KYIV – Ukraine is forging ahead with early plans for joint weapons production with some international allies, top officials said, while warning Wednesday of potential consequences of the U.S. decision to halt some arms shipments promised to help Kyiv fight off Russia's invasion.
“Any delay or hesitation in supporting Ukraine’s defense capabilities will only encourage the aggressor to continue war and terror, not seek peace,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said.
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A renewed Russian push to capture more land has put Ukraine’s short-handed defenses under severe strain in the all-out war launched by Moscow nearly 3½ years ago. Russian missiles and drones are battering Ukrainian cities. U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to find a peace settlement have stalled.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry said it hadn't received any official U.S. notification of a suspension or revision of agreed arms delivery schedules. Officials have requested a phone call with their U.S. counterparts to verify the status of specific items in the pipeline, it said in a statement.
As Washington — Ukraine’s biggest military backer — has distanced itself from Ukraine's war efforts under President Donald Trump, a bigger onus has fallen on European countries.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday held their first direct telephone call in almost three years. Macron’s office said that during their two-hour conversation, the French leader underlined France’s “unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and called for a ceasefire.
Washington’s decision could remove some of the most formidable weapons in Ukraine’s battlefield arsenal, including some air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons, according to AP sources.
The U.S. decision should prompt European Union countries to spend more on developing Ukraine’s defense industry, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said.
“It just underlines the need for Europe to do more, and also to invest more in Ukraine,” Lund Poulsen told reporters. “We could do even more, to give them a stronger way of fighting back.”
Denmark on Tuesday took over the EU's rotating presidency for six months. It is already investing directly in Ukraine’s defense industry, which can produce arms and ammunition more quickly and cheaply than elsewhere in Europe.
Denmark is also allowing companies from Ukraine to set up shop in Denmark and manufacture military equipment on safer ground. Lund Poulsen said the first companies could start work as soon as September, and he urged European partners to follow suit.
Ukraine prepares for joint investments in defense
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his daily address on Tuesday evening said officials are preparing with a sense of urgency for upcoming meetings with EU countries and other partners to talk about cooperation in weapons manufacturing.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced that draft legislation on joint weapons production with allies is expected to be put to a vote in the Ukrainian parliament later this month. The proposed laws were shown to national defense companies on Tuesday, Umerov said.
The program includes plans to create a special legal and tax framework to help Ukrainian defense manufacturers scale up and modernize production, including building new facilities at home and abroad, according to Umerov.
Earlier this week, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said during a visit to Kyiv that Germany aims to help Ukraine manufacture more weapons more quickly. He was accompanied on the trip by German defense industry representatives.
Washington concerned about reduced stockpiles
The U.S. is halting some weapons deliveries to Ukraine out of concern that its own stockpiles have declined too far, officials said Tuesday. Certain munitions were longer-term commitments promised to Ukraine under the Biden administration, though the Defense Department didn't provide details on what specific weapons were being held back.
The details on the weapons in some of the paused deliveries were confirmed by a U.S. official and former national security official familiar with the matter. Both requested anonymity to discuss what is being held up as the Pentagon has yet to provide details. The halt includes some shipments of Patriot missiles, precision-guided GMLRS, Hellfire missiles and Howitzer rounds.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. chargé d’affaires, John Hinkel, on Wednesday to discuss ongoing defense cooperation.
Deputy Foreign Minister Maryana Betsa thanked the U.S. for its continued support, but emphasized the “critical importance” of maintaining previously allocated defense packages, especially for bolstering Ukraine’s air defense.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Pentagon's decision will help bring a settlement closer, because "the fewer weapons supplied to Ukraine, the closer the end of the (war) is.”
Europe can't fill all the gaps
Under Trump, there have been no new announcements of U.S. military or weapons aid to Ukraine. Between March and April, the United States allocated no new aid to Ukraine, according to Germany’s Kiel Institute, which tracks such support.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022. For the first time since June 2022, European countries surpassed the U.S. in total military aid, totaling 72 billion euros ($85 billion) compared with 65 billion euros ($77 billion) from the U.S., the institute said last month.
Analysts say Ukraine’s European allies can fill some of the gaps and provide artillery systems. But they don’t possess alternatives to the U.S.-made HIMARS missiles and air defense systems, especially Patriots, which are crucial to help defend Ukrainian cities.
It's not clear how much weaponry Ukraine possesses or what its most urgent needs are.
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Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine