CNN
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\n The Trump administration is pausing some weapons shipments to Ukraine, including air defense missiles, following a review of military spending and American support to foreign countries, a senior White House official told CNN.\n <\/p>\n
\n Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed off on the review, which the official noted had been underway for months. It was not immediately clear if military support provided to other countries would be affected.\n <\/p>\n
\n White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said the decision was made \u201cto put America\u2019s interests first.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Russia welcomed the decision, claiming \u2013 without providing any evidence \u2013 it was made because the US did not have enough weapons.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cAs far as we understand the reason for this decision was empty warehouses, lack of these weapons in warehouses. But in any case, the fewer weapons are supplied to Ukraine, the closer the end of the special military operation,\u201d Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a phone call, using the Kremlin moniker for Russia\u2019s unprovoked war on Ukraine.\n <\/p>\n
\n The decision to halt some weapons transfers to Ukraine comes after President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with Western allies to bolster its aerial defenses after intensifying Russian airborne attacks<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n Russia has in recent weeks launched near-nightly air attacks on Ukraine, involving hundreds of drones and missiles. On Sunday, the Ukrainian military said a pilot was killed<\/a> after his F-16 fighter jet crashed during a Russian aerial assault.\n <\/p>\n \n Following the attack, Zelensky said on social media Ukraine is ready to buy \u201cAmerican systems\u201d to strengthen its air defenses.\n <\/p>\n \n Ukraine\u2019s defense ministry said Wednesday that it \u201chas not received any official notifications about the suspension or revision of the delivery schedules for the agreed defence assistance.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n But officials in Kyiv stressed on Wednesday that US weapons played a critical part in the country\u2019s defense.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt would seem very strange, it would seem inhumane to stop supplying missiles \u2026 especially to Patriot systems, which are clearly protecting the civilian population in Ukraine on a large scale,\u201d Mykhailo Podolyak, Ukraine\u2019s presidential office advisor, said.\n <\/p>\n \n The US has been the biggest single donor of military aid to Ukraine<\/a> since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, supplying Ukraine with air defense systems, drones, rocket launchers, radars, tanks and anti-armor weapons, leading to concerns over dwindling US stockpiles.\n <\/p>\n \n But the balance of aid to Ukraine has changed significantly since Trump returned to power, casting doubt over the future of US support for Kyiv.\n <\/p>\n \n In April, Europe surpassed the US in total military aid to Ukraine for the first time, with its contribution equaling 72 billion Euros ($84.9 billion), compared with the US\u2019s 65 billion Euros ($76.6 billion), according to data from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy<\/a>, a German think tank that closely tracks wartime aid to Ukraine.\n <\/p>\n \n The shift came after Trump halted all shipments of military aid<\/a> to Ukraine following a heated Oval Office argument with Zelensky in March. Trump resumed aid flows to Ukraine about a week later.\n <\/p>\n \n Last week, during the NATO summit in The Hague, US President Donald Trump suggested<\/a> Kyiv may see future Patriot missile system deliveries from the US \u2013 signaling a possible shift in his thinking about US aid flows to Kyiv.\n <\/p>\n \n The Patriots are widely considered among the best air defense systems, particularly in protecting against advanced hypersonic and ballistic missiles.\n <\/p>\n