Secret Pentagon order: who and why stopped aid to Kyiv and whether Trump knew about it
6 May 17:50
US President Donald Trump and his national security officials were unaware of Defense Secretary Pete Hagel ‘ s order to halt military aid to Ukraine. Reuters writes about this with reference to its own sources, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to media reports, the verbal order to stop the flights came from the office of Defense Secretary Pete Hagel after a meeting in the Oval Office on January 30 to discuss aid to Ukraine. During that meeting, the idea of cutting off aid was mooted, but President Trump did not give a specific order to stop the shipments. Moreover, Donald Trump himself and other senior officials were not aware of Hagesse’s decision.
According to the sources, Hughes arrived at the Oval Office meeting with a memorandum prepared by his advisers, which proposed to suspend arms supplies to Ukraine to strengthen the US position in peace talks with Russia. During the meeting, they discussed US policy toward Ukraine and Russia, including possible tightening of sanctions against Moscow.
Suspension of aid to Ukraine: what the White House says
The White House said that Hagesse was acting in accordance with the president’s directive to suspend aid to Ukraine, although other officials were not informed of this. White House spokeswoman Carolyn Levitt noted that negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine are complex, and the administration would not disclose details of internal discussions.
Read also: Trump explains why he froze military aid to Ukraine
The US has stopped aid to Ukraine: what price Kyiv and Washington paid
The suspension of the flights cost the US Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) $2.2 million, although TRANSCOM officially reported $1.6 million in expenses.
Reuters’ sources emphasize that this incident highlights the chaotic decision-making process in the Trump administration and the lack of a clear command structure. In the Pentagon, the situation is complicated by internal disputes over foreign policy, personal conflicts, and inexperience of the staff.
Pentagon suspends military assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces: what you need to know
A week after Donald Trump took office for his second presidential term, the US Department of Defense unexpectedly ordered the halt of 11 cargo flights with artillery shells and other weapons destined for Ukraine.
The canceled flights contained weapons that had long been approved by the Biden administration and approved by lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Reuters was unable to determine whether Hagesse or his team knew how their order would affect US policy toward Ukraine.
The flights were to depart from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and a US base in Qatar. The decision raised concerns among Ukrainian and Polish officials, who received no explanation for the delay.
The halt in supplies came at a critical time when Ukrainian troops were fighting Russian forces in eastern Ukraine and in the Battle of Kursk. Ukrainian officials appealed to the US administration through several channels, but received no clear answers. The administration later explained the pause as “domestic politics.”
Senior representatives of the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department were also not informed of the decision.
A few days later, flights resumed.
Read also: Weapons from the United States: why Ukraine is talking about stopping its supply
Context
These events took place against the backdrop of internal turmoil in the Pentagon. Several of Hagel’s advisors were removed from the building on April 15 after being accused of unauthorized disclosure of classified information. Hagel himself continues to be under scrutiny, including by Congress, over his communications.
Three sources familiar with the situation said that Hagesse had misinterpreted discussions with the president about Ukraine policy and aid deliveries.
Four other people briefed on the situation said that a small group of Pentagon officials, many of whom had never worked in government and had for years opposed U.S. aid to Ukraine, advised Hagel to consider suspending aid to the country.
Two people familiar with the matter denied that there was a real cutoff. One of them described it as a logistical pause.
“They just wanted to sort out the situation, and people ended up misinterpreting it as: ‘You have to stop everything,'” one of them said.
US assistance to Ukraine in the war with Russia
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the United States has approved billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, most of which was delivered under the Biden administration.
However, some deliveries remained in the process of implementation. Trump repeatedly threatened to freeze aid during the campaign, but during the January 30 meeting, he again refused to stop aid or order Hagel to change the policy on equipment shipments to Kyiv.
U.S. arms shipments to Ukraine require the approval of several agencies and can take weeks or even months to complete. Most U.S. military aid goes through a logistics center in Poland, where it is picked up by Ukrainian officials for further delivery. It is unclear whether the 11 canceled flights were the only ones scheduled for that week, how much aid had already been stockpiled in Poland, and whether delivery to Ukraine continued despite the TRANSCOM order.
