Date: 2025-08-21 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00028807
UKRAINE WAR
US SUPPORT BEING LIMITED
U.S. pauses some Ukraine weapons shipments; Kyiv scrambles to respond
US SUPPORT BEING LIMITED
U.S. pauses some Ukraine weapons shipments; Kyiv scrambles to respond
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, Serhiy Morgunov and Alex Horton
July 2, 2025 at 6:03 p.m. EDT
KYIV — Ukrainian officials scrambled to clarify Washington’s intentions Wednesday after the United States announced it was halting deliveries of air defense munitions to Ukraine — weapons the country desperately needs as Russia pummels it with unprecedented waves of aerial attacks.
The U.S. Defense Department decided to halt some shipments to Ukraine after a review found American military stockpiles to be low, White House spokeswoman 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 decision was signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a senior White House official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to talk about an internal decision. Some weaponry will continue to be supplied to Ukraine, the official said, declining to elaborate on which weapons had been halted.
Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell told reporters Wednesday that the Pentagon is conducting an “ongoing” review and that no final decision to withhold munitions has been made. Parnell stopped short of saying which munitions were under consideration, but noted that the review encompasses military aid provided to countries beyond Ukraine and must be aligned with Trump’s “America First” agenda.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said 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.”
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said in a statement that 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.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that Kyiv and Washington were “now clarifying all the details regarding the supply of defense support, including air defense components.” He added that “one way or another, we must ensure protection for our people.”
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.
Russia has launched a summer offensive against 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.
After U.S. airstrikes on Iran last month, some European officials expressed concern that Washington might decide to divert air defenses planned for Ukraine to the Middle East.
U.S. officials have stressed that arms shipments to Ukraine are contingent on maintaining a balance with strategic reserves of certain weapons needed for global operations.
Tehran’s retaliatory attack on a U.S. base in Qatar last month, for instance, prompted the largest single engagement of Patriot air defense missiles in U.S. history, the Pentagon said. The sophisticated system, which has been provided to Ukraine, costs more than $1 billion, and some versions of the interceptor missiles cost nearly $4 million apiece.
“The truth of the matter is, we use munitions faster than we can make them,” a U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing evaluations.
Democratic lawmakers blasted the move, saying Congress was not consulted and there was no explanation of what trade-offs were considered.
“Cutting off promised support to Ukraine harms U.S. national security and only benefits [Russian President] Vladimir Putin,” Rep. Adam Smith (Washington), the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.
Russia has launched massive waves of drones and missiles against Ukraine in the past few weeks — attacks that are increasing in intensity. In June alone, Russia sent more than 5,000 self-detonating drones crashing into Ukrainian cities, causing substantial civilian casualties.
On Sunday, Ukrainian officials said, Russian forces pounded Ukraine in the largest air assault of the 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 defenses 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 peace 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.
Lesia Orobets, the founder of Price of Freedom, an advocacy group that supports the Ukrainian air force and works with the Defense Ministry, said it was unclear “whether this reflects a Trump policy.”
“Is it … an attempt to pressure Ukraine, an attempt to pressure Europe? Or are we talking about an administrative delay?” she said, describing the Patriot systems as irreplaceable and vital to countering the threat of Russia’s ballistic missiles.
“There is simply no alternative in the world to the American Patriot system in terms of both quality and quantity. There are no substitutes,” she said. “So this kind of disruption in supplies not only hits Ukraine’s skies — it also undermines global confidence in American weapons.”
Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at the government-linked Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Studies, said the “repositioning of the U.S. role in the war has already happened,” as Trump “inherited $4 billion from [President Joe 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 antimissile defense, he said, “especially in the antiballistic-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.”
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
I am angry ... my blood is boiling.
I am 85 years old. I was born in the UK in 1940 soon after the start of the Second World War (WWII). Nazi Germany had already defeated most of Continental Europe and the Battle of Britain was ramping up. Prime Minister Winston Churchill was doing all he could to keep the British motivated to fight in the face of Germany's onslought. The British had had to retreat from France via Dunkirk. The British retreat from France via Dunkirk was something of a miracle but now mostly forgotten. Almost every small boat in Britain ... certainly the South of England ... went to the coast of France to help evacuate the retreating British Expeditionary Force that was encircled on the beaches of Dunkirk near Calais.
