Ukraine-Russia latest news: Trump ‘flat-footed’ by Pentagon’s weapons halt to Kyiv as he pledges more arms

Donald Trump was caught off-guard by the Pentagon’s decision to announce a pause in some weapons deliveries last week to Ukraine, three people aware of the situation have said.

One of the people described Mr Trump, who privately expressed frustration with Pentagon officials, as being caught “flat footed” by the announcement.

The Trump administration is in the eye of a storm after the Pentagon announced last week that it would hold back some air defence missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons pledged to Ukraine because of what US officials said were concerns that American stockpiles were running short on supply.

Mr Trump marked a U-turn on Monday and said the US will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, effectively reversing the move, as he showed signs of growing frustration with the Russian leader.

In a televised meeting of top officials, Mr Trump said: “We get a lot of bull**** thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless”.

On the war front, Polish and allied aircraft were activated in the early hours today after Russia launched air strikes hitting western Ukraine, officials said.