During Wednesday's briefing in the Pentagon, Parnell confirmed that part of the supply of weapons to Ukraine was suspended as part of the “rigorous review of ability” to adapt them to “defense priorities, which support the agenda” America First “”. At the same time, he said that from now on the Pentagon would not – as it happened during the rule of the previous administration – publicly inform about the details of weapons supply to Ukraine, including the supplied weapons and delivery time.
According to the NPR radio, a relatively small weapon party has been suspended so far, including 30 PAC-3 rockets for Patriot systems, 8.5 thousand Artillery ammunition plays, 252 GMLRS rockets for Himars systems and 92 AIM-7 missiles used for F-16 rocket knocking and NASAMS ground systems.
“We were giving out weapons for four years”
“We consider it a reasonable, pragmatic step towards creating a framework enabling the assessment of which ammunition is sent and where,” said Parnell. “For a long time, four years under Biden's rule, we distributed weapons and ammunition, not thinking about how much we have. I think that this president was elected, putting this country first, defending the homeland, and then combining this with our national defense strategy and transition to indo-pacific. Part of our task is to provide the president of the frame And where we send it.
The spokesman pointed out that to President Trump and the head of Pentagon Pete HegeSth there will be a decision on what to do with suspended weapons supplies. At the same time, he stated that Pentagon still offers the president “solid options” regarding the support of Ukraine.
Despite the words of the need to examine the levels of inventory in American arsenals, Parnell assured that “the army has everything you need to conduct any mission, anywhere, at any time, around the world.”
On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the Department of State Tammy Bruce also encouraged “cautious assessments”, who noted that this decision does not mean suspending support for Ukraine.
“I will emphasize this: it is not a stopping by us to help Ukraine or supplying weapons. This is one event in one situation and we will discuss what else will happen in the future. So be careful before drawing too far -reaching conclusions” – said Bruce.
Neither Parnell nor Bruce directly answered questions suggesting that the decision would only encourage Russia to increase the bombing of Ukraine and discourage concessions in negotiations. Bruce said that for Trump, bringing the war is still a priority and that he clearly expressed his “fury” because of Russian bombings. Parnell pointed out that Trump's main goal is to end killing in Ukraine, but also that he is guided by a philosophy putting America's interests first.
