Aid to Ukraine stopped by order of Hegseth's office, Trump knew nothing – Reuters
The order to temporarily suspend military aid to Ukraine allegedly came from the office of Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, and the White House was unaware of it. This was reported by Reuters, citing informed sources.
At the beginning of Donald Trump's second term, there was a short-term halt in the supply of American weapons to Ukraine – without the knowledge of the president and most senior national security officials.
According to TRANSCOM (U.S. Transportation Command) and Reuters sources, the verbal order to stop 11 artillery and weapons cargo flights that had already been approved by the administration of Joe Biden came from Hegseth's office.
This caused panic among Ukrainian and European partners, and the administration itself could not explain why the order was given and why it was quickly canceled, the agency points out.
Trump, according to several sources, did not issue an order to stop aid to Ukraine and was unaware of Hegseth's actions. Flights resumed a few days later, but the incident demonstrated confusion in the chain of command and conflicting internal policies. The administration later explained the delay by internal processes, and the flight cancellation cost TRANSCOM more than $2 million.
The order to officially end military aid was issued only a month later, on March 4, after a public statement by the White House.
- On the morning of March 4, 2025, American media reported that Trump had decided to suspend military aid to Ukraine.
- Later, Polish Prime Minister Tusk said that reports coming from the border, from the hub in Jasionka, confirmed the statements of the American side.See also
