U.S. halts key weapons for Ukraine in new sign of weakening support for Kyiv

The U.S. has stopped the delivery of air-defense interceptors and other weapons intended for Ukraine and is using them instead to beef up Pentagon stocks, a Trump administration official and two congressional aides said Tuesday.

- R. Gordon & Alexander Ward

The U.S. move to withhold arms deliveries earmarked for Ukraine reflects the Trump administration's slackening commitment to aiding Kyiv in its defense against Russia. Administration officials have stressed the need to focus more on the longer-term threats from China and, more immediately, military needs in the Middle East.

Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, said, "This decision was made to put America's interests first" following a Pentagon review of U.S. military assistance.

The shipments were in Poland when they were being halted and included Patriot air-defense interceptors, air-to-air missiles, Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, surface-to-surface rockets, artillery rounds, and Stinger surface-to-air missiles.

Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary of defense for policy at the Pentagon, didn't address the decision to halt weapons shipments to Ukraine, but said the Defense Department would provide President Trump with options to continue military aid to Ukraine that are "consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end."

"The department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving U.S. forces' readiness for administration defense priorities," he said.