The Trump administration's shifting explanation of Ukraine weapons pause

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

59% : Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on at Marselisborg Castle during the official opening of Denmarks EU presidency in Aarhus, Denmark, on July 3, 2025.Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix via AFP via Getty ImagesJuly 7: White House changes tune, Trump says he'll ship weaponsOn Monday morning, Dozens were injured in Ukraine after another intense Russian drone attack that saw a residential building in Kharkiv take a direct hit.
57% : Trump then spoke with Zelenskyy, who later provided a positive assessment.
55% : Donald Trump listens to opening remarks, on the day he hosts a lunch for African representatives of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, July 9, 2025.July 2: Officials dance around how to describe the pauseThe next day, Wednesday, Pentagon and State Department officials danced around how to characterize a pause in weapons shipments to Ukraine.
50% : After, speaking with reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Trump suggested they didn't make any progress."We had a call.
49% : ""What we've done here at the Department of Defense is create a framework to analyze what munitions we're sending where, to help the President and the Secretary of Defense make decisions," said Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.
47% : The reporter followed up by asking, "What does it say that such a big decision could be made inside your government without you knowing?""I would know if a decision was made, I will know," Trump stressed.
45% : 3: Trump speaks with Putin, disputes question on weapons pauseTrump wrote on social media that he would be speaking with Putin on Thursday morning.
45% : Trump told a reporter who asked who ordered the pause.
42% : We have to, they have to be able to defend themselves," Trump said.
42% : Trump was asked about the conflict and the weapons pause again as he met with African leaders in the State Dining Room.
40% : giving weapons, but we've given so many weapons, but we are giving weapons, and we're working with them and trying to help them, but we haven't," Trump said.
37% : Trump said that he had directed a review of Pentagon munitions stockpiles after the U.S. struck Iran's nuclear sites last month but hadn't ordered the department to freeze the arms deliveries, according to people briefed on the conversation, the Journal reported.
36% : Trump said he would ship weapons to Ukraine during dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu."We're
32% : Trump pushed back to a reporter who asked him on Tuesday who was responsible.
32% : I'm not happy about that," Trump said.
25% : The Wall Street Journal later reported that Trump told Zelenskyy during that he wasn't responsible for the halt in weapons shipments to Kyiv.
25% : Trump also repeated he was "very unhappy" with Putin and said he was looking into sanctions on Russia as a consequence.
25% : July 9: Trump continues to say he's unsure who issued pauseOn Wednesday, Ukrainian officials reported the largest aerial assault on Ukraine from Russia since the start of the war.
19% : July 8: Trump says he doesn't know who approved pauseDuring a meeting of his Cabinet on Tuesday, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sitting next to him, Trump said he didn't know who signed off on the weapons pause."I
16% : July 4: Russia ramps up attacks on Ukraine, Trump speaks with ZelenskyyMore than 500 Russian attack drones and missiles were fired at Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X on Friday.

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