'Made up': Trump def sec ripped for 'unilateral' decision at odds with official military analysis
FILE PHOTO: First Lieutenant Zachary Buher and Staff Sergeant Cesar Lua, members of the U.S. Army's Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division operate a M1A2 SEP V3 tank during the Army's 250th Birthday parade in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
On the 4th of July, NBC News reported that the U.S. Department of Defense under Secretary Pete Hegseth "held up a shipment of U.S. weapons for Ukraine this week over what officials said were concerns about its low stockpiles."
But according to three officials NBC News interviewed, an analysis by senior military officers found that the Ukraine aid package did not endanger the United States' own military's own weapons supply.
NBC News journalists Gordon Lubold, Dan De Luce, Courtney Kube and Katherine Doyle report, "The White House has defended the decision, saying it followed an ongoing review by the Defense Department of U.S. assistance to allies and partners abroad that began last month. The review began after Hegseth issued a memo ordering the Pentagon’s Joint Staff to review stockpiles of all munitions. According to three officials familiar with the matter, the assessment found that some stockpiles of high-precision munitions were at lower levels but not yet beyond critical minimums."
NBC News' reporting is receiving a lot of discussion on X, formerly Twitter.
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MSNBC's Ana Cabera tweeted, "NBC exclusive — Hegseth halted weapons for Ukraine despite military analysis that the aid wouldn’t jeopardize U.S. readiness."
In response to Cabrera's tweet, journalist Anne Applebaum — well-known for her reporting for The Atlantic — posted, "So the idea that this was about American weapons stocks was just completely made up."
Financial Times' Christopher Miller, who has reported extensively on Ukraine, wrote, "NBC News: 'Suspending the shipment of military aid to Ukraine was a unilateral step by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to three congressional aides and a former U.S. official familiar with the matter.'"
Journalist Franklin Harris weighed in as well, posting, "Why should it be different from anything else this administration says?"
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X user Brian Bernstein wrote, "Yup, sadly it's just the latest example of Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine."
Another X user, Akash Maniam, said of Hegseth, "They had the chance to fire him after the Signal fiasco. The warning signs were there. They doubled down on him anyway."
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Read the full NBC News article at this link.
