Competition in the Trump administration over Ukraine

According to RCO News Agency, British media reported that the stop was ordered by US Defense Minister Pete Hegst, and that he had arbitrarily adopted the move by Donald Trump’s presidency in sending arms assistance to Ukraine.

Only a week after the start of Trump’s second term, the US military ordered the cancellation of four flights to artillery and other weapons planned for Ukraine. In a few hours, the flood of questions by Ukrainian officials in Kiev and the Polish officials who coordinated flights came to Washington: Who ordered the flights to stop these flights? Is this stop permanent? What part of the aid does it include?

Senior National Security officials at White House, Pentagon and State Department did not answer these questions; But in less than a week, flights resumed. According to the US Army Transportation Command documents that Reuters observed, the source of the oral order was the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

The decision is said to have been made after a meeting on January 5 at the White House Oval Office; A meeting in which Trump, Hegst and other senior national security officials discussed Ukraine. According to four sources, the meeting was discussed at the meeting, but Trump did not form any formal order to stop the aid. The sources, who are aware of the negotiations at the White House, have confirmed that neither the President or other security officials present at the meeting were aware of the Hegest order.

A White House spokesman responded to Reuters that Hegest had acted on Trump’s order and was a temporary stoppage to help Ukraine. However, the government did not explain why other senior officials were unaware of the decision and why the decision was quickly canceled.

“Negotiations on the end of the Russian and Ukrainian war are a complex and dynamic process,” said White House spokesman Caroline Lewat. We do not intend to disclose the details of all senior government officials. But the truth is that since Trump came to work, the end of the war has been much closer. “

The vague command structure in the Trump administration

According to Reuters, the stoppage of the US Army Transportation has cost about $ 1.5 million. The command, however, said in response to the media request that the final cost was $ 1.5 million, as one of the four flights was canceled.

The official order to stop the remaining military aid from the Joe Biden government was issued about a month later, on March 5, and was accompanied by the official White House announcement.

Reuters’s report on the cancellation process has been released for the first time and indicates the process of unprecedented policymaking and vague command structure in the Trump administration; A structure that is not even clear to its senior officials.

This multi -day interruption in the submission of weapons, which has confirmed five sources, also reflects confusion in the design and implementation of national security policy in the current government. According to some sources in the Pentagon, this turmoil is not hidden, and many current and former Ministry of Defense officials have expressed concern over the existence of profound disagreements, personal hatred and weakness in the institution.

Reuters failed to determine the exact time of issuance of flights by the Hegst office, but four sources have confirmed that Ukrainian and European officials have questioned the stop on February 7. The US Army Transportation Command Documents show that the oral order has been issued by the Secretary of Defense and the flights have resumed February 5.

According to Reuters, US Navy Retired Navy Officer Mark Concellence and Defense Expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on the recent controversial decision to stop sending weapons to Ukraine says: “This decision is based on the current government’s management philosophy that is fully compatible with, that is, quick action. “This approach may be suitable for Silicon Valley, but it is definitely a problem for institutions that have hundreds of years of experience.”

Hegest misconduct

Stopping weapons flights has raised concerns in Kiev. According to a Ukrainian official, the Ukrainian government immediately called for Washington to explain through various channels, but did not receive useful information. In subsequent interviews, US officials attributed the stop due to “internal disputes”. Ukrainian officials have refused to comment.

Sending US weapons to Ukraine requires the approval of several government agencies, and depending on the volume of cargo, it may take weeks or even months. Most of the US military aid is delivered to Ukrainian representatives through a logistics center in Poland to transfer them into the country.

The center has the capacity to store cargo for a long time. It is unclear whether the two flights were only planned that week since February. It is also unclear whether the amount of weapons stored in Poland and whether the aid has continued despite the US Army Transport Command order.

According to Reuters, the disclosure comes as the US Department of Defense is facing a domestic crisis. Several senior consultants Pete Hegst were fired on April 7 for unauthorized disclosure of information classified. The Secretary of Defense is still supervised and questioned. Hegst had previously attributed the allegations to former employees’ dissatisfaction.

The canceled flights were carrying weapons that had long been approved by the Biden government and approved by Congress. Reuters failed to determine whether Hegest or his team was aware of the executive consequences of stopping flights. Three informed sources have said that Hegest has been missed in interpreting his talks with Trump about military aid to Ukraine, but they did not provide further details.

The other four sources have said that a small group of defense ministry staff, some of whom have never had a background in the government and have been opposed to US help for years, have encouraged Hegest to stop the assistance option.

However, the other four sources emphasized that the aid was not completely cut off and what happened was more like a “logistics stop”. One source said, “They only wanted to be aware of the situation, and this was mistakenly regarded by others as an order to stop everything.”

Hegest was questioned?

During the January 9 meeting at the White House’s office, according to informed sources, Hegest had been presented with a note by its senior advisers, recommending that the US government stop sending weapons to Ukraine in order to earn points in peace talks with Russia.

The meeting, attended by US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and US Special Representative Kate Clag, discussed US general policy towards Russia and Ukraine. The issue of tightening sanctions against Moscow was also one of the axes of the dialogue. Sources have confirmed that the idea of ​​stopping aid to Ukraine was discussed at the meeting, though it is not clear to what extent it was followed by Hegest.

Normally, a decision on the importance – such as stopping military aid to a union – must be made in coordination with senior national security officials and with the approval of the US president, as it requires coordination between several institutions and transport companies. But according to three informed sources, the coordination was not carried out during the order of canceling flights carrying artillery bullets from US military bases in Delaware and the United Arab Emirates.

The stop came as the Ukrainian army on the eastern front, especially in the fateful battle of the Korsk region in Russia, was in severe pressure from Russian forces and had largely lost the territories it occupied.

Two informed sources have said that some Consultants close to Trump, after being informed by the Pentagon employees, raised the matter with the president and talked to him about the return of weapons shipments. According to the documents reviewed, the US Army Transportation Command had canceled a total of four flights. Some media outlined the stop, but the direct role of Hegst had not been determined before the report.

It is not clear whether Trump later questioned Hegest, but according to an informed source, Mike Waltz eventually intervened to cancel the order. Waltz was abandoned on Thursday and is due to be announced as the new US ambassador to the United Nations.

Ukrainian concern

Following Trump’s arrival, military aid continued to Ukraine, and the US president promised to cooperate with Ukraine and Russia to end the war; Or at least the ceasefire will be established. In this regard, three senior Trump envoy, Clag and Witcaf, were tasked with negotiating with the parties.

But in the Pentagon, according to informed sources, a group of Hegstal consultants had begun to formulate offers to reduce military support from Ukraine. These people belong to anti -intervention currents. Some have previously called for a decline in Washington’s military obligations in West Asia and Europe as a Republican lawmaker; A view that is in line with the views of Vice President JD Venus.

According to informed sources, these internal differences have complicated the policy process. While the collag and Witcaf are trying to reach a peace agreement between Kiev and Moscow, the group of consultants behind the scenes to retreat from Ukraine’s support; The issue that has raised concerns from Ukrainian officials and the increased pressure on European allies to fill the vacuum.

At the same time, Washington has signed a contract with Kiev to access the rare mineral resources of Ukraine; An agreement that US officials have described as an attempt to restore some of the costs of war.

According to British media reports, despite the short -term stoppage in February and a longer stop that began in early March, the Trump administration resumes the remaining military aid approved during Joe Biden’s presidency; But it has not yet announced any new policies.

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