By Mike Stone and Costas Pitas
(Reuters) -The Pentagon has halted some shipments of air defense missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine over concerns that U.S. stockpiles are too low, two people familiar with the decision said on Tuesday.
The slowing of some weapons shipments promised to Kyiv by former President Joe Biden’s administration came in recent days, they said, adding that air defense interceptors to help knock down Russian drones and projectiles are among the items delayed.
In an email, the Pentagon said it was providing President Donald Trump with options to continue military aid to Ukraine in line with the goal of ending Russia’s war there.
“At the same time, the department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving U.S. forces’ readiness for administration defense priorities,” said Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary for policy.
Russia, which already controls about a fifth of Ukraine, continues to advance gradually, gaining ground in recent weeks in Ukraine’s southeastern regions of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk, and ramping up air attacks nationwide.
All weapons aid was briefly paused in February with a second longer pause in March. The Trump administration resumed sending the last of the aid approved under Biden.
No new policy has been announced.
Politico reported the pause on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Mike Stone and Costas Pitas; Editing by Chris Reese and Clarence Fernandez)
