Reuters: Pentagon chief halted military aid to Ukraine without White House approval
The order to temporarily suspend the shipment of US military aid to Ukraine came from the office of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the White House was unaware of the decision.
As reported by Reuters, about a week after Donald Trump began his second term as US president, the US military instructed three cargo carriers based at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and a US base in the United Arab Emirates to halt 11 flights loaded with artillery shells and other weapons bound for Ukraine.
Within hours, Washington received panicked questions from Ukrainian officials in Kyiv and from coordination centres in Poland. Who had ordered US Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) to halt the flights? Was it a full suspension of aid, or just a partial one?
Top national security officials at the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department could not provide answers. The flights resumed a week later.
TRANSCOM records reviewed by Reuters indicate the verbal order came from the office of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The shipment halt followed a 30 January Oval Office meeting on Ukraine attended by Hegseth and other senior national security officials. Three sources familiar with the matter said the idea of halting aid to Ukraine was raised during the meeting, but Trump gave no instruction to do so.
Trump was unaware of Hegseth’s order, as were other top national security officials who attended the meeting, two sources familiar with closed-door discussions at the White House and a third source with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
Those who spoke with Reuters said it remained unclear why the usual decision-making officials were kept out of the loop and why the order was quickly reversed.
TRANSCOM said the cancelled flights cost US$2.2 million.
An official halt to Biden-approved military aid to Ukraine came later, on 4 March, following a White House announcement and a controversial Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The story of the cancelled flights, described in detail for the first time by Reuters, highlights what appeared to be a chaotic decision-making process in the Trump administration and a chain of command that even top officials struggled to understand.
Reuters was unable to determine the exact date Hegseth’s office issued the cancellation order. Two sources said Ukrainian and European officials began making enquiries on 2 February. TRANSCOM confirmed that it had received a verbal instruction from SECDEF – the Secretary of Defense – to stop the flights, which resumed on 5 February.
In subsequent conversations with Ukrainian officials, the US administration attributed the pause to "internal policy", one source said.
These revelations come amid turbulence within the Pentagon. Several of Hegseth’s top advisers were escorted out of the building on 15 April over allegations of unauthorised disclosure of classified information. Hegseth remains under scrutiny, including from Congress, regarding his communications. He has previously blamed unrest on disgruntled staff.
The cancelled flights contained weapons that had long been approved by the Biden administration and authorised by Congress.
Reuters could not confirm whether Hegseth or his team understood how the order would be carried out or that it would represent a significant shift in US policy on Ukraine. Three sources familiar with the matter said Hegseth had misinterpreted the president’s position on Ukraine policy and aid delivery.
Four other individuals familiar with the situation said a small group of Pentagon staffers – many of whom had never held government positions and had long opposed US assistance to Ukraine – had advised Hegseth to consider suspending the aid.
Two sources denied that aid had actually been suspended. One of them described it as a logistical pause.
While several media outlets, including Reuters, previously reported on the aid delay, Hegseth’s direct role had not been known until now.
It remains unclear whether Trump later questioned Hegseth’s actions or reprimanded him. One source directly familiar with the matter said that National Security Adviser Mike Waltz eventually intervened to overturn the order.