WASHINGTON: The United States will soon be unable to supply Ukraine with certain types of munitions critical to the battle for Kyiv against the Russian invasion, as supplies are running out faster than they can be replaced.
Washington has become by far the largest arms supplier to Ukraine since Russia launched the invasion on February 24, with more than $16.8 billion in military aid provided.
But US stocks of some equipment are “reaching minimum levels necessary for war planning and training,” and restocking to pre-invasion levels could take years, wrote Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International. Studies in a recent analysis.
Washington “learns the lessons” of the conflict on the need for ammunition in a war between great powers, which are “much greater” than expected, acknowledged a US military official on condition of anonymity.
American defense companies were forced to drastically cut production in the 1990s as the United States cut defense spending following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and their numbers fell dramatically, from tens to single digits.
Now the US government must convince industry to reopen assembly lines and restart production of items such as Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, which have not been produced since 2020.
Some equipment supplied by the United States has become emblematic of the war in Ukraine, such as the Javelin anti-tank weapons which were widely used by Kyiv forces to halt the Russian advance on the capital, and the Himars, a rocket system precision now playing a key role. in counter-offensives against Moscow’s troops in the east and south.