The America-sized hole in Ukraine’s war effort

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Russian army was advancing relentlessly in northeastern Ukraine in the summer of 2022 when the U.S. tipped the scales with new weapons and crucial battlefield intelligence.

The superior accuracy and greater range of M777 howitzers, supplied by the U.S., hit back against Russia’s mostly Soviet-designed artillery. Then U.S. intelligence tipped off Ukraine’s generals that Russia had moved several battalions to another front.

Accurate U.S.-made rocket artillery struck Russian fuel depots and weapons stores, leaving the Russian army short of supplies ahead of a rapid Ukrainian counteroffensive that retook dozens of towns. Now, with Russia’s military again grinding its way forward, the Trump administration has halted weapons deliveries and intelligence sharing that have been critical to Ukraine’s resistance against a three-year invasion by its giant neighbor that has killed tens of thousands and razed dozens of cities. The impact of the halt—which U.S.

officials described as a temporary pause designed to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate with Russia—will be limited at first, but is likely to grow over time as Ukraine’s stocks of U.S. ammunition run down, and weapons systems cannot be repaired or replaced, officials and analysts said. The main immediate impact will be felt from the cutoff of intelligence, which will constrain Ukraine’s ability to accurately target long-range strikes to knock out Russian troops and equipment before they reach the battlefield.