Ukraine has warned American weapon shipments could be delayed in reaching the battlefield because of the US government shutdown, writes The Telegraph.

“Discussions about US military support for Kyiv were frozen after the government shut down on Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers were furloughed after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach an agreement on government spending, leaving talks over a possible drone agreement in limbo, a Ukrainian government source told The Telegraph.

Aid groups have warned Ukraine is facing “massive attacks” from Russia of an “unprecedented intensity” amid the US government shutdown.

A Ukrainian delegation flew into Washington, DC on Tuesday for meetings with White House officials to craft an agreement on sharing drone technology, where Kyiv has world-leading expertise, in exchange for US royalties, The Wall Street Journal first reported. However, talks have been thrown into uncertainty as a result of the shutdown, with federal workers asked to stay at home.

“I don’t see how they will continue,” a Ukrainian government source told The Telegraph.

“The main concern is we have a lot of discussions ongoing about future shipments [of weapons]”, they said.

“All future projects are a little bit harmed because people from the Pentagon, State Department and White House are not meeting and we lose the time because of this shutdown”. The source added that “other Ukrainian delegations who were supposed to come in the coming weeks are now reviewing their plans”.

The prospective drone agreement, which could be worth billions of dollars, has the support of Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky and would mark a significant turning point in the security relationship between Washington and Kyiv. The US signed a USD 500m aid package for Ukraine last month, the first since Mr Trump returned to office, using funds from NATO countries. It is not clear if these shipments will be affected by the shutdown”.