Trump says US has given Ukraine too many weapons in first public comments on pause in shipments

US President Donald Trump complained Thursday that the United States provided too many weapons to Ukraine under the previous administration, his first public comments on the pause in some shipments, AP reported. 

Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One for a flight to Iowa, Trump said former President Joe Biden “emptied out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves,” according to AP. 

Trump, who also spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, suggested he wasn’t completely cutting off American assistance to Ukraine, according to AP.

“We’ve given so many weapons,” he said, adding that “we are working with them and trying to help them.”

Trump said he had a “pretty long call” with Putin that “didn’t make any progress” in resolving the war. 

“I’m not happy about that,” he said.

The Kremlin described the conversation as “frank and constructive” — the sixth publicly disclosed chat between the two leaders since Trump returned to the White House.

While discussing the situation around Iran and in the broader Middle East, Putin emphasized the need to resolve all differences “exclusively by political and diplomatic means,” said Yuri Ushakov, his foreign affairs adviser.

The leaders agreed that Russian and U.S. officials will maintain contact on the issue, he added.