Irina Pogorelaya14:59, 08.08.25

While sources said there have been no weapons diversions yet, the provision could cost Ukraine billions of dollars.

The Pentagon has prepared a memorandum according to which certain types of weapons and equipment intended for Ukraine can be returned back to American stockpiles.

CNN reported this , citing sources familiar with the situation. It is noted that this radical step will lead to billions of dollars previously allocated for Ukraine being directed to replenish American weapons stockpiles.

The publication noted that the memorandum was prepared by US Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, a well-known opponent of arms supplies to Ukraine.

Part of this memo had previously become public knowledge when the Pentagon banned a major arms shipment to Ukraine. The shipment was already in Poland. Then US President Donald Trump stepped in, lifting the ban. He promised to continue to supply defensive weapons to Ukraine and announced an agreement with NATO to supply Ukraine with billions of dollars of additional weapons, manufactured by the US but paid for by Europe.

However, as the publication noted, the Colby memo remains largely in effect and contains a previously unknown provision allowing the Pentagon to redirect weapons back to American arsenals created specifically for Ukraine under the Congressionally funded Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative program.Read also:

While sources said there have been no weapons diversions yet, the provision could cost Ukraine billions of dollars.

It also undermines the purpose of the USAI (United States Defense Assistance) program, a nearly decade-old program established by Congress for the specific purpose of providing the Pentagon with funds to purchase weapons for Ukraine directly from American defense contractors.

Notably, the Senate just recently allocated another $800 million to USAI as part of the Pentagon’s annual budget bill. However, CNN sources said it is unclear whether the weapons produced with this money will be sent to Ukraine in accordance with the Pentagon’s new policy.

Beyond USAI, the Pentagon still has nearly $4 billion in funding that Congress approved last year to supply Ukraine with weapons taken directly from U.S. arsenals. But another person familiar with the matter said the Pentagon likely won’t allocate that $4 billion.

The Colby memo, approved by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, remains department policy, the sources said. It classifies U.S. arsenals into “red,” “yellow” and “green” categories, the sources added. The red and yellow categories include weapons the Pentagon assesses are in short supply and now require Hegseth’s approval before being sent elsewhere.

For example, interceptors for Patriot air defense systems are in the “red” category, the sources said. The arms package to Ukraine that Hegseth suspended included dozens of interceptors, but Trump ordered Hegseth to continue delivering them after learning of the suspension. The Defense Department has largely followed that order to send interceptors, the sources said.

However, other weapons in the package were also on the “red list” and it is unclear whether they were delivered to the Ukrainians, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon is working with NATO to develop a new system for Europeans to buy American weapons for Ukraine, sources told CNN. The mechanism would essentially create a NATO bank account into which allies could transfer money to buy weapons from the United States, the sources said.

Under the system, Ukraine would send a list of weapons and equipment it needed directly to NATO, and U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkevich, the current head of U.S. European Command and NATO allied military operations, would determine whether the U.S. had enough weapons to sell before passing the list on to European partners for potential purchase, the sources said.

NATO allies are working to reach a starting amount of $10 billion, which they will contribute to NATO’s account for the purchase of weapons for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, two sources said. However, as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said, only one billion is available now.

US weapons for Ukraine

Earlier, Reuters reported that the US and NATO were developing a scheme by which European countries would transfer money to a special fund to pay for the purchase of American weapons by Ukraine. This mechanism was called PURL (Priority Ukraine Requirements List).

On August 5, it became known that Sweden, Norway and Denmark allocated more than $500 million for the purchase of  American weapons  for Ukraine. 

(c)UNIAN 2025