NYT: US halts arms deliveries, signalling strategic drift from Ukraine conflict

The Trump administration’s decision to suspend a tranche of military aid to Ukraine has intensified Kyiv’s concerns over Washington’s waning commitment, just as Russia escalates its aerial bombardments.

Among the delayed shipments are crucial air defence interceptors, including missiles for the U.S.-designed Patriot systems, precision-guided artillery rounds, and ammunition used by American-supplied F-16 fighter jets, Caliber.Az reports via The New York Times.

Although the full scale of the suspension remains unclear, Ukrainian officials are treating it as a worrying signal of Washington’s shifting priorities.

“This will have a serious impact on combat effectiveness,” said Oleh Voroshylovskyi, commander of an anti-drone unit defending Kyiv, in a telephone interview.

All deliveries affected by the suspension had been allocated during the Biden administration. President Trump, since returning to office, has not authorised any new aid packages for Ukraine, despite earlier commitments of up to $11 billion in U.S. support this year.

The pause, which includes Patriot missile stocks that are critical for intercepting Russia’s high-speed ballistic attacks, comes at a particularly fragile moment. Moscow has ramped up the scale and frequency of air assaults, deploying hundreds of drones and missiles in a single night in an attempt to cripple Ukrainian air defences.

“Ukraine is no longer a priority, no longer at the centre of the U.S. foreign policy,” said Solomiia Bobrovska, a member of Ukraine’s parliamentary defence and intelligence committee. “At least Trump is very honest about this with the Ukrainians.”

Kyiv’s Ministry of Defence said it had not been formally notified of the suspension and has requested direct talks with U.S. officials to clarify the situation. In a sign of growing anxiety, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. Embassy’s deputy chief of mission, John Ginkel, to discuss the matter.

“The Ukrainian side emphasised that any delay or slowing down in supporting Ukraine’s defence capabilities would only encourage the aggressor to continue war and terror, rather than seek peace,” the ministry said.

This marks the second time under President Trump that Washington has frozen weapons shipments to Kyiv. The previous halt in March, following a tense meeting between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, lasted about a week. Analysts at the time warned that Ukraine’s capacity to sustain its defence could diminish within four to six months without further U.S. supplies.

The Kremlin welcomed the American move. “As far as we understand, this decision is due to empty warehouses: low stockpiles of weapons at the warehouses,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. “But in any case, the less weaponry gets sent to Ukraine, the sooner the end of the special military operation is,” he added, referring to the war using Moscow’s official terminology.

Ukraine currently operates eight Patriot systems, with six reportedly functional, mostly deployed around the capital. However, ammunition is running low. Ms Bobrovska warned, “That’s a huge problem.”

While artillery shortages may be less critical, thanks to increased domestic production and European support, Kyiv still faces challenges. President Zelenskyy recently stated that Ukraine’s defence industry now supplies more than 40% of the military’s total arms consumption.

With future U.S. donations appearing uncertain, Kyiv is shifting towards a procurement-based strategy. In April, Zelenskyy offered to purchase ten Patriot systems for $15 billion. Though Trump has expressed conditional openness to further assistance, it remains unclear whether this would involve full systems, ammunition only, or whether such transfers would be sales rather than aid.

To mitigate shortfalls, Ukraine has also intensified joint production efforts with European allies such as the UK, Denmark, and Norway, aiming to co-produce arms either domestically or abroad with Western funding.

Despite the growing difficulties, Mr Voroshylovskyi remained defiant. “We’ll find weapons,” he said. “It will be harder. Many more people will die.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev