Pentagon temporarily suspended military aid to Ukraine without White House’s notification - Reuters
The office of Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to stop flights with weapons to Ukraine shortly after the start of Donald Trump's second term.
This was reported by Reuters, Censor.NET informs.
As noted, the order came as a surprise even to the White House and key representatives of the US National Security Council.
Around 30 January, after Trump's meeting with Hegseth and advisers on Ukraine, the US military ordered three cargo airlines to suspend 11 flights carrying shells and other weapons. This caused panic among Ukrainian officials and partners in Poland. However, none of the officials could explain who gave the order and whether it meant a complete cessation of aid.
According to TRANSCOM, the verbal order came from the Minister of Defence. Flights resumed on 5 February, but the cancellation cost $2.2 million. The administration later explained the pause as "internal politics".
Hegseth's order was cancelled even before the White House officially announced on 4 March that it was revising its policy on aid to Ukraine. Reuters sources note that Hegseth himself may have misinterpreted discussions with Trump, who did not give a direct order to stop the supply.
Suspension of US aid
On the morning of March 4, it became known that US President Donald Trump had ordered the suspension of all US military aid to Ukraine in order to force Kyiv to demonstrate a "good faith commitment" to peace.
One U.S. official told CNN that the consequences of the suspension of U.S. military aid will be felt in some time. Perhaps a few days or weeks. However, as soon as the stockpiles of weapons and armaments begin to run out, the country will face serious consequences.
According to journalist Ostap Yarysh, the US decision to suspend assistance to Ukraine will primarily affect the supply of missiles to air defense and ammunition for HIMARS and artillery.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna emphasized that the US decision to temporarily suspend military aid to Ukraine means that Europe must help Ukraine more and faster than before to fill this gap.
The Economist article says that the US decision to suspend aid to Ukraine will lead to more casualties and destruction. The critical elements, the newspaper writes, are weapons, their repair, air defense missiles, the Starlink system, and, perhaps most importantly, intelligence sharing.
Chief National Security Advisor to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Marius Česnulevičius, said that Washington's decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine was not a surprise. However, Europe is preparing a response.
Later, The Economist wrote that there is currently no official order from Donald Trump to suspend military aid to Ukraine.
