Trump irked by Pentagon move to pause Ukraine arms deliveries
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s decision to send more defensive weapons to Ukraine came after he privately expressed frustration with Pentagon officials for announcing a pause in some deliveries last week — a move that he felt wasn’t properly coordinated with the White House, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The Pentagon, which announced last week that it would hold back some air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons pledged to Ukraine because of what US officials said were concerns that American stockpiles were in short supply. Trump said Monday that the US will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, effectively reversing the move.
Two of the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the sensitive internal discussions, said there was some internal opposition among Pentagon brass to the pause — coordinated by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby — before it was announced.
Caught ‘flat footed’
One of the people described Trump as being caught “flat footed” by the announcement. The White House did not respond to queries about whether Trump was surprised by the Pentagon pause.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson denied that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had acted without consulting the president.
“It is the job of the Secretary of Defense to make military recommendations to the commander-in-chief. Secretary Hegseth provided a framework for the President to evaluate military aid shipments and assess existing stockpiles. This effort was coordinated across government. The Department will continue to give the President robust options regarding military aid to Ukraine, consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end and putting America first,” Wilson said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Exasperated with Putin
The pause in critical weapons deliveries had come at a difficult moment for Ukraine, which has faced increasing — and more complex — air barrages from Russia during the more than three-year-old war. Trump acknowledged that in announcing the reversal on Monday night, saying, “They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now.”
Asked by a reporter Tuesday who approved the pause, Trump bristled at the question while he was gathered with his Cabinet. “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”
The president also laid into Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggesting he was unnecessarily prolonging the war that Trump has said he’s determined to quickly conclude. Trump has struggled to find a resolution, with talks between the sides stalled.
The Republican leader has sounded increasingly exasperated with Putin in recent days. The two spoke by phone last week.
“We get a lot of bull—- thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” Trump said during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting. “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”
He has threatened, but held off on, imposing new sanctions against Russia’s oil industry to try to prod Putin into peace talks.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said last week that Trump has given him the go-ahead to push forward with a bill he’s co-sponsoring that calls, in part, for a 500 percent tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil. The move would have huge ramifications for China and India, two economic behemoths that buy Russian oil.
Trump said Tuesday that he’s “looking at it very strongly.”
