US delays weapon supplies to Ukraine, worrying about its own stockpiles
Photo: US slows down arms supplies to Ukraine (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
US military aid packages for Ukraine have become smaller in recent months as the stockpile of weapons and equipment that the Pentagon is willing to send to Kyiv from its own reserves has decreased, reports CNN.
The deficit has left Joe Biden's administration with $6 billion in arms and ammunition for Ukraine, but the Pentagon does not have the inventory it is ready to deliver.
“It’s about the stockpiles we have on our shelves, what [the Ukrainians] are asking for, and whether we can meet those requests with what we currently have” without impacting readiness, one of the officials said.
According to Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, the Pentagon has asked Congress to give it more time to spend the money before it runs out at the end of September. This is a sharp change from last winter when the administration pleaded with lawmakers for additional funding to support Ukraine against Russia's invasion.
Limited supplies
“Replenishment is also an issue,” the official said. The US is ramping up production of key items such as 155mm ammunition and Patriot missile systems, both to supply Ukraine and to replenish US stockpiles. But this is a multi-year process that is not able to quickly meet growing demand.
Before the war in Ukraine, the United States produced about 15,000 155 mm artillery shells per month. With the opening of new plants and production lines, the US now produces 40,000 shells per month. But it will still take the Pentagon more than a year to reach its goal of 100,000 shells per month. The process of ramping up production is on schedule, but it will take years, requiring new facilities, expanded plants, and the willingness of Congress to allocate money.
Ukraine is feeling the impact of the arms shortage, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany this month, Zelenskyy told the US and other allies that deliveries of promised air defense systems were moving too slowly and warned of a significant shortfall in vital aid.
Small packages
Congress allocated in April an additional $13.4 billion to the Biden administration to be used specifically to send Ukraine weapons and equipment from US stockpiles. But the Defense Department has been unable to use all of it due to a lack of suitable supplies that it is willing to part with without jeopardizing its own readiness for the United States, officials told CNN.
The Pentagon announced in April that it would send up to $1 billion worth of weapons and equipment directly from US stockpiles to Kyiv after Congress finally passed an additional funding package for Ukraine.
However, since then, the value of each military aid package to Ukraine has decreased: none has exceeded $400 million, and most have been between $125 million and $250 million. In 2022 and 2023, the Pentagon regularly announced packages worth between $600 million and $800 million, with the largest package amounting to $2.85 billion in January 2023.
Another US official said that the administration was unable to obtain supplies from the Defense Department's stockpile during the first four months of the year due to Congressional delays in approving additional funding. The official also said that the United States was trying not to send too much to Ukraine at one time.
“There are limits to how quickly we can draw down equipment without impacting military readiness, which is one reason packages get spaced out,” the official said. There are also limitations on how quickly Ukraine can accept the equipment and distribute it effectively.
The official added that the US continued to try to announce a new aid package about every two weeks, and Ukraine supports this because it believes that receiving new packages every two weeks boosts morale.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pledged to continue providing military support to Ukraine and announced a new $250 million aid package at a meeting in Germany this month. Austin said at the meeting that the US was working to increase production and accelerate deliveries to Ukraine. "Time is of the essence, especially with winter on its way,” Austin said. “And we must all step up our support — and quickly."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a recent interview with CNN that Ukraine was facing a shortage of weapons, so the country could not equip even 4 of the 14 brigades that needed to be trained.
