Kremlin speaker Dmitriy Peskov said on 2 July that “the less weapons are supplied to Ukraine, the faster the special military operation will be completed”.
This was the speaker’s reaction to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement by the White House that the United States was halting deliveries of some weapons promised during the Biden administration to Ukraine for use in the war with Russia, after the Pentagon confirmed that the US stockpile had dwindled too much.
White House spokeswoman Anne Kelly said the decision to “put America’s interests first” had been made after a Defence Department review of US military support to other countries.
The types of weapons in question have not been officially disclosed. According to NBC News, citing its contacts in the Pentagon and Congress, US Defence Secretary Pete Hagset has ordered a halt to the shipment of a shipment of missiles and munitions to Ukraine. Among them are interceptor missiles for Patriot air defence systems, shells for howitzers, Hellfire missiles and air-to-air missiles.
Over the past months, amid intensified Russian air strikes on Ukrainian cities, Kiev has been constantly asking Western allies to increase supplies of air defence systems. During the closing press conference of the NATO summit in The Hague last week, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would consider providing Ukraine with additional Patriot systems.
At the same time, the United States, which has provided Ukraine with more than $66 billion in weapons and military aid since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022, has urged allies to make air defence systems and other equipment available to Ukraine. But many are reluctant to give up their high-tech systems, especially Eastern European countries that also feel threatened by Russia.