Defense Secretary Hegseth Paused Ukraine Weapons Shipment Despite Pentagon Assessment — NBC

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unilaterally halted a weapons shipment to Ukraine on July 2, Orda.kz reports, citing NBC News.

The move came despite internal military assessments indicating that the aid would not compromise U.S. military readiness, NBC News reported on July 4, citing three U.S. officials.

The decision affected deliveries of key air defense systems and ammunition and reportedly took the State Department, Congress, Ukraine, and key European allies by surprise.

The pause came just two days before Ukraine experienced one of the largest aerial attacks of the war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated calls for additional air defense support following the July 4 strike, which killed one person and injured at least 23 in Kyiv.

According to NBC, a senior U.S. military review had acknowledged that certain stockpiles — such as precision-guided munitions — were running low but concluded that they remained above critical levels.

Nevertheless, Hegseth moved to suspend the shipment. According to available reports, this marks the third such decision he has made since February.