Trump resumes weapons to Ukraine after sudden halt, angry with Putin over ceasefire delay

President Donald Trump announced Monday(July 7) that the United States will resume sending “additional defensive weapons” to Ukraine, reversing a Pentagon pause that had drawn international attention. This signalled a renewed cooperation with President Zelenskyy after months of tension and expressed frustration with Vladimir Putin following a stalled ceasefire effort.

Speaking at a White House dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump emphasized, “We’re going to send some more weapons. We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves.”

The decision was confirmed by the Pentagon. Its spokesperson Sean Parnell stated the deliveries, ordered “at President Trump’s direction,” are meant to “ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops.”

Pentagon paused aid citing low stockpiles

The Pentagon’s renewed support followed a decision just days earlier. The Pentagon halted shipments of air defense missiles and precision-guided munitions on July 2, citing depleted stockpiles. That abrupt decision left Kyiv scrambling and sparked warnings that it only encouraged Moscow to crank up its war machinery. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said at the time that the decision was made “to put America’s interests first.”

The announcement came after a tense conversation with both Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump described his call with Putin as “disappointing,” reporting “no progress” toward a ceasefire. Yet, in a surprising twist, he expressed increasing admiration for Putin’s strategic clarity, while still “not happy with President Putin at all”

On the Ukrainian side, Zelenskyy called his telephone discussion with Trump “probably the best conversation in all this time, maximally productive”, expressing cautious relief.

Top donor resumes arms delivery

Since Russia’s full‑scale invasion in early 2022, the US has been the single largest donor of military aid. Now, Trump’s renewed support arrives at a critical juncture amid intensifying Russian attacks on civilian and military targets alike.

The renewed US weapons shipment follows a tense stretch in US-Ukraine relations, marked by a March aid freeze after a heated Oval Office clash between Trump and Zelensky.