The United States will continue supplying weapons to Ukraine, President Donald Trump said on Monday, a week after the Pentagon halted some deliveries.
“We’re going to send some more weapons. We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now,” Trump told reporters during a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Defensive weapons, primarily, but they’re getting hit very, very hard. So many people are dying in that mess,” he said, without elaborating.
Shortly after Trump’s remarks, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that the US will send “additional defensive weapons to Ukraine.” He added that the review of military shipments worldwide “remains in effect and is integral to our America First defense priorities.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a pause in deliveries last week, citing concerns about dwindling US stockpiles. “This decision was made to put America’s interests first following a DOD review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the media at the time.
Parnell said the agency was reviewing all munitions shipments, not just those to Ukraine. “We can’t give weapons to everybody all around the world,” he said last Wednesday.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry responded by summoning the US deputy chief of mission in Kiev, John Ginkel, and stating that “any delay or slowing down in supporting Ukraine’s defense capabilities would only encourage the aggressor.”
Trump, breaking from his predecessor Joe Biden, has resumed direct talks with Russia and is seeking to broker a ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev.
Russia has said that foreign weapons will not stop it from achieving victory. Last month, President Vladimir Putin reiterated that Moscow considers Western states supplying arms to Ukraine as “de facto direct participants in the conflict.”
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