(Washington) The Trump administration resumed its arms deliveries to Ukraine, a week after the Pentagon ordered the suspension of certain shipments, US officials announced on Wednesday.
Weapons intended for Ukraine include 155 mm ammunition and precision guidance rockets, known as GMLRS, revealed two officials to the Associated Press under the cover of anonymity. It is unknown when exactly these weapons have started to be shipped again.
The US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, ordered the suspension of certain deliveries last week to allow the Pentagon to assess his weapons stocks, a decision that took the White House short.
The Patriot missiles, the GMLRS with precision guidance, the Hellfire missiles, the Howitzer shells and others were affected, taking by surprise not only the Ukrainian officials and other allies, but also the American legislators and other members of the Trump administration, including the State Department.
It is unknown whether the suspension of patriot missile deliveries would be maintained. This ammunition, worth 4 million, is very popular and played an essential role in the defense of an important American air base in Qatar last month, when Iran launched a missile attack in response to American attacks against its nuclear installations.
President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the United States would continue to deliver defensive weapons to Ukraine. He avoided questions concerning the author of the suspension order during his exchanges with journalists this week.
Trump expressed privately on his frustration towards Pentagon officials behind the suspension. A decision which, according to him, has not been properly coordinated with the White House, claim three people close to the file.
The Pentagon denied that Mr. Hegseth acted without consulting the president, saying that he “provided the president with a framework to assess the deliveries of military aid and existing stocks” and that “this effort was coordinated on the level of the government”.
This disagreement arises while Russia multiplies air attacks against Ukraine, with, among other things, a drone attack which has represented the greatest number of shots in a single night in three years of war, according to Ukrainian officials.
President Trump is increasingly frustrated by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, saying that he is not satisfied with him.
“Mr. Putin does not treat human beings properly,” said Trump at a meeting on Tuesday, explaining the resumption of armaments. “It kills too many people. We therefore send defensive weapons to Ukraine, and I approved this. »»
The 155 mm artillery shells have become one of the most used ammunition during the war. Each shell is about 60 centimeters long and weighs approximately 45 kilograms. They are used in the howl systems, large towed cannons, characterized by their range and their angle of firing.
The howles can reach targets at a range of 24 or 32 kilometers, depending on the type of bus and the shooting system used. This makes them particularly popular with land forces to remove protected enemy targets.
The United States has provided more than 3 million 155 mm shells to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022. It provided a total of more than 67 billion in arms and military aid to Ukraine during this period.
Aamer Madhani, journalist at the Associated Press, contributed to this dispatch.
