Ukraine has said it is seeking to clarify details after Donald Trump announced late on Monday that US weapons deliveries would resume just days after they were halted by the Pentagon, stressing that it needed “predictability” in supplies from Washington.
The ministry of defence in Kyiv said in a statement on Tuesday that it had not received official notification of the change in policy and it was “critically important” for Ukraine to maintain “stability, continuity and predictability” in the provision of arms, especially air defence systems.
The statement added: “We are grateful to the United States for all its support and highly appreciate the efforts of American partners aimed at achieving genuine peace.”
Speaking at the White House on Monday, Trump said he would send “more weapons” to Ukraine, adding that he was “disappointed” in Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
“We’re gonna send some more weapons we have to them. They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now,” Trump said, alongside a US and Israeli delegation.
His comments came after a seven-hour Russian air raid on Thursday night on Kyiv, hours after Trump and Putin spoke by phone. On Monday Trump said the US would send “defensive weapons primarily”. “So many people are dying in that mess,” he said.
The US Department of Defense confirmed “additional defensive weapons” would now be shipped to Ukraine “at President Trump’s direction”. The U-turn comes after a telephone call on Friday between Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which Ukraine’s president hailed as their best conversation to date.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday it would take time to clarify the weapons and in what quantities Kyiv was receiving them from the US.
Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, last week stopped the delivery of air defence interceptors and other precision munitions, including a shipment that was sitting on the Poland-Ukraine border. He claimed the move was necessary because Pentagon stocks were running low.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Hegseth made the decision unilaterally. It provoked dismay in Kyiv and surprise from Democrats in Congress, who said there was no evidence US weapon stocks were in decline. Ukraine’s European allies were unhappy, too.
The military aid was promised last year by the Biden administration and approved by Congress. It included 30 Patriot missiles, as well as 8,400 155mm artillery rounds, 142 Hellfire missiles and 252 guided multiple launch rocket system missiles.
Ukraine is running low on interceptors for its Patriot anti-aircraft systems, which play a crucial role in shooting down Russian ballistic rockets. Since January and Trump’s return to the White House, the Kremlin has escalated its bombardment of Ukrainian cities.
On Sunday one person died and more than 60 civilians were injured after a wave of Russian drones hit Kharkiv, the country’s second city, and Zaporizhzhia. Last week’s attack on Kyiv caused extensive damage, with debris falling on a school, setting fire to cars and damaging windows and balconies.
In recent months Zelenskyy has tried to fix his relations with Trump, after their disastrous meeting in late February in the White House, when the vice-president, JD Vance, accused Ukraine’s leader of ingratitude.
Zelenskyy has praised Trump’s leadership, agreed to a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and signed a minerals deal giving American investors access to Ukraine’s valuable minerals. It is unclear if this is enough to reverse Trump’s apparent pivot towards Moscow. Putin, meanwhile, has refused a ceasefire and continues to insist on Kyiv’s capitulation.
On Wednesday Zelenskyy is due to attend an international aid summit in Rome, convened to help Ukraine’s postwar recovery. His defence secretary, Rustem Umerov, will hold talks with Gen Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy, where the resumption of US deliveries is likely to be discussed.
In a video address Zelenskyy said his country was working to counter Russia’s relentless airstrikes. “Everything related to air defense is today our top priority – air defense systems, missiles for them, and drone-based air defense” he said.
“Step by step, we are closing the funding gap for the production of drones and interceptor drones, and filling Ukrainian production lines with specific orders.”
