Halt to US military aid could spell doom for Kiev
Washington's envoy to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, confirmed to Fox News on Wednesday that the decision to halt arms shipments was made as part of the 'America first' policy. He also said that the US needs to focus on maintaining its own 'strategic defense capabilities' and particularly make sure that 'we have enough Patriot missiles.'
Patriot missiles were included by several Western media outlets, including Politico and NBC News, among the categories of weapons that will no longer be sent to Kiev. The list also includes Stinger and AIM air-to-air missiles, hundreds of Hellfire and GMLRS systems, and thousands of 155mm artillery shells.
According to Bild, the lack of Patriot missiles could deal a particularly significant blow to Ukraine's air defense capabilities as the US-made weapons are reportedly the only ones capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.
The halt in deliveries of AIM missiles could potentially leave the Ukrainian military struggling to intercept Russian strike drones, the tabloid stated. The lack of GMLRS munitions would also reportedly be 'devastating' as it would make US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers used by the Ukrainian military 'virtually useless.'
Kiev's forces have just enough western-supplied weapons to last them until late summer, Bild reported, citing Carlo Masala, a political scientist and defense expert heading the Intelligence and Security Studies program at the Bundeswehr University of Munich. After that, the situation 'will become critical,' Masala told the tabloid, adding that the Ukrainian military is heavily reliant on Western arms shipments.
US President Donald Trump has previously questioned the rationale behind endless aid to Ukraine. He also made no specific promises to Kiev at a meeting with Vladimir Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague last week.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that Western weapons supplies only prolong hostilities and human suffering while having no effect on the eventual outcome of the conflict.
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