The White House has said that the US has halted the supply of some weapons to Ukraine amid the fierce war between Ukraine and Russia.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said on Tuesday that the decision was taken to "keep America's interests paramount".
The US Department of Defense reviewed "US military assistance and cooperation to other countries" and this decision was taken after that.
The US has sent billions of dollars of military aid to Ukraine after the Russian attack in February 2022, due to which some in the Trump administration have expressed concern that the US stockpile is too low.
Critical weapons
Included among the munitions being halted are interceptors for Patriot air defense systems, precision artillery rounds and missiles that the Ukrainian air force fires from American-made F-16 jets, according to Pentagon officials. They have been critical weapons in Ukraine’s efforts to hold off increasingly intense attacks from Russia, at a particularly perilous moment in the three years and four months since Russia invaded.
It was unclear exactly how many weapons were included or how quickly the effect of the pause would be felt on the battleground, though some U.S. officials said on Tuesday that the munitions were not scheduled to be shipped to Ukraine for several months. Only last week, after meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in The Hague, Mr. Trump said he was open to selling more weapons to Ukraine. But by that time, the pause was already being planned at the Pentagon.
Ukraine has not yet commented on this. However, US officials did not say which shipment was being stopped. According to media reports, the weapons also include air defense missiles and precision weapons.
US Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby said the Defense Department "will continue to provide the President with strong options to continue military assistance to Ukraine."