On June 18, 2019, the U.S. Department of Defense publicly announced the release of $250 million in military aid to Ukraine. It is currently unclear when the Ukrainian government became aware of the hold on aid. It may have been before the July 25 phone call or it may have been after. However, given the fact that they had hear a over month earlier that the aid had been released, it would be reasonable for them to at least be wondering if something had changed by July 25. Below are some relevant quotes:
“But by JuIy 3rd, that’s when I was concretely made aware of the fact that there was a hold placed by OMB.”
U.S. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman
National Security Counsel Ukraine Expert, Director for European Affairs
(11/19/19)
“On July 18, I participated in a … video conference where an OMB representative reported that the White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, had placed an informal hold on security assistance to Ukraine. The only reason given was that the order came at the direction of the President. I had heard about the hold before that date, but I do not remember the specific date.”
Catherine Croft
U.S. State Department Ukraine Specialist
“On July 25th, a member of my staff got a question from a Ukraine embassy contact asking what was going on with Ukraine security assistance.”
Laura Cooper
U.S. Department of Defense
(11/20/19)
For more info, visit Trump-Ukraine Central
– rob rünt
The Week In Trump 