-ballistic missile segment as Russia has increased production of short-range ballistic missiles and imported them from North Korea.”
“In general, such an action of the Trump administration, if it indeed happened, would be counterproductive in terms of quick peace settlement,” he said. “For Russia there would be even less incentive to negotiate earnestly.”
Serhiy Morgunov and Lizzie Johnson in Kyiv and Ellen Francis in Brussels contributed to this report.
What readers are saying
The comments overwhelmingly criticize the U.S. decision to halt air defense aid to Ukraine, attributing it to President Trump's alleged alignment with Russian interests. Many commenters express concern that this decision undermines Ukraine's defense against Russian aggression and question the moral and strategic implications for the U.S. Some suggest that the decision is politically motivated, potentially to appease Russia, and fear it could lead to further destabilization in Europe. There is a strong sentiment that this move betrays an ally and damages U.S. credibility on the global stage.
By David L. Stern
David L. Stern has worked for news outlets in Russia, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East and Central Asia. He has lived in Ukraine since 2009, covering the 2014 Maidan revolution, war in the country’s east and now Russia’s 2022 invasion.follow on X@loydstern
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
I am not impressed by Trump and the choices he seems to be making as President of the United States for the second time.
The Soviet Union ... and now Russia ... have had an adversarial relationship with the 'West' for a long time ... around a century!
Stalin's Soviet Union was allied with the UK and the USA during WWII against the 'Axis Powers'. Stalin was able to take advantage of Roosevelt (USA) and Vhurchill (UK) toeards the end of the war at a conference in Yalta that set the stage for the multi decade 'cold war' that is ongoing and now with Putin in charge.
I have never known enough of history and contemporary tensions to be able to understand what issues are driving decisions that determine how the present moves into the future. There is 'logic' but it is not easy to discrent and describe.
What is clear is that 'possibilities' in the modern world are far 'better' than they have been in the past even though the accomplishments are far below the optimum.
Sadly ... the trend seems to be for results to be increasingly worse for society rather than better!
We should be able to do better ... but I am not optimistic!
The United States has been the wealthiest country on planet earth since World War II ... but maybe not the nicest!
I have the impression that Donald Trump has become a greedy old man and powerful and dangerous.
I was born in 1940 in England in the early days of WWII. I do not regard myself as an expert on history, but I seem to know a lot more about ineternation affaiors, economics, society, technology, etc. than most of the general public and especially the general public in the United States!
I am disappointed that the amazing progress in 'technology' has not be deployed very effectively to improve the quality of life of people in general. Rather, things have been structured in such a way that more and more of 'wealth' ... whatever that is ... has been concentrated into the hands of a fortunate few.
Donald Trump has amazing power but very limited judgement. My expectation is that Trump and the United States that has 'played' the rest of the world for 'suckers' will lose modt of its influence. The 'wealth dominance' that the USA has experienced over the past 80 years since the end of WWII will get replaced by a better global economic order that is significantly better.
A well known US investor in the 1990s made headlines with his remark that 'Greed is Good' ... but several decades later, it should be apparent that it is only good for some and very bad for others. The damage done by 'greed' duing these several decades is huge and needs to be resolved constructively.
Peter Burgess