Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing intense scrutiny after the Pentagon delayed a shipment of weapons bound for Ukraine. The official reason for the delay was concerns over low stockpiles, but an analysis by senior military officials found that the shipment would not jeopardize the military’s supplies.
The decision to halt the shipment was made earlier this week, with Hegseth issuing a memo ordering a review of stockpiled munitions. The Ukraine shipment could be delayed until the review has been completed, two defense officials and two congressional officials told NBC. If stockpiles are low or the weapons are needed elsewhere, the shipment could be delayed even further.
Despite this rationale, Hegseth’s decision came as a surprise to the State Department and members of Congress, as well as officials in Ukraine and other European allies.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) told NBC that it was disingenuous of Hegseth to use military readiness as an excuse in an attempt to mask the real reason for the decision, which he believes is the Trump administration’s desire to cut aid to Ukraine.
“We are not at any lower point, stockpile-wise, than we’ve been in the 3½ years of the Ukraine conflict,” Smith told NBC, confirming that he has seen the numbers, which do not show any sign of a shortage.
The review conducted by the Pentagon’s Joint Staff on Hegseth’s orders confirmed that while some stockpiles of high-precision munitions were at lower levels, there was no critical shortage. Their conclusion was that continuing to supply munitions to Ukraine would not drain stockpiles below the threshold required for military readiness.
This marks the third time Hegseth has unilaterally delayed sending aid to Ukraine; n the previous occasions in February and May, his decisions were reversed within days.
Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary of defense for policy, who has consistently advocated for scaling back American support for Ukraine, supported Hegseth’s decision, as did the White House, which said the Pentagon acted in accordance with a review of American military assistance to allies that began last month.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said at a Wednesday briefing, “We can’t give weapons to everybody all around the world.” He added, “Part of our job is to give the president a framework that he can use to evaluate how many munitions we have where we’re sending them. And that review process is happening right now and is ongoing.”
Ukraine and its allies have been appealing to the Trump administration to provide the nation with more air defense systems as Russia escalated its bombardments this week, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaking with Trump on Thursday and offering to buy air defense systems from the U.S. for Ukraine.
Aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump told a reporter who asked whether the U.S. would agree to supply missiles to Ukraine, “They’re going to need them for defense… They’re going to need something because they’re being hit pretty hard.” He also shared that he was “very unhappy” following an earlier phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he refused to agree to work toward a ceasefire.
Last weekend, Russia launched its biggest aerial attack on Ukraine so far, firing 60 missiles and 477 drones. The shipment delayed by Hegseth included Patriot missile interceptors as well as missiles, artillery rounds, and precision-guided missile systems.
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