NEW YORK, July 14. /TASS/. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth decided to suspend some weapons supplies to Kiev after receiving a memo from Elbridge Colby, US under secretary of defense for policy, the Wall Street Journal reports.
According to the newspaper, the memo that Colby sent to Hegseth in early June outlined "how Ukraine’s requests for US weapons could further stretch already depleted Pentagon stockpiles."
The memo didn’t have a recommendation but figured in the Pentagon’s decision to suspend some arms shipments to Kiev, the paper notes.
The Wall Street Journal points out that Colby’s memo indicates his "push to make good on years of US vows to boost its military position in the Western Pacific" as Colby favors limiting US obligations outside Asia to focus on countering China.
The under secretary of defense for policy is playing "a pivotal role" in the crafting of a new US defense strategy that will set spending and force deployment goals for years to come, the Wall Street Journal writes.
The New York Times reported on July 2 that the US would suspend the supplies of missiles for Patriot air defense systems, guided multiple launch rocket system (GMLRS) rockets, Hellfire missiles, Stinger man-portable air-defense systems and some other weapons to Kiev. After that, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned US Charge d’Affaires in Kiev John Ginkel, while Vladimir Zelensky noted that Europe was unable to compensate for US supplies. On July 3, US President Donald Trump stated that Washington continued to provide Kiev with military assistance. However, he emphasized that the US requires weapons itself. Trump stated on July 7 that the US was going "to send some more weapons" to Kiev as the Ukrainians "have to be able to defend themselves.".