WASHINGTON — The Pentagon came under criticism Wednesday for its decision to halt sending air defense missiles to Ukraine, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle arguing that move was shortsighted at a time when Russia has ramped up its missile and drone barrages.

They challenged the Pentagon’s argument that the pause is necessary while the US reviews its stockpiles and weighs the need to save weapons for other threats. While stockpile numbers are classified, the weapons Ukraine needs most aren’t urgently required elsewhere and there was no immediate need to deny the country weapons that were already on their way, they said.

“I understand there are threats in the Indo-Pacific area and in the Middle East and we should be replenishing stockpiles but the solution is to produce more, not withhold it from Ukraine,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said in an interview.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican and outspoken defender of Ukraine, demanded an emergency briefing from the administration on its decision to withhold what he called “urgent, life-saving military assistance.”

The decision to suspend some deliveries of air-defense missiles and artillery shells caught Ukraine and its allies off guard, especially since it came just days after President Donald Trump suggested he’d be willing to send more Patriot missiles to Ukraine. It was cast as part of a broader review aimed at helping the US achieve its goals in Ukraine while maintaining readiness elsewhere.

Critics characterized it as a political decision from a White House that has called for an end to the war but also refused to impose fresh sanctions on Putin or approve new funding for Ukraine. Trump has also repeatedly criticized President Volodymyr Zelenskiy — including in an Oval Office meeting earlier this year that descended into a shouting match. After that flare-up, he briefly suspended weapons deliveries and intelligence sharing.

One NATO ally is pressing the Defense Department to reconsider the move, according to a European official familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. A U.S. lawmaker, who also asked not to be identified, was told the weapons weren’t being diverted elsewhere, suggesting the pause was only temporary.

But many officials were still seeking answers about a move that caused confusion within the administration as well. Two people familiar with the matter said that even the State Department hadn’t been consulted about the decision.

In a guest essay for the New York Times, former President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the main target of the pause, a program known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, uses federal funds to buy weapons directly from manufacturers for delivery to Ukraine.

Under the program, the Pentagon has also been able to replace what it sends to Ukraine with newer munitions.

The USAI deliveries “are sourced from procurement contracts, not from the Pentagon’s stockpiles, and are distinct from orders for the U.S. military,” Sullivan wrote. “The administration may not want to say it, but the reality appears to be that the president is winding down U.S. security assistance to Ukraine.”

Blumenthal and others said the move runs contrary to Trump’s goal of ending the war and gives Russia an advantage. Trump has stated repeatedly his desire to bring about a permanent end to the war and has called on President Vladimir Putin to do so.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the decision was part of a broader ongoing review of where the U.S. sends munitions. He declined to give details of the halt.

The administration has yet to give a full accounting of the weapons it’s halted, but reports said they include Patriot missiles, artillery shells, Stinger air-defense systems and Hellfire missiles. Russia has ramped up long-range strikes, particularly with Shahed-136 attack UAVs, targeting Ukrainian population centers. In June, Russia launched 33% more Shahed-136 drones than in May, according to Ukrainian air force data.

European partners have provided some air defense systems to Ukraine that can intercept Shahed drones and cruise missiles, but are “useless against Russian ballistic missiles,” said Bloomberg Economics geoeconomics analyst Alex Kokcharov.

The move to halt these weapons deliveries “is inconsistent with a number of very strong steps that President Trump and his team took last week,” said John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. That was a reference to an agreement made at a NATO summit to boost defense and related infrastructure spending to 5% of GDP.

Russia welcomed the halt in weapons deliveries, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying the decision will bring a settlement closer.

“Putin will view this Pentagon decision as a green light to ignore Trump’s warnings to stop,” said retired rear admiral Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

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(With assistance from Eric Martin.)

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