OREANDA-NEWS. The U.S. administration ordered the suspension of military assistance to Ukraine about an hour and a half after a telephone conversation between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. It's reported by CNN with reference to documents and emails that were published by the nonprofit organization Center for Public Integrity.

It follows from them that on July 25, 90 minutes after the conversation, the administrative-budgetary officer Mike Duffy contacted Pentagon representatives and ordered them to freeze the allocation in the light of the administration’s plans to review Ukraine’s assistance, including military assistance. The management denied the connection between a phone call and help freezing. According to Rachel Sammel, a service representative, the decision was made on July 18. She stated that the fragments of Duffy's letter were misleading as they were taken out of context.

From the published documents, it also follows that Trump became interested in the issue of providing military assistance to Kiev on June 19. This happened after he read an article by The Washington Examiner about the Pentagon’s plans to continue supporting Ukraine. On his instructions, Duffy sent a request to the military department for more detailed information on financing, writes the American media.