US did not halt weapons shipments to Ukraine, Meloni says
The U.S. has “reviewed” the components it is supplying Ukraine, but did not halt assistance, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on July 4.
“The United States has not stopped supplying weapons and supporting Ukraine, it has reviewed the decision to supply specific components… (this is) significant but very different from the total American disengagement that has been reported,” Meloni said, speaking at a forum.
U.S. President Donald Trump on July 3 denied that Washington has paused supplying weapons to Kyiv amid media reports of a halt in shipments.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed on July 2 that some military assistance to Ukraine has been halted as the U.S. Defense Department conducts a review of foreign aid deliveries.
“I hope for positive developments on the issue,” Meloni said, adding that she has spoken to Trump regarding Ukraine.
The weapons reportedly held back include two dozen Patriot air defense missiles, over two dozen Stinger air-defense systems, precision artillery rounds, Hellfire missiles, drones, and more than 90 AIM air-to-air missiles launched from F-16 fighter jets.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on July 2 that he understands the White House’s need to safeguard its own defense capabilities, but underscored that Ukraine urgently requires sustained support.
“I totally understand that the U.S. always has to make sure its interests are covered… When it comes to Ukraine, in the short term, Ukraine cannot do without all the support it can get,” Rutte said.
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers voiced their opposition to the decision to halt military aid shipments to Ukraine on July 2.
“We must build up our own Defense Industrial Base here in the U.S. while simultaneously providing the needed assistance to our allies who are defending their freedom from brutal invading dictators. To not do both is unacceptable,” Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, the co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, said.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, described the military aid pause as “fallacious and maybe even disingenuous."
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk