The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced on Monday the sending of additional defense weapons to Ukraine. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
This statement was made after his administration temporarily halted the delivery of certain weapons last week. According to Trump, this decision is necessary to enhance Ukraine's ability to defend itself.
President Trump, in an interview with journalists before a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said, "We will send more weapons. They are under heavy attack, and therefore we are mainly sending defensive weapons."
This decision was made as a result of a review of defense expenditures and foreign military assistance at the White House. This analysis was approved by Pet Hegset, who was appointed as the U.S. Secretary of Defense.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly described this decision as "putting American interests first." Some officials emphasized that the decision to temporarily halt assistance is related to strategic priorities, particularly increasing focus on potential conflict with China and the Pacific region.
This direction has been promoted by Defense Policy Chief Elbridge Colby. In his statement, Colby noted that the Department of Defense is providing the President with broad options to continue military assistance to Ukraine while continuously reassessing the strategic approach while maintaining the readiness of armed forces.
Russia supported the U.S. decision to halt some weapon deliveries but did not specify the reasons, attributing this decision to the decrease in U.S. weapon reserves. According to a statement made by Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell on Monday, the Department of Defense will send additional defense weapons to Ukraine in accordance with Trump's directive.
This assistance will enhance Ukraine's ability to defend itself, and the strategic criteria set for assessing military assistance globally will remain intact. The U.S. has been Ukraine's largest military supporter since Russia's large-scale invasion in 2022.
The delivered weapons include air defense systems, drones, missile systems, radars, tanks, and anti-tank weapons. Trump had briefly halted all military assistance to Ukraine in March, but assistance was restored a week later.
The latest decision was announced after Trump's separate phone conversations last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. While expressing his dissatisfaction with Putin, Trump emphasized that there had been no progress on the peace issue.
Meanwhile, Zelensky has been firmly requesting Western countries, especially the U.S., to strengthen air defense. On July 4, it was reported that Russia carried out the largest air attack against Ukraine during the war, launching over 550 drones and missiles.
On Friday, after a phone conversation with Zelensky, Trump stated that the U.S. is considering a request to supply "Patriot" air defense systems to Ukraine. Zelensky rated this conversation as the most effective.
