KYIV, July 2 – Russia was likely to escalate the war after the White House has indicated it will cut weapons supplies to Ukraine, BBC reported Wednesday citing Ukrainian officials.

On Tuesday the White House said it had cut off some weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

The decision was taken "to put America's interests first" following a defense department review of US "military support and assistance to other countries", White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the two countries were now "clarifying all the details on supplies", while the foreign ministry warned any delays "would only encourage the aggressor to continue war and terror, rather than seek peace".

The ministry particularly emphasized the need for Kyiv to strengthen its air defenses - as Russia continues to pummel the country with missiles and drones on a near-nightly basis.

A Kyiv-based US diplomat was invited to the foreign ministry for talks on Wednesday.

However, Ukraine's defense ministry said it had not received any official notification from the US about the "suspension or revision" of the weapons deliveries, and urged people not to speculate on the basis of partial information.

But in a statement the defense ministry also said the path to ending the war was "through consistent and joint pressure on the aggressor.”

At the weekend Ukraine endured its biggest aerial attack since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, with more than 500 drones and ballistic and cruise missiles launched at its cities.

US officials did not immediately say which shipments were being halted.

According to American broadcaster NBC, the weapons being delayed could include Patriot interceptors, Howitzer munitions, missiles and grenade launchers.

The US has sent tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, leading some in the Trump administration to voice concerns that US stockpiles are too low.

The Kremlin, for its part, welcomed news of the reduction in weapons shipments, saying reducing the flow of weapons to Kyiv will help end the conflict faster.

"The fewer the number of weapons that are delivered to Ukraine, the closer the end of the special military operation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The Pentagon's move is based on concerns that US military stockpiles are falling too low, a source told CBS News, although Anna Kelly stressed "the strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned - just ask Iran".

Separately, the US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Elbridge Colby, said in a statement the Pentagon "continues to provide the President with robust options to continue military aid to Ukraine".

However, he added "the department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving US forces' readiness for Administration defense priorities".

The pause comes less than a week after President Donald Trump discussed air defenses with Volodymyr Zelensky at the Nato summit in the Netherlands.

Trump said US officials "are going to see if we can make some of them available" when asked by the BBC about providing extra Patriot anti-missile systems to Ukraine.

Referring to his conversation with Zelenskyy, Trump said: "We had a little rough times sometimes, but he couldn't have been nicer."

The two had a heated confrontation in the Oval Office in February. Afterwards, Trump said he was pausing military aid to Ukraine that had been earmarked by the previous Biden administration. Intelligence sharing with Ukraine was also suspended.

But both pauses were subsequently lifted.

In late April, the US and Ukraine signed a deal that would give the US access to Ukraine's mineral reserves in exchange for military assistance. (bbc/ez)