The U.S. has paused some weapons shipments to Ukraine with artillery and air defenses among the withheld munitions. Putin continues to reject a ceasefire, Macron tells Zelenskyi after his phone call with the Russian leader. Russian natural gas exports to Europe fall to lowest level in half a century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. officials said Tuesday that the White House was halting some weapons deliveries to Ukraine out of concern that its own stockpiles have declined too far. \u201cThis decision was made to put America\u2019s interests first following a review of our nation\u2019s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe,\u201d White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement emailed to U.S. media outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the weapons affected are interceptors for Patriot air defense systems, precision-guided artillery shells and missiles launched by Ukraine\u2019s F-16 fighter jets, the Financial Times said, citing senior U.S. officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the second pause since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office. In March, the White House briefly halted all military aid to Ukraine. Intelligence sharing was also briefly paused, but both were resumed a week later. Last month, the U.S. diverted counter-drone capabilities away from Ukraine and to American forces in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. military aid halt was first reported by Politico. The initial decision to withhold some aid promised during the Biden administration came in early June, according to three people familiar with the issue cited by Politico, but is only taking effect now as Ukraine is beating back some of the largest Russian barrages of missiles and drones at civilian targets in Kyiv and elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the munitions now being withheld are \u201ca mix of air defenses and precision weapons,\u201d Politico said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision was driven by the Pentagon\u2019s policy chief, Elbridge Colby, and was made after a review of Pentagon munitions stockpiles, leading to concerns that the total number of artillery rounds, air defense missiles and precision munitions was sinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House confirmed on Tuesday that it had paused some shipments of weapons to Ukraine. It made no announcements of further steps or a new Ukraine strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elbridge Colby, Defense Department undersecretary for policy, said in a separate statement Tuesday night in response to the move that the \u201cDepartment of Defense continues to provide the President with robust options to continue military aid to Ukraine, consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end. At the same time, the Department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving U.S. forces’ readiness for Administration defense priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that U.S. service members were \u201cfully equipped to deter against any threat.\u201d \u201cThe strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned \u2014 just ask Iran,\u201d per a statement from White House spokesperson Anna Kelly that was shared with outlets including Axios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine\u2019s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday it had \u201cnot received any official notifications\u201d about the \u201csuspension or revision of the delivery schedules\u201d for U.S. military assistance and has requested a phone conversation \u201cto further clarify the details,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine\u2019s Foreign Ministry summoned the top official at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and said afterward that \u201cthe parties discussed ongoing consultations at all levels regarding defense supplies and further contacts between Ukraine and the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine\u2019s Deputy Foreign Minister, Mariana Betsa met with interim U.S. Charg\u00e9 d’Affaires a.i. to Ukraine, John Hinkel. \u201cAny delay or slowing down in supporting Ukraine\u2019s defense capabilities would only encourage the aggressor to continue war and terror, rather than seek peace,\u201d the ministry said in a statement after the meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Wednesday, advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Mykhaylo Podolyak, said that the Patriot interceptors are still being provided. \u201cDeliveries are ongoing as of today,\u201d he told the Ukrainian FREEDOM TV news outlet. \u201cIt would look very strange \u2014 it would look inhumane \u2014 to stop supplying interceptor missiles, especially for Patriot systems, which clearly and significantly protect civilians across Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
French President Emmanuel Macron has reached out to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodomyr Zelenskyi to brief him about his phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News said. Macron talked to Zelenskyi before and after his call with Putin to brief him on the talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The French president told Zelenskyi that Putin\u2019s stance on ending the war in Ukraine hasn\u2019t changed and he continues to reject the ceasefire, said one of the people speaking on condition of anonymity as the talks are private.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In their first call in almost three years, Macron and Putin appeared on Tuesday to find some common ground on Iran, but they continued to be at loggerheads over the war in Ukraine, The New York Times said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Ukraine, Putin reiterated his position to Macron that the war was \u201ca direct consequence of the West\u2019s policy,\u201d which he said had \u201cignored Russia\u2019s security interests\u201d over the past few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Macron urged Putin to agree to an immediate ceasefire. The \u00c9lys\u00e9e Palace said \u201cthe two presidents will also continue to talk about this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Macron\u2019s last call to the Kremlin, in September 2022, the two men discussed the safety of Ukraine\u2019s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant occupied by Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A halt to the flow of Russian pipeline gas via Ukraine hit hard Gazprom\u2019s gas supplies to the EU, The Moscow Times said on Wednesday. The paragraphs below are quoted from the article. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Between January and June, Gazprom shipped just 8.33 billion cubic meters of gas to European clients, according to figures compiled by Reuters from daily data on TurkStream, the only remaining active pipeline from Russia to Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That represents a 47% drop from the same period in 2024 and puts Russia on track to deliver less than 16 billion cubic meters to the continent this year. That is a far cry from the 175 billion cubic meters sent in 2021, before the invasion of Ukraine upended the energy relationship between Moscow and the West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia\u2019s gas exports to Europe have not fallen so low since the early 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 1975, the Soviet Union was already delivering 19.3 billion cubic meters annually to Europe. Just five years later, after a major pipeline agreement with West Germany, exports had surged to 54.8 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Efforts to reroute exports have so far yielded limited success. The Power of Siberia pipeline to China, opened in 2019, delivers about 20% of the volumes once sent to Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result, Gazprom is awash in gas it cannot sell. Of the 416 billion cubic meters the company produced in 2024, it managed to sell only 355 billion, leaving an estimated 60 billion cubic meters unused \u2014 roughly equivalent to the United Arab Emirates’ entire annual output.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Reuters, Russia supplied about 63.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to Europe by various routes in 2022, Gazprom data and Reuters calculations show. That plummeted by 55.6% to 28.3 bcm in 2023, but increased to around 32 bcm in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At their peak in 2018-2019, Russian annual gas flows to Europe reached between 175 bcm and 180 bcm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On January 1, 2025, Ukraine halted Russian gas supplies to European customers that pass through the country, after a prewar transit deal expired at the end of last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ending the transit of Russian natural gas through Ukraine has dealt Moscow a significant blow in its attempts to use energy as a weapon, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said, calling the move \u201cone of Moscow\u2019s greatest defeats.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"