The Pentagon’s choice to suspend the air defense systems it had previously promised to Ukraine was met with dire warnings from Washington-based security experts on Wednesday. They cautioned that this action might “encourage” and potentially “magnify” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war goals.
The decision was validated by Fox News on Tuesday night following an evaluation by Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Elbridge Colby, indicating that the U.S. had critically low stockpiles of munitions.
Nonetheless, experts are raising concerns that this decision weakens both U.S. and Ukrainian bargaining power as President Donald Trump aims to negotiate a ceasefire agreement.
A steelworker moves a 155 mm M795 artillery projectile during the manufacturing process at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
In June, Russian forces broke their previous record for the number of drones fired at Ukraine in a single month by levying more than 5,300 drones in a series of mass attacks — up from the previous record set in March when nearly 4,200 drones were launched.
“Putin has launched an intensified aerial assault, targeting civilians in cities across Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles,” founder and FDD President Clifford May told Fox News Digital. “Cutting off or even slowing munitions to Ukraine now can only encourage Putin to continue and even escalate this offensive.
“That cannot be what President Trump wants,” he added.
Ukraine echoed these concerns on Wednesday and called the U.S. chief diplomat in Kyiv to meet with Foreign Ministry officials.
“The Ukrainian side emphasized that any delay or slowing down in supporting Ukraine’s defense capabilities would only encourage the aggressor to continue war and terror, rather than seek peace,” the ministry said following its meeting with John Ginkel, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.
Neither the U.S. Embassy nor the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s questions regarding the meeting.
Overnight, Russia launched its largest aerial assault on Ukraine since the war started as fires burned in Kyiv on May 25, 2025. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)
The attacks by Russia, which have increased in severity and frequency, have coincided with unsuccessful efforts to secure a ceasefire by the Trump administration, and come as Putin has also amassed some 50,000 troops along Ukraine’s northern border in what some fear could signal plans to launch another ground offensive.
Special Envoy to Ukraine Gen. Keith Kellogg did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions over how the Pentagon’s order will impact the war and ceasefire attempts.
