© Yara Nardi/Reuters
The U.S. has "reviewed" the components it is supplying Ukraine, but did not halt assistance, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on July 4.
"The United States has not stopped supplying weapons and supporting Ukraine, it has reviewed the decision to supply specific components... (this is) significant but very different from the total American disengagement that has been reported," Meloni said, speaking at a forum.
U.S. President Donald Trump on July 3 denied that Washington has paused supplying weapons to Kyiv amid media reports of a halt in shipments.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed on July 2 that some military assistance to Ukraine has been halted as the U.S. Defense Department conducts a review of foreign aid deliveries.
"I hope for positive developments on the issue," Meloni said, adding that she has spoken to Trump regarding Ukraine.
The weapons reportedly held back include two dozen Patriot air defense missiles, over two dozen Stinger air-defense systems, precision artillery rounds, Hellfire missiles, drones, and more than 90 AIM air-to-air missiles launched from F-16 fighter jets.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on July 2 that he understands the White House's need to safeguard its own defense capabilities, but underscored that Ukraine urgently requires sustained support.
"I totally understand that the U.S. always has to make sure its interests are covered... When it comes to Ukraine, in the short term, Ukraine cannot do without all the support it can get," Rutte said.
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers voiced their opposition to the decision to halt military aid shipments to Ukraine on July 2.
"We must build up our own Defense Industrial Base here in the U.S. while simultaneously providing the needed assistance to our allies who are defending their freedom from brutal invading dictators. To not do both is unacceptable," Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, the co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, said.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, described the military aid pause as "fallacious and maybe even disingenuous."
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told U.S. President Donald Trump that the determination shown by the U.S. toward Iran should also be applied to ending Russia's war against Ukraine, she said on June 25 on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague.
Meloni, a close Trump ally and the only European leader invited to his 2025 inauguration, welcomed the recently announced ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
She emphasized that sustained commitment is also needed in Ukraine, where Russian President Vladimir Putin last week declared "all of Ukraine is ours."
"I spoke about this with President of the United States Donald Trump, to whom I said the same determination is needed to achieve two other important ceasefires," Meloni said. "One in Ukraine, where Russia seems unwilling to take any steps forward, and one in Gaza."
On June 24, Trump announced that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel had taken effect following U.S. airstrikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
The escalation followed Israel's June 13 attack that prompted Iran to retaliate with missile attacks on Tel Aviv and other cities, killing multiple civilians, including five Ukrainian citizens.
President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Trump during the summit, held amid concerns over waning U.S. support for Kyiv. Unlike in 2024, this year's communique did not directly condemn Russia's invasion, a shift that underscores changing political dynamics within the Alliance.
The leaders reaffirmed support for Ukraine's defense, saying national contributions toward Ukraine's military-industrial capacity will count toward NATO's new defense spending goal.
All 32 NATO member states agreed to a new benchmark, committing to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. Meloni praised the decision as a sign of unity.
"I believe the unity of the alliance and its willingness to strengthen itself is more important, especially in the context we are in, and is clearly a very important element," she said.
The NATO summit comes just one week after Trump departed early from the G7 in Canada, delaying direct talks with Zelensky until June 25.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk
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