The United States is preparing to send additional weapons to Ukraine for defence, according to a statement posted on the Pentagon website after US President Donald Trump said he did not know if he would be able to end the fighting in Ukraine.
New statement from the Pentagon
“At President Trump’s direction, the Department of Defense is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops,” the statement said.
On Monday, Trump, speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a private meeting, said that the US would soon send more weapons to Ukraine, as Kyiv must be able to “defend itself.” According to him, this primarily concerns defensive weapons.
Suspension of aid
In early July, POLITICO reported that the US had suspended deliveries of certain types of weapons to Ukraine, including missiles for the Patriot air defence system. The Economist, citing Ukrainian officials, wrote that the US had stopped all military aid to Ukraine, not just certain categories of weapons.
The Wall Street Journal claimed that Washington was delaying the delivery of Patriot air defence missile systems, AIM-120 missiles, howitzers, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, GMLRS missiles for HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, Stinger missiles for man-portable air defence systems and grenade launchers to Ukraine. According to the publication, arms deliveries remain suspended.
Kyiv has stated that it has not received any official notification of the suspension of arms deliveries and is clarifying the situation in dialogue with Washington. The White House explained the suspension of deliveries as a “standard review” by the Pentagon of all military aid provided by the US to all countries and regions.
Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst, believes that Washington should not “give false hope” to Kyiv by promising military aid. He stressed that Ukraine is currently “going downhill.” In particular, he said, this is evidenced by the “results” of the NATO summit.
Trump allegedly discussed the suspension of aid in a Friday phone call with Zelensky, also touching on the possibility of a ceasefire agreement with Russia. The Ukrainian president said it was “probably the best conversation we’ve had in all this time, the most productive.” The conversation took place shortly after Trump admitted that he was “very disappointed” and had “made no progress” on a peace deal with Russia in a separate conversation with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. According to the Kremlin, Trump called on the Russian president to end the war, but he refused.
Other priorities
On Sunday, the US president, responding to a question from a White House reporter about why he could not help Ukraine as much as he was helping Israel, replied that he was “helping Ukraine a lot.”
On Tuesday, Politico reported, citing sources, that the United States may resume supplies to Ukraine after a meeting between Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, and Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov in Italy this week and next. The officials will first attend an international conference on assistance to Ukraine in Rome and then meet in Kyiv. The Netherlands also announced additional support for Ukraine the day before.
In the autumn, they plan to send F-35 fighter jets to Kyiv for the NATO Security and Training Assistance Mission in Ukraine (NSATU) in Poland. The fighter jets are scheduled to be delivered between September 1 and December 1. Earlier, Bild noted that without missile supplies from Washington, Ukraine’s air defence would cease to exist within a week, and HIMARS installations would become useless as early as September this year.
In turn, a source close to the Ukrainian military, quoted by the Telegraph, claims that Ukraine has no problems with its air defence systems “until the end of this year.”
During his election campaign, Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. Upon returning to the White House, Trump mentioned different deadlines, promising to achieve a ceasefire within six months.
“I don’t know. I can’t tell you whether or not that’s going to happen,” Trump told reporters when asked if he was confident he could end the fighting, according to POLITICO. When asked if ending the war was a priority, Trump replied: “Yes. I’d like to see it happen.”
