Shortly after Donald Trump's swearing in, the new head of Pentagon Pete HegeSth gave the order to suspend weapons supply for Ukraine. The US President had no knowledge about it – Reuters said on Tuesday. The transport resumed a few days later. This was to happen after the intervention of Mike Waltz, former adviser to Donald Trump.
Key facts:
- The story described by Reuters happened in winter, about a week after Trump's sworn in, but it is not clear when exactly.
- It concerns a different situation than the US decision described broadly at the beginning of March to suspend military and intelligence assistance for Kiev, which was temporary.
- Reuters describes a certain meeting that could give rise to the whole matter. What happened on it?
About a week after the start of the second term of office of Donald Trump as the president, the US army issued an order to three air lines operating from the Air base in Delaware and the US base in Qatar: to stop 11 flights with the transport of American weapons, including bullets, on Ukraine. It was a shipping approved by the administration of Joe Biden.
Within a few hours, the feverish questions arrived in Washington about who ordered the US transport command, known as Transcom, to suspend flights. It was asked if it was a permanent suspension of all help or only this part. As Reuters donated, the highest national security officials – in the White House, Pentagon and the Department of State – they could not answer. During the week, planes with deliveries were in the air.
According to Transcom documents, which Reuters saw, the oral order came from the office of Pete HegeSth, the Secretary of Defense of the USA. This cancellation – results from the documents – was to cost a Pentagon over two million dollars. Transcom spokesman said that the command was ordered via the combined pentagon staff.
Source: PAP/EPA/Will Oliver
Without the knowledge of Trump
According to the sources, which the authors of the text refer to, HegeSeth issued an order after the meeting in the oval office, which took place on January 30, although it is not clear when he did exactly.
At the aforementioned meeting, Fr. War in Ukrainebut no decisions were made. – The idea of suspending help for Ukraine appeared in the conversations – two people familiar with the case told Reuters journalists. However, the president did not give any command in this respect.
Security officials who were at the meeting only learned about the suspension of Trump transport, as well as tall rank.
Source: PAP/EPA/YURI GIPAS/POOL
However, deliveries started. After intervention
At the meeting of HegeSeth, a former presenter of Fox News breakfast television, he was to have a note prepared by his advisers, who urged him to persuade the White House to suspend the supply of weapons to increase the pressure on Ukraine regarding peace negotiations.
It is not clear to what extent HegeSeth proposed to suspend help during the meeting, but the idea appeared in discussions.
Ultimately – Reuters wrote – the deliveries were restored during the week, and according to one of the agency's interlocutors, this happened after the intervention of the White House of National Security, dismissed last week, Mike Waltz, who was to find out about the case from the Pentagon officials. HegeSeth's order was to cause confusion, as well as Kiev's fears, but the Ukrainians were told after the fact that the break in deliveries was the result of “internal policy,” writes Reuters.
Why did this happen?
Some of the sources of the agency claimed that HegeSeth misinterpreted the results of the discussion in the White House. The agency, however, points out that advisers of the head of the Pentagon – among them were advisers, among others, vice president of JD Vance – behind the scenes lobby for reducing support for Ukraine.
Reuters also emphasized that there is chaos in the Ministry of Defense under the rule of HegeStha and his inexperienced colleagues and fractional fights are underway.
Meanwhile, the White House, asked by Reuters to comment on the case, argued that HegeSeth followed the Trump directive to suspend help for Ukraine, which in his opinion was the position of US administration at that time. However, he did not explain why, according to the people who talked to the agency, the highest national security officials did not know about this order or why he was reversed so quickly.
– Negotiations on the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war were a complex and smooth issue. We will not describe each conversation between the highest administration officials throughout the trial in detail – said Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the White House.
At the same time, Reuters points out that the suspension order Military assistance came into force officially about a month later – March 4.
Then military help for Kiev was again suspended for a week. It happened shortly after the quarrel of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelanski with Trump and JD Vance in the White House, but since then he has been continued. However, this is a weapon from packages approved by President Joe Biden.
Author/author: AKR/AKW
Source: PAP, Reuters
Source of the main photo: PAP/EPA/Will Oliver