Hegseth halted weapons for Ukraine despite military analysis that the aid wouldn’t jeopardize U.S. readiness
NBC1 day
Report: Hegseth Personally Halted U.S. Arms to Ukraine
Above: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (R) and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (L) chat on the South Lawn on July 4, 2025. Image copyright: Eric Lee/Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
The decision to hold back on some Ukraine aid came after a wider review of U.S. stockpile levels across the world, including where weapons were going, and the latest move was to ensure that America's military readiness is preserved as part of President Donald Trump's agenda. Despite the scaling back, he is being provided with other options for continuing to provide Ukraine with robust aid.
Anti-Trump narrative
When it was reported that the Trump administration's Defense Department was cutting off vital aid to Ukraine, the reason given was that U.S. stockpile levels were too low in certain areas. However, officials say that while a review showed that some stockpiles of high-precision munitions were at lower levels, they were not yet beyond critical levels. That means it was nothing to do with stockpile levels and that a political decision was taken to stop giving Ukraine the weapons it needs.