Hegseth unilaterally decided to halt weapons shipments to Ukraine – NBC News
The suspension of U.S. military aid deliveries to Ukraine was a unilateral decision by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.
NBC News reports this, citing sources, Censor.NET informs.
It is noted that the U.S. Department of Defense delayed shipments of American weapons to Ukraine because, according to officials, there were concerns about low stockpiles.
Despite this, the U.S. Joint Staff concluded that providing further aid to Ukraine would not hinder the combat readiness of the American military.
According to several sources familiar with the matter, the decision to pause weapons deliveries came as a surprise to the State Department, members of Congress, officials in Kyiv, and European allies.
However, Hegseth still unilaterally decided to halt aid to Ukraine. Earlier—in February and May—he had done the same, but those decisions were reversed within a few days, the TV channel recalls.
This time, the US Secretary of Defense’s move was supported by his deputy, Elbridge Colby, who has long advocated for reducing US involvement in Ukraine and shifting weapons and resources to the Indo-Pacific region to counter China.
Democratic Congressman Adam Smith, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, disagreed with the claim that supplying Ukraine would jeopardize US stockpiles, saying his staff "have seen the numbers."
Instead, Smith believes the real reason for the aid suspension appears to be a desire by the US to stop such support altogether.
