US President Trump reportedly told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call on 4 July that he wasn’t responsible for the pause in US weapons deliveries to Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal reported on 7 July that Trump blamed the Pentagon and said he never gave an order to freeze military aid.
People briefed on the call told WSJ that Trump explained he had initiated a review of Pentagon munitions stockpiles after recent US strikes on Iran but had not intended for that process to block shipments to Kyiv.
According to WSJ, Trump assured Zelenskyy the United States would send as much military aid as it can spare. Zelenskyy later called the conversation “probably the best… in all this time” and thanked Trump for his “readiness to help” during his 5 July address.
Weapons deliveries resume after Trump shifts stance
On 7 July, Trump confirmed publicly that the United States would resume sending weapons to Ukraine.
“They are getting hit very hard. We’re gonna have to send more weapons,” he said during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement the same day:
“At President Trump’s direction, the Department of Defense is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves.”
According to a March 2025 State Department fact sheet, the US has provided $66.9 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
