U.S. Arms Supply Halt Was Partial and Not Exclusive to Ukraine

The U.S. Department of State has confirmed the delivery of other types of weapons to Ukraine, aside from the previously halted shipments of missile armaments. At the same time, the imposed restrictions also affect other countries.

Tammy Bruce, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, confirmed new details about the arms deliveries.

On Tuesday, the White House announced the suspension of certain types of weapons shipments to Ukraine, including several types of air defense missiles and guided rocket projectiles.

Officials explained that “the decision was made to put America’s interests first” after reviewing military assistance to Ukraine in the context of support provided to other countries worldwide. A U.S. official noted that this move was driven by concerns over the depletion of stocks in U.S. military arsenals.

However, later Tammy Bruce told reporters at a briefing that the restrictions apply only to specific categories of weapon systems, and deliveries of other weapons to Ukraine continue.

“I want to emphasize, this is not a halt to our assistance to Ukraine or weapons supplies. This is one event in one situation, and we will discuss what may happen next. But please be cautious and avoid drawing broad conclusions,” she said.

A White House representative told CBS that some other countries have also been “reclassified,” meaning they have been deprioritized for receiving weapons and ammunition from the U.S. However, the representative did not name these countries or specify how long the pause in certain weapons deliveries to Ukraine might last.

In March of this year, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) analytical center estimated that American military equipment accounted for 20% of the supplies to Ukraine. Another 25% came from European countries, while 55% was produced within Ukraine.

Despite these numbers, the U.S. remains a key supplier of ammunition for air defense systems as well as long-range artillery. In particular, Ukraine’s capability to intercept ballistic missiles directly depends on the timely provision of American Patriot interceptor missiles.

The suspended supplies include critical air defense missiles for Patriot systems, as well as GMLRS, Stinger, and AIM-7 missiles, along with 155mm artillery rounds.