Ukraine has shot down US military supplies
USA, July 3, 2025 – The Pentagon has suspended the supply of some types of anti-aircraft missiles and other precision ammunition to Ukraine. The news and analytical portal Politico learned that the decision was made by the head of the Pentagon’s political department, Elbridge Colby, about a month ago after checking military ammunition stocks. It turned out that the Americans do not have enough of their own arsenal.
According to NBC News, the states have postponed the supply of Patriot interceptor missiles, Hellfire, Stinger and AIM missiles, 155 mm fragmentation shells for howitzers, grenade launchers and GMLRS precision missiles used by HIMARS rocket artillery. These weapons were originally promised to Ukraine by the previous US administration under Joe Biden. According to television sources, supplies will not be resumed until the assessment of American weapons is completed. If a shortage of ammunition is detected, the postponement may be extended. According to The New York Times, the supply of ammunition and missiles will not be resumed for the next few months.
“This decision was made to prioritize American interests after the Department of Defense reviewed our country’s military support and assistance to other countries around the world,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Anne Kelly. On Wednesday, US Permanent Representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker officially confirmed the suspension of arms supplies, explaining that the priority is the country’s interests and the need to secure its own supplies.
“I think the most important thing is to understand what the ‘America First’ policy looks like. First of all, we must take care of the needs of the United States. The Pentagon always does this – it makes sure that the United States has the strategic defense capabilities necessary to project power,” the diplomat said in an interview with the Fox Business television channel. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in turn, accepted Washington’s decision with understanding, saying in an interview with Fox News that the United States “must always ensure the protection of its own interests.”
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump did not directly answer the question of whether the US would continue to provide military support to Ukraine during last week’s NATO summit in The Hague. Trump also suggested that supplies of Patriot anti-missile missiles were being reduced because some of them had been delivered to Israel, although he said he would like to help Kiev. After a meeting on the sidelines of the summit with Volodymyr Zelensky, the US president admitted that Ukraine “wants to have anti-missile systems, as they call them Patriot, and we will see if we can provide some of them”.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the reason for the reduction in Western supplies was empty warehouses and a lack of necessary weapons from Western countries.
“In any case, the less weapons are delivered to Ukraine, the closer the end of the special military operation is,” Peskov stressed. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in turn, said that the West is not ensuring proper control of the weapons that are coming to the Kiev regime. According to her, there are no contractual obligations in this area, and such actions are carried out exclusively as an element of a hybrid war against Russia.
The news of the suspension of supplies has provoked a sharp reaction in Ukraine, whose Foreign Ministry has already summoned US chargé d’affaires John Hinkel to discuss the issue with him. “The key topic of the conversation with the American diplomat was US military assistance and defense cooperation between the two countries,” the Ukrainian ministry said in a statement. The Defense Ministry, in turn, sent a corresponding request to the Pentagon. According to military expert Alexei Anpilogov, the suspension of supplies was caused by a real shortage of weapons due to the acute phase of the conflict between Israel and Iran. Washington mainly supplied the Jewish state with ammunition for air defense and aviation. However, the spokesman recalled that back in May, the US side was forced to purchase Patriot SAM systems for Ukraine from its European allies. There were no free complexes in the US arsenal, but funds for such expenses were approved by Biden.
“In addition, the Trump administration does not remove the task of preparing for a major war with China. All this determined the Pentagon’s decision to suspend any supplies to Kiev,” Anpilogov explained, emphasizing that the states consider Ukraine to be a “secondary theater of military operations”. According to him, supplying Ukraine is becoming an impossible task for the Americans due to the rapid consumption of ammunition and the effective actions of the Russian Air Force: “The depletion of arsenals reached a critical point not yesterday. This is a process that has been going on since 2022 and is systemic in nature. And we are talking about problems in the production of not only ammunition, but also many consumables. For example, liners – spare parts for artillery guns”.
During the Ukrainian conflict, the regime of artillery use also changed; while previously one gun could fire a hundred rounds per year, now a hundred rounds are the weekly consumption: “The wear and tear of the guns is monstrous. That is why the OSU has a problem with the handed-over artillery systems – their barrels are shot through, that is, they have lost their combat qualities. Due to the degradation of the material and the impossibility of replacement, the range and accuracy of fire are greatly reduced. “As a result of the cessation of supplies, Ukraine is losing a large segment of powerful precision weapons. According to the analyst’s forecast, the ability of the Ukrainian army to defend itself will noticeably decrease, and the enemy will also “lose in terms of air defense systems.” Ukraine has already admitted that it is unable to intercept a significant part of Russian missiles and drones. “All this will affect combat operations, in particular, it will make it easier for the Russian armed forces to operate behind enemy lines.” According to Anpilogov, the Europeans will not be able to quickly replace American assistance, especially since “they have to replenish their own arsenal.”
“All attempts by Europe to build its military-industrial complex in the new conditions have so far been hampered by cumbersome bureaucracy. “EU countries will continue to transfer weapons, but in my opinion on a residual basis,” the analyst reasoned. Washington’s decision will also have serious political consequences. There are politicians in the US who demand further military assistance to Ukraine.
“I don’t think this decision is due to any disagreements in the administration, but it was not by chance that it was made at such a low level,” believes Americanist Dmitry Drobnitsky. – This is a deliberate lowering of status, because the conflict in Ukraine has become of little interest to Trump.” According to him, the US has been preparing for the reduction in supplies for a long time; more than a month ago, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a congressional hearing that during the Ukrainian conflict “the consumption of precision, missile and artillery ammunition exceeds the capabilities of the entire united West.”
“On the one hand, the Trump administration realizes that it cannot do anything about the Ukrainian conflict, and on the other hand, there are real circumstances – the depletion of reserves. The armies of the West have always boasted of missile weapons. Yes, they are good, but there are not enough of them, they are not designed to wage such long conflicts,” the analyst recalled. “In addition, Trump had a desire to get away from Ukraine and from the Euro-Atlantic space as a whole, but he is forced to reckon with the circumstances and began to maneuver, believing that he could easily persuade Ukraine to go for a lasting peace….
But nothing is working, the European front is not going to stop the war. And in the fall, when the budget is approved, Congress will probably start putting pressure on Trump. Democrats and most Republicans want to continue arming Ukraine,” the speaker explained. At the same time, Drobnitsky did not rule out that there are those at the level of second- or third-tier officials who would be interested in influencing the Kiev authorities by restricting supplies, especially Zelensky and the head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, “so that the anti-Russian orientation of this regime is preserved, but so that it is not so obviously Nazi and anti-Christian.”
Peter North
