US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet during the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in The Hague, Netherlands on June 25, 2025.

WASHINGTON — A week after US President Donald Trump told a distraught Ukrainian journalist that he would try to make crucial anti-missile systems available to her country, his Defence Department on Wednesday confirmed a pause in weapons shipments to Ukraine and blamed Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.

“For a long time, four years under the Biden administration, we were giving away weapons and munitions without really thinking about how many we have,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told reporters at a rare press briefing.

He called the pause a “review” that applies not just to Ukraine but to all countries — even as the US continues to supply Israel with weapons.

“It’s a capability review that’s being conducted to ensure US military aid aligns with our defense priorities,” Parnell said. “Going forward, we see this as a common-sense, pragmatic step towards having a framework to evaluate what munitions are sent and where.”

Parnell’s assertion that the Pentagon under Biden was sending weapons to places without keeping track is untrue. The chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was required to complete a readiness assessment with each transfer.

“Russia and China couldn’t do a better job of........

© HuffPost