The United States is halting some weapons shipments to Ukraine amid its war with Russia, the White House confirmed Tuesday.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told CBS News in a statement that the “decision was made to put America’s interests first following” a Defense Department “review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe.”
A U.S. official told CBS News the move was over concerns about U.S. military stockpiles falling too low.
The Trump administration did not immediately confirm which weapons were being pulled from delivery or the scale of the pullback.
Kelly added, “The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned — just ask Iran,” in reference to the U.S. strikes last month on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
The U.S. has provided Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in military aid since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In early March, following a confrontational Oval Office meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the White House announced it was pausing military aid to Ukraine that had already been earmarked by the Biden administration. It also said it was pausing intelligence sharing to Ukraine.
The pause on both fronts was lifted about a week later when Ukraine responded positively to talks over a potential ceasefire, which never materialized at the time.
Then, in late April, the U.S. and Ukraine reached a deal that would give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s mineral reserves. As part of the tenets of the deal, according to Ukrainian officials, the U.S. would contribute in the form of military assistance to a joint U.S.-Ukraine fund.
Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director-general of the Royal United Services Institute military think tank, told CBS News in March that about 20% of Ukraine’s military hardware is supplied by the U.S., with 25% provided by Europe and the rest of the world, and 55% produced in Ukraine.
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