The country has only 25 percent of the Patriot missile interceptors left from its initial stockpile level after heavy use of the weapon in the Middle East “in recent months,” reported The Guardian Tuesday. The arsenal issue raised concerns within the Defense Department that U.S. military operations could be jeopardized, with the situation becoming “more acute” in the wake of Donald Trump’s attack on Iranian nuclear facilities last month. The president ordered the use of nearly 30 Patriot missiles in an exchange with Iran’s military.
The reported shortage also halted a weapons shipment to Ukraine last week in what a White House spokesperson described as a move to “put America’s interests first,” blindsiding practically everyone outside of the White House, including the State Department, Congress, officials in Kyiv, and America’s European allies, reported NBC News.
Trump appeared unconcerned by the shortage come Monday, however, when he told reporters ahead of a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would “send some more weapons” to Ukraine. He did not, however, disclose whether those shipments would include the Patriot missiles.
The news of a shortage comes at a pivotal moment, with U.S. officials wavering on the country’s commitments to aiding Ukraine, and Democrats and Republicans alike excoriating the White House’s decision to pull back.
“We are not at any lower point, stockpile-wise, than we’ve been in the three and a half years of the Ukraine conflict,” Smith, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, told NBC News.
Last week, after news of the halted shipment broke, an analysis by senior military officers similarly found that a Ukraine aid package would not jeopardize U.S. supplies, reported NBC.
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