''H-hour' approaches': diplomat on Hegseth's statements on cutting aid to Ukraine

Oleh Shamshur, diplomat and former Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S. and France, said this on Espreso TV.

“We’ve reached a crucial moment — the 'H-hour'. The military aid currently being received was contracted and paid for by the previous White House administration. Although in this context, it’s worth recalling those 20,000 shells that were supposed to be used to combat drones, but instead were transferred to U.S. troops in the Middle East. This sends a certain signal regarding the implementation of promised and possibly paid-for aid. At present, it is unclear whether negotiations are underway to provide new assistance with the new U.S. administration,” Shamshur noted.

The diplomat analyzed the statement made by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth regarding the reduction of aid to Ukraine.

“If we pay attention to Pete Hegseth’s words, first of all, it’s unclear what exactly he means by ‘aid.’ I don’t believe we’ll receive anything from Trump for free. Clearly, we are talking about negotiations over assistance either through something like lend-lease on a credit basis or, as Trump previously stated, he is willing to sell weapons to Ukraine and urge Europeans to pay for them. And in my opinion, that is what we should focus on. Whether this possibility will be realized — we shall see,” he said.

The second point to focus on in Hegseth’s statements is his reasoning behind the potential decrease in aid to Ukraine. He stated that the new administration has different priorities and that it seeks to end the war. “In other words, he sent a clear signal: the reduction in aid is an element of pressure from the Trump administration on Ukraine, with the goal of forcing it to agree to terms that would allow the war to end,” Shamshur emphasized.

• On June 4, it was reported that the U.S. had not yet approved decisions regarding future aid to Kyiv, as American leader Donald Trump is interested in ending Russia’s war against Ukraine.
• On June 10, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi stated that Ukrainian diplomacy is in dialogue with the United States to ensure the supply of American weapons even after the delivery of aid promised by President Joe Biden’s administration concludes.
• Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said that the United States would reduce its budget for financing military aid to Ukraine, since President Donald Trump’s administration “has a different view on this conflict.”