The US Department of Defence (DoD) has suspended shipments of some air defence missiles – including Patriot rounds – and other precision munitions to Ukraine over concerns that US weapon stockpiles have fallen too low.

The news was initially reported in an article by US digital news outlet Politico on 1 July 2025, which stated the decision was made by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby following a review of US munitions stockpiles.

Politico quoted White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly as saying the decision “was made to put America’s interests first following a DoD review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe”.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, however, issued a statement on the Telegram media channel on 2 July stating, “Ukraine has not received any official notifications about the suspension or revision of the delivery schedules of the agreed defence assistance. … The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has requested a telephone conversation with colleagues from the United States to further clarify the details.”

Ukraine’s Kyiv Independent online news website reported the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry as telling US Charge d’Affaires John Ginkel on 2 July that any delays in US military aid would only prolong the war and that “any delay or hesitation in supporting Ukraine’s defence capabilities will only encourage Russia to continue war and terror, rather than pursue peace”.

News of the US suspension of air defence missile shipments to Ukraine comes in the wake of Russia launching, over the weekend of 28-29 June, its largest aerial attack on Ukraine since it first invaded the country on February 2022. During the attack Russia fired a total of 537 aerial weapons at Ukraine, including 477 drones and decoys and 60 missiles, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

Politico reported Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), the US Congressional Ukrainian Caucus co-chair, as stating of the suspension, “US-made air defence systems, including the Patriot platform, are the centerpiece of Ukraine’s defences. … They work. They save lives every day.

“If this reporting is true, then Mr Colby … is taking action that will surely result in the imminent death of many Ukrainian military and civilians,” Kaptur warned.

A US Army Patriot launcher deployed in southeast Poland in September 2024. The US DoD’s apparent suspension of shipments of some precision munitions to Ukraine, including Patriot air defence missiles, could have dire consequences in Ukraine. [US Army]