The U.S. will temporarily halt shipments of certain weapons systems to Ukraine, according to White House officials.
Scripps News confirmed the development with the White House on Tuesday.
"This decision was made to put America’s interests first following a DOD review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe," White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told Scripps News in a statement. "The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned — just ask Iran."
According to reporting from multiple outlets, weapons being halted include munitions for Patriot air defense batteries, artillery rounds and Stinger, Hellfire and AIM-7 missiles.
Pentagon officials said a "capability review" led to the decision to pause delivery of weapons to Ukraine, which that country needs in its ongoing war with Russia.
Just how long that pause will last, or if it will be permanent, isn't clear at this point.
Pentagon officials would not comment on a timeline on Wednesday.
RELATED STORY | Trump meets with Zelenskyy at NATO summit, weighs sending Ukraine more Patriots
Under President Joe Biden, the U.S. began shipments of air defenses, artillery ammunition and other advanced weapons to Ukraine.
There were concerns then, too, that shipments may deplete U.S. stockpiles that may be needed in the event of other conflicts.
President Trump has acknowledged Ukraine's need for weapons systems, but also said the U.S. has need of the same tools.
“They do want to have the anti-missile missiles,” Trump said at the NATO conference in June. “We’re going to see if we can make some available.”
"They’re very hard to get. We need them, too," the president said.
Pentagon officials say they are aiming to provide President Trump with options to continue military aid to Ukraine.
"We see this as a common sense pragmatic step towards having a framework to evaluate what munitions are send and where – but we want to be clear on this last point: let it be known that our military has everything that it needs to conduct any mission, anywhere, anytime, all around the world," Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell said Wednesday.
