A senior U.S. Navy officer warned that Washington's recent provision of advanced long-range weapons to Ukraine is depleting America's missile reserves.
Earlier last week, Admiral Sam Paparo, Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, stated in a speech at the Brookings Institution that the value of the weapons sent to Ukraine by the U.S. in the early stages of the Russia-Ukraine conflict was relatively low, which did not significantly impact the U.S.'s readiness to respond to major global threats. However, the Biden administration is now delivering more advanced defense technologies to Ukraine, which poses serious problems for the long-term defense needs of the United States.
Biden's recent moves include allowing Kyiv to use U.S.-made missiles to strike deeper into Russian territory, which Moscow and the Trump camp immediately viewed as an unnecessary escalation.
In addition, the White House approved the shipment of lethal land mines to Russia, waived nearly $5 billion in debt, and imposed sanctions on a Russian bank handling natural gas sales payments.
According to a person familiar with the U.S. position, these measures, along with others still under consideration, are part of Biden's plan to strengthen Ukraine as much as possible before Trump took office. As this was a private discussion, the individual requested anonymity.
Putin quickly responded. He approved a new nuclear doctrine that lowers the threshold for launching tactical nuclear weapons, and then launched a new type of hypersonic ballistic missile capable of carrying such warheads at Ukraine.
Paparo said, "Some Patriot missiles and some air-to-air missiles have already been deployed, which is consuming U.S. stocks."
Paparo continued to state, "To say otherwise would be dishonest," emphasizing that given his responsibility for the Pacific region, this could undermine the U.S.'s "long-term defensive posture" in the area.
Paparo emphasized that these weapons "are not reserved for any specific theater, but none can be quickly transferred to any theater."
He continued, "Essentially, this incurs costs to the U.S.'s responsiveness in the Indo-Pacific region, which is the most strained theater in terms of ammunition quantity and quality."
He called for the restoration and replenishment of depleted weapon stocks - and this must become an urgent priority.
The missile systems provided by the Biden administration to Kyiv include the Patriot air defense system and the Army's ATACMS missile system.
European countries are also facing the problem of depleting domestic stocks. Meanwhile, Ukraine's Western supporters are trying to help Kyiv launch and expand its own defense manufacturing.
The article is reprinted from: Jin Shi Data
