The United States is threatening to suspend the procurement system that supplies arms to Ukraine, in order to pressure Kyiv to halt its attacks against Russia’s energy infrastructure, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing European officials.
The authorities, who had received calls from American officials or were informed about the matter, said that the U.S. was pressuring European capitals and Kyiv to try to end the attacks on Russian oil refineries, the report added.
Reuters was not able to verify the news immediately. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. message included threats to interrupt intelligence-sharing and the PURL mechanism (Priority Ukraine Needs List) for Ukraine’s acquisition of American weapons, the report added.
“They are calling Kyiv… They are calling everyone [in Europe],” said an official who had received a call from a representative of the U.S. Defense Department, according to the report.
The report comes after U.S. President Donald Trump made a surprise Sunday announcement about an energy cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine that, he said, would “take effect immediately,” but Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was still awaiting details of the agreement.
(Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru)
