The Pentagon briefly halted shipments of military aid bound for Ukraine shortly after President Donald Trump began his second term, according to reuters reporting. The order originated from the office of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, prompting confusion among US officials and European allies before being quickly reversed.
Roughly a week into the administration, a verbal order from Hegseth’s office directed the US Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) to stop 11 flights carrying artillery shells and other weaponry. These flights were scheduled to depart from bases including Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and a US base in Qatar en route to Poland for onward transport to Kyiv.
The halt reportedly followed an Oval Office meeting on January 30 where Ukraine military aid shipments were discussed. Sources indicate President Trump did not issue an instruction to stop the aid during that meeting, and other senior officials, including the National Security Adviser, were unaware of the order from Hegseth's office.
Questions from officials in Kyiv and Poland quickly reached Washington following the pause. Top officials at the White House, Pentagon, and State Department could not initially provide clarity.
The pause lasted for several days before the flights were reinstated by February 5. Mike Waltz, then the National Security Adviser, reportedly intervened to reverse the cancellation.
The brief stop in shipments occurred as Ukraine's military faced pressure from Russian forces in eastern Ukraine and the Kursk region of Russia. The cancellations cost TRANSCOM an estimated $1.6 million to $2.2 million.
The White House later announced an official halt to military aid authorized under the Biden administration on March 4. Despite the earlier temporary pause and the official halt, the Trump administration has resumed sending the last of the aid approved by Joe Biden.
Sources familiar with the situation describe internal disagreements within the Pentagon regarding foreign policy under Hegseth. Some advisers are reported to favor an "America-first" approach advocating for reduced US military commitments abroad, including aid to Ukraine. Dan Caldwell, an adviser to Hegseth, was previously escorted from the Pentagon amid a probe into alleged unauthorized disclosures.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt commented on the matter.
"Negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine War has been a complex and fluid situation. We are not going to detail every conversation among top administration officials throughout the process," Leavitt said. "The bottom line is the war is much closer to an end today than it was when President Trump took office."
