As the publication claims, on the night of June 30 to July 1, the Pentagon deployed cargo planes delivering American air defense missiles and other weapons for Ukraine, without exceptions, halted the supply of all types of weapons.
On Wednesday, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated at a press briefing that the United States had not halted all weapons supplies to Ukraine, and the decision made the day before at the Pentagon was 'just one situation'.
The Pentagon also presented the pause in supplies as a temporary measure. However, in a conversation with The Economist, Ukrainian officials reported that they 'suspect more coordinated efforts by the American administration to extract political concessions from Ukraine'. Thus, initially, the US briefly stopped weapons supplies and intelligence cooperation after the conflict between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House to achieve greater 'compliance' from the Ukrainian side.
As the publication notes, Washington's support for Ukraine had already been weakening recently. In 2025, Trump did not take on any new commitments for military supplies. Moreover, American officials stated they would cut spending on Kyiv in the Pentagon's 2026 budget, without providing details.
However, the cessation of supplies now will be a sharper reduction in support than even the most pessimistic scenarios anticipated.
On Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelensky stated that 'currently, at working levels between Ukraine and the United States, all details regarding the supply of defense support, including the air defense component, are being clarified'. Meanwhile, as Reuters writes, citing a Ukrainian official, the US decision was shocking for Kyiv. 'Any delay or hesitation in supporting Ukraine's defense capabilities will only encourage the aggressor to continue the war and terror, rather than seek peace,' stated the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that the US must take care of its stocks, but told Fox News that 'in the short term, Ukraine cannot do without all the support it can get' when it comes to ammunition and air defense systems.