Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 's reported halting of U.S. military aid to Ukraine in the early days of the Trump administration, without President Donald Trump 's direct order, is "mind-boggling," a senior Ukrainian lawmaker has told Newsweek .

American weapons shipments heading for Ukraine briefly stopped at the start of February, Reuters reported at the time.

The news agency then reported on Tuesday that Hegseth's office had given a verbal order to stop 11 flights carrying weapons and supplies bound for Ukraine shortly after the Trump administration took office.

Why It Matters

Kyiv is deeply reliant on Washington for military supplies funneled to the front lines, although less dependent on the U.S. now than in the initial months of Russia's full-scale invasion from February 2022. The outgoing Biden administration announced nearly $1 billion in aid for Ukraine in December, which is still being sent to the war-torn country.

What To Know

Trump was not aware of Hegseth's order, nor were senior national security officials present at a meeting in the Oval Office with the president on January 30 that included Hegseth, according to anonymous sources speaking to the outlet.

The idea of halting aid to Ukraine came up during the meeting, but Trump did not issue an order to stop the assistance, two people with knowledge of the matter told the news agency.

It is not clear when the order was given, but two sources told Reuters that Ukrainian and European officials started to query the pause on February 2, with records indicating flights had resumed by February 5.

Ukraine struggled to get clear information from the administration, despite reaching out through "multiple channels," said a Ukrainian official with direct knowledge of the situation.

"It's a mess," Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told Newsweek on Wednesday.

There appears to be a "serious communication gap" in the administration, Merezhko said, adding: "It's scary, simply speaking."

Newsweek has reached out to the Pentagon for comment via email. White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told Reuters that Hegseth had followed a Trump directive to pause aid heading for Ukraine. She said the administration would not "detail every conversation among top administration officials throughout the process" of attempting to end the war.

Hegseth's time at the helm of the Defense Department has been plagued with tales of infighting and increasing calls for his dismissal at a moment when the world watches on closely at how Trump's administration is steering defense policy.

Hegseth has blamed "disgruntled former employees" and "leakers."

Four anonymous sources briefed on the situation told Reuters that a small group of Pentagon staffers who had historically opposed U.S. aid to Ukraine but never held a job in government had told Hegseth to consider pressing pause on aid deliveries.

The U.S. officially halted military aid for Ukraine in early March, cutting off Kyiv's access to American-derived intelligence in an apparent effort to force Ukraine to negotiate on a ceasefire deal.

The abrupt stop of intelligence-sharing and fresh military supplies came as Ukraine grappled to hold onto a chunk of Russian territory in the country's Kursk region, into which Kyiv launched a surprise incursion last summer. The move into Kursk was designed to pull Russian resources from Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, and offer up a bargaining chip to the Ukrainians for future peace talks.

Russia peeled back Ukraine's grip in Kursk as the military aid and intelligence-sharing paused.

What People Are Saying

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the suspension of U.S. aid did not influence Ukraine's operations in Kursk.

"The building is in disarray under Hegseth's leadership," former Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot —who left the Department of Defense last month—said in a scathing opinion piece published shortly after his departure.

"As a result of this pause, there are hundreds of dead Ukrainians," an anonymous Ukrainian military officer told Time Magazine.

Roman Kostenko, a Ukrainian MP and secretary of the country's parliamentary committee for national security, defense and intelligence, said in February that there had been issues with U.S. supplies of weapons to Ukraine, which was contradicted by another Ukrainian lawmaker.

What Happens Next

The report invites renewed scrutiny of Hegseth, a Trump loyalist who has found himself at the heart of scandals over the use of messaging app Signal to discuss U.S. military strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen.