US Shutdown Affects Trump's Support For Ukraine, Especially Military Drone Technology Transfers

Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drone. (Wikimedia Commons-Bayhaluk)

JAKARTA - United States (US) military support for Ukraine was temporarily suspended following the closure of the US government.

This was conveyed by a source within the Ukrainian government to The Telegraph newspaper

"The main concern is that we are having a lot of discussions about the delivery of [guns] in the future <...> All upcoming projects are slightly hampered as people from the Pentagon, State Department, and White House don't meet and we are losing time due to this closure," the Telegraph report quoted the source as saying, Friday, October 3.

According to information obtained, the US administration's shutdown into negotiations over a potential US drone manufacturing technology transfer agreement to Ukraine remains unclear.

Meanwhile, plans for the Ukrainian delegation to visit the US in the coming weeks have now been reconsidered.

Still in the newspaper report, the cancellation of the agreement between the two countries has the potential to cause relations that have recently heated to worse, while Ukraine continues to suffer heavy losses on the battlefield.

Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Ukrainian delegation arrived in Washington this week to discuss a deal with US authorities regarding drones. According to the newspaper, the settlement of the agreement between Ukraine and the US could take several months.