At the time of Dunkirk, the Americans were promoiting an end to the war with Britian ceding defeat to Nazi Germany. Churchill and the British people had other ideas ... and Churchill persuaded President Roosevelt to support Britian with the massive supply of munitions and military equipment. Britain paid a high price for American military equipment and supplies hroughout the war ... but by 1945 the allies had won in Europe and defeated the Nazis as well as the 'Axis' powers and Japan in the Pacific theatre.
The Americans stayed out of the war until December 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour in Hawaii forcing the USA to join the war.
By that time the 'Battle of Britian' had already been fought and won and many many countries within the British Empire around the world were fully mobilised against the Germans and the 'Axis' powers.
From the NEW YORK TIMES in 1999Though Great Britain was on the winning side of WWII ... Britain was in many ways a loser. The British economy was seriously 'run-down' at the end of the war and British finances had been seriously depleted. The substantial gold reserves that were in the Bank of England at the start of the war in 1939 were in Fort Knox uner the control of the US Federal Reserve (The US Central Bank!) by the end of the war ... and the British had also run up huge 'lend-lease' debts to pay for military supplies manufactured in the United States and shipped to the Britich for the war effort.
BEST ESCAPE ... The End Was Near ... How the Axis self-destructed.
Written by DAVID FROMKIN
David Fromkin is the author of 'The Way of the World,' a brief world history.
Hitler's betrayal of Stalin brought the Soviets to the Allies -- and proved fatal for the Axis powers.
For much of the millennium, if one place or people came to a bad end, it would not necessarily affect others: the regions of the world lived separate lives. By the 20th century, however, the world had become one. Thus, the clouds of totalitarianism that formed over Europe in the 1920's and 1930's cast their shadow over the entire planet. By 1941, when almost every country in Europe was ruled by a dictator of one sort or another, it was questionable whether freedom had a future.
Worse was to come. Three powerful military machines -- those of Nazi Germany, imperial Japan and the Soviet Union -- formed a fearsome alliance, whose combined might was overwhelming. At the time, there were estimated to be perhaps three million troops in the German Army -- and 174,000 in the American. The qualitative difference in military forces was even more stark, as was demonstrated in June 1940, when Germany tore France to shreds in a matter of weeks.
The dictators embarked on campaigns of aggression that seemed certain to win them mastery of the world. They held sway over much of Eurasia; even in the Western Hemisphere, German agents were at work, turning Latin America against the resented Yankees.
Britain was beleaguered. The United States refused to be drawn into the fighting. Moreover, an alliance with Britain, even if possible, would have been no match for a Eurasia led by Stalin, Hitler and Hirohito, with their legions commanded by such generals of genius as Rommel and Guderian. It was a fateful moment: the lords of evil were about to make the world part slave colony and part death camp.
Then, in the early summer of 1941, Hitler betrayed Stalin by invading Russia, forcing the Soviet Union to change sides and ally itself with Britain and, later, America. Why did Hitler do it? Because conquering Slavic Europe had been central to his racist program all along. The alliance with Stalin had served a tactical purpose in the 1939-1940 campaigns in Eastern Europe, but now could be discarded. Besides, Hitler believed the Soviet Union was feeble. 'We have only to kick in the door,' Hitler told one of his generals, 'and the whole rotten structure will come tumbling down.'
What came tumbling down instead were the Axis powers. With Russia among the Allies, the military odds were evened; the democracies seized their chance, and mankind made its narrow escape from global darkness.
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/millennium/m1/fromkin.html
The British Royal Navy and Merchant Merine shipped huge quantities of military supplies from the United States to Britian during the war as well as well as military supplies sent to the Soviet Union after Germany attacked Stalin's Russia in 1941.
I said at the beginning that I am angry ... mad as hell. Most Americans have a very poor education and a limited knowledge of their history ... including quite recent history. And some Americans, many of who are Trump supporters, want their country to go backwards. With Trump's assistance, it probably will!
Peter Burgess
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 the belief that Trump is acting under the influence of Putin, compromising U.S.... Show more
This summary is AI-generated. AI can make mistakes and this summary is not a replacement for reading the comments.
Written by:
- 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
- By Serhiy Morgunov ... Serhiy Morgunov is a researcher and visual journalist in The Washington Post's Ukraine bureau. He reports from across the country, documenting the war in Ukraine.
- By Alex Horton ...Alex Horton is a national security reporter for The Washington Post focused on the U.S. military. He served in Iraq as an Army infantryman. Send him secure tips on Signal at alexhorton.85follow on X@AlexHortonTX
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