U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hagset this week suspended another tranche of military aid to Ukraine, citing too low stocks of American weaponry. However, an analysis by senior military officers indicated that this aid package would not jeopardize the U.S. Army's own munitions, three U.S. officials told NBC News.
The decision to suspend arms shipments came as a shock to the State Department, members of Congress, officials in Kyiv, and European allies, multiple sources familiar with the situation said.
Criticism from both parties
Adam Smith, the leading Democrat in the House of Representatives and vice chair of the Armed Services Committee, called the Pentagon's use of military readiness to justify halting aid insincere, as the real reason was simply a desire to stop American support for Ukraine.
'We are not at a lower point in our stocks than we were in the 3.5 years of the Ukrainian conflict,' Smith told NBC News, adding that his staff 'has seen the numbers' and there are no signs of a shortage that would justify halting aid.
What was halted
The suspended shipment included dozens of Patriot interceptors - highly sought-after weapons for shooting down missiles, as well as 155mm artillery shells, Hellfire missiles, precision-guided GMLRS missile systems, grenades, Stinger surface-to-air missiles, and air-to-air AIM missiles for a small fleet of Ukrainian F-16 fighters.
In Poland and other European countries, some American weapons had already been loaded onto trucks, ready for delivery to Kyiv. Then military officers and officials involved in the shipment received word of the cancellation.
Joint Chiefs assessment
According to three officials, the Joint Chiefs concluded that continued aid to Ukraine would not deplete American stocks below the necessary threshold to maintain military readiness.
Ukraine sent an urgent call to Washington for additional air defense systems as Russia intensified bombings of Ukrainian cities. Over the weekend, Russia carried out the largest aerial attack in three years of conflict, launching 60 missiles and 477 drones across the country.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hagset suspended aid shipments to Ukraine due to too low stocks of American weaponry, although analysis showed that this aid would not jeopardize U.S. munitions. The minister's decision shocked the State Department, members of Congress, and officials. Criticism was directed at Adam Smith, who called the Pentagon's justification insincere.