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- Weapons in the warehouse: the Russian Foreign Ministry expects a complete cessation of supplies to Kiev
Weapons in the warehouse: the Russian Foreign Ministry expects a complete cessation of supplies to Kiev
Russia is counting on a complete cessation of arms supplies to Ukraine, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes committed by the Kiev regime, told Izvestia. So far, the United States has suspended sending only part of the military aid — missiles and artillery shells, but this may already accelerate the settlement of the conflict, experts say. Against this background, Putin and Trump once again had a telephone conversation. Nevertheless, it cannot be ruled out that Kiev will try to obtain American weapons through the EU. Joint production of new equipment is also being discussed, in particular, with Germany.
Why did the United States suspend arms supplies to Ukraine
Russia welcomes the complete cessation of arms supplies to Ukraine, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes committed by the Kiev regime, told Izvestia. The suspension of the shipment of ammunition and weapons from the United States to Ukraine was previously reported by the Politico newspaper. The reason is the depletion of American reserves. The information was later confirmed by officials. White House Deputy press Secretary Anna Kelly said the Defense Department had reviewed military aid to the allies and decided to reduce supplies in order to "put America's interests first." At the same time, the Pentagon noted that the department continues to provide military assistance to Ukraine.
— This is only a partial action, which is explained so far only by a technical investigation. We would welcome, of course, a complete cessation of arms supplies to the criminal Reich. The sooner this is done, the sooner peace will come to Ukraine. The sooner the hostilities and bloodshed on the territory of Ukraine will end," said Rodion Miroshnik.
According to media reports, Kiev has not received dozens of Patriot interceptor missiles, thousands of 155 mm high-explosive artillery shells for howitzers, as well as Hellfire missiles. Washington's decision came as a surprise to Ukraine. On July 2, the US Charge d'affaires, John Hinkel, was even summoned to the country's Foreign Ministry. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has also requested a telephone conversation with American colleagues.
However, the Ukrainian Armed Forces can still hope for European help. Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced a meeting in Kiev with representatives of 20 German defense companies. The parties discussed the initiative of joint production of weapons and the possibility of producing up to 10 million drones per year. However, it is worth noting that Europe at least does not have an effective replacement for the American Patriot systems, which at one time became the basis of the Ukrainian air defense.
— The Americans mostly had the military-industrial complex, and the Europeans' task was not to produce, but to buy. The only thing that has remained powerful is the French military-industrial complex, and Germany's former glory is no longer at its peak today. Even if some things are made in Europe, for example, the UK makes Storm Shadow missiles, it still cannot sell them without the United States, since they have their own components in this rocket. And the condition there is this: if you have received them from the States, then you must notify them of the sale," Vladimir Oleinik, an ex—deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, tells Izvestia.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also noted that, although European countries are increasing defense spending and assistance to Ukraine, they simply cannot do without the support of the United States. On July 3, the head of the regime in Kiev, Vladimir Zelensky, also drew attention to the fact that Europe is not able to replace arms supplies from the United States to Ukraine, and missiles for Patriot systems play a key role. By the way, on July 4, Trump and Zelensky may discuss this topic over the phone.
How will the partial cessation of aid to Kiev affect the negotiations with the Russian Federation
On July 3, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had a conversation for the sixth time against the background of the news about the partial suspension of aid to Ukraine. The leaders of the Russian Federation and the United States also discussed Ukraine, but they did not touch on the issue of stopping the supply of American weapons. Putin noted Moscow's readiness to continue the negotiation process with Kiev, but with mandatory conditions, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said following a telephone conversation.
— Our president said that Russia will achieve its goals, that is, to eliminate the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs, to the current acute confrontation. And Russia will not give up on these goals," Ushakov said.
During the conversation, Trump again raised the issue of the early end of hostilities in Ukraine.
— Vladimir Putin, for his part, noted that we continue to look for a political and negotiated solution to the conflict. He informed about the implementation of humanitarian agreements that were reached at the second round of direct Russian-Ukrainian contacts in Istanbul," Yuri Ushakov added.
One way or another, the issue of an early end to the conflict in Ukraine is directly related to a decrease in the flow of weapons. The fewer weapons supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the closer the end of the special operation of the Russian Armed Forces is, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rightly emphasized.
— We are monitoring the situation... Apparently, the industry does not have time to produce missiles in the required quantity, especially since there have obviously been a lot of supplies to both Israel and Ukraine. Therefore, there are certain problems in this regard. We are watching closely," Peskov said.
It is likely that the United States is still considering the potential effect of the suspension of supplies on the settlement process. Washington's decision may be due to two factors, Vladimir Oleinik believes.
— Most likely, Trump is aiming to punish Ukraine through Zelensky — this is such an emotional personal conflict. The fact is that the shells are already in Europe. And they stopped me so abruptly. There may be a double purpose here. And motivation is beautiful, they say, we need it ourselves," he says.
It is worth emphasizing here that in March 2025, the Trump administration had already suspended all military assistance to Ukraine. And this decision was made after a quarrel between Trump and Zelensky in the White House. Support was later resumed after Kiev agreed to a 30-day ceasefire.
It is possible that even now it may be an attempt to push Kiev towards a peaceful settlement of the conflict. It was after Donald Trump came to power that this process got off the ground. It also became the impetus for the resumption of direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev: two rounds have already been held in Istanbul. Important outcomes of the meetings were the largest exchanges of prisoners of war and the wounded since the beginning of the SVR. The parties also handed over memoranda to each other, which reflect the visions of conflict resolution.
Termination of support, one way or another, will accelerate the negotiation process, Vladimir Oleinik summed up. Moreover, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been clearly failing at the front lately. The Russian military takes control of settlements along the line of contact almost every day. In particular, on July 3, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Russian troops had liberated Melovoye in the Kharkiv region.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
