President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will resume shipments of “primarily defensive weapons” to Ukraine, reversing a decision made just days earlier by his administration to halt the delivery of military aid.
Speaking at the White House on Monday, Trump confirmed the policy shift in response to a reporter’s question. “We’re going to send some more weapons. We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now,” he said, acknowledging the intensifying Russian offensive.
The move comes after the Pentagon, led by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, temporarily paused already-funded arms shipments to Kyiv last week. Officials cited various reasons for the delay, including Hegseth’s widely criticised claim of depleted US weapons stocks and the need for a routine review of global defence capabilities.
Trump’s statement followed Pentagon’s address
Shortly after Trump’s remarks, the Pentagon issued a statement underscoring the administration’s revised position. “At President Trump’s direction, the Department of Defence is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops,” the statement read. It added that the framework guiding the president’s evaluation of global military shipments remained in place as part of the administration’s “America First” defence strategy.
Meanwhile, the UK government announced fresh sanctions on Monday targeting Russian individuals and a scientific institute for their involvement in the use and transfer of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Britain imposed asset freezes and travel bans on Aleksey Viktorovich Rtishchev and Andrei Marchenko, the head and deputy head of Russia’s radiological, chemical and biological defence troops. Additionally, the Joint Stock Company Federal Scientific and Production Centre Scientific Research Institute of Applied Chemistry was sanctioned for supplying Russia’s military with RG-Vo riot control grenades, which have reportedly been used in the Ukrainian conflict in violation of the international chemical weapons convention.
“These sanctions send a clear message that the use of chemical weapons will not go unpunished,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said, condemning the use of banned substances on the battlefield.
