By Tass
LONDON, July 3. /TASS/. US authorities have halted all shipments of American weapons to Ukraine, including shells and spare parts, The Economist said, citing Ukrainian officials.
According to the news outlet, the Ukrainian officials link Washington’s actions with an “effort by the Trump administration to squeeze political concessions out of Ukraine, as it did in early March when it briefly stopped arms deliveries and intelligence co-operation after an infamous televised bust-up” between US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky.
It is noted that the US denies any pressure on Ukraine as well as the complete halt on arms supplies. According to Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell, the deliveries continue, although he did not go into details. The Pentagon said that the pause was intended to preserve the US’ “military readiness and defense priorities.”
Earlier, the New York Times reported that the US would suspend the supplies of Patriot air-defense interceptors, GMLRS high-precision rounds, Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, Stinger surface-to-air missiles, and a number of other munitions. Against this background, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has already summoned US Charge d’Affaires in Ukraine John Ginkel to discuss the situation with halted supplies.