【Text/Observer.com, Zhang Jingjuan】The United States has once again hit the brakes on delivering weapons to Ukraine.
According to reports from Politico and NBC on January 1st, due to concerns about the low level of US military weapons inventory, the Pentagon has suspended the delivery of some weapons to Ukraine. Anna Kelly, a deputy White House spokesperson, confirmed this in a statement. She said the decision is in the interest of the United States, "The strength of the US armed forces is beyond question, just ask Iran."
According to the report, the weapons that have been suspended from being delivered to Ukraine include dozens of Patriot intercept missiles, thousands of 155mm howitzer shells, more than 100 Hellfire missiles, over 250 precision-guided rocket systems (GMLRS), dozens of Stinger surface-to-air missiles, AIM air-to-air missiles, and multiple sets of grenade launchers.
According to sources familiar with the decision, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered an audit of the US military's arms inventory several weeks ago, and then made the decision to delay the delivery.
The report said that due to the years of arms deliveries to Ukraine and the military operations in the Middle East over the past two years, the US arms inventory is nearly depleted.
Two Defense Department officials and two congressional officials said that the relevant weapons and ammunition will be temporarily put on hold until the inventory assessment is completed. If the assessment shows a shortage of inventory or if other regions have a more urgent need for the equipment, the delivery delay may be extended further.
According to sources, the weapons delayed in delivery to Ukraine were originally supported by the Biden administration through two mechanisms: one was directly using existing US military inventory, and the other was producing new equipment through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) mechanism with defense contractors.
A government official said that the Trump administration has not yet requested any additional aid to Ukraine from Congress, and the funds left by the Biden administration are enough to support Ukraine for several more months.
Regarding this move by the US side, Kelly defended it, saying it is a necessary step to prioritize meeting US defense needs.
"After the Department of Defense reviewed the military support and assistance provided to other countries around the world, we made this decision to place the interests of the United States first. The strength of the US armed forces is beyond question, just ask Iran," Kelly said.
The Patriot missile system. Social platform
Since the escalation of the Ukraine crisis in February 2022, the United States has provided more than $66 billion worth of weapons and military aid to Ukraine. However, in recent months, as Russia has intensified its air raids, Ukraine has repeatedly called on the United States and Europe to provide more air defense weapons.
On June 5th, Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, told reporters during his visit to the US that Ukraine is resisting Russian troops but needs more air defense systems to protect cities from attacks.
The report said that in recent weeks, President Trump has faced repeated setbacks because he has failed to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Although the Pentagon decided to freeze part of the aid, including air defense and anti-missile systems, he did not rule out the possibility of providing the Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine during the NATO summit last month.
On June 25th, Trump stated that Ukraine wants the US to provide Patriot air defense missiles, and the US will see if it can provide some. But he also said that the US is supplying weapons to Israel, "These weapons are hard to obtain, and we ourselves need them."
An informed official revealed that Trump and his Republican allies are trying to promote a permanent ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war. Although it is common practice for the new government to suspend weapon transfers to assess inventory, people are concerned about the timing of this decision. The official said that Ukraine needs to show a strong posture to encourage Russia to return to the negotiating table.
"Russia Today" (RT) reported that the Pentagon's policy shift seems to reflect a broader strategic adjustment under Trump's leadership, who has openly questioned the reasonableness of providing endless aid to Ukraine.
Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president's special representative and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, pointed out that this move "highlights the actual limitations of Western capabilities and the shift in the priorities of the US military."
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