This article originally appeared on ZeroHedge and was republished with permission.
Guest post by Tyler Durden
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte spoke to Fox News in a Wednesday interview, reacting to the ‘shock’ White House announcement halting many arms and ammo transfers to Ukraine. Rutte said that he understands the United States’ need to safeguard its own defense stockpiles, however, still made an appeal for ongoing urgent support from Washington.
“I totally understand that the US always has to make sure its interests are covered,” Rutte told Fox. “When it comes to Ukraine, in the short term, Ukraine cannot do without all the support it can get.”
The White House had earlier described that in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war the “decision was made to put America’s interests first following” a Defense Department “review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe.”
Many reports over the last couple years have sounded the alarm that US military stockpiles are falling dangerously low, and that they will continue to be depleted based on past Ukraine policy and pledged future transfers.
The items being halted were key weapons systems previously promised to Ukraine’s military, ranging from Hellfire missiles to Patriot missiles to precision-guided artillery shells and munitions for F-16 fighter jets. Newsweek says that Russia is ‘celebrating’ the development:
Peskov referred to “empty warehouses” housing the American arms and said that the fewer weapons given to Ukraine “the closer the end of the special military operation,” referring to the official Kremlin term for its full-scale invasion. Peskov expressed the same sentiment to reporters on Thursday, according to state news agency Tass.
The ISW said the U.S. suspension will reinforce Putin’s plan, expressed in June 2024 and repeated since then, to win a war of attrition with slow advances as he waits for Western support for Ukraine to dry up.
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Presidents Trump and Zelensky are expected to discuss the stoppage of these deliveries to Kiev in a call on Friday. Financial Times says they are expected to discuss deal-making to keep the arms flowing, though obviously Zelensky has had very rocky relations with the US leader of late:
Ukrainians were alarmed by the pause in deliveries of weapons including some now being held in Poland while Russia intensifies a summer offensive that involved its largest aerial attack of the war last weekend. Zelenskyy has said he wants to buy 10 Patriot systems for $15bn to defend against Russian drones and missiles.
Trump suggested during the Nato summit that he would consider selling Patriot interceptors to Kyiv, but said supplies were low. Defence department spokesman Sean Parnell said on Wednesday the halt in deliveries came after a “capability review” conducted “to ensure US military aid aligns with our defense priorities”.
The question of an acceptable amount of hardware in the Pentagon’s own stockpiles isn’t expected to be of much concern to Ukraine and its closest European supporters.
Pro-Ukraine hawks in Congress are also angry and looking for answers…
They are already lashing out, angry that the arms pipeline is dwindling further. Ukrainian foreign minister Andriy Sybiha has informed the US Embassy in Kiev that “any delay or hesitation in supporting Ukraine’s defense capabilities only encourages the aggressor to continue the war and acts of terror.”
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