Washington-Sana
With the insistence of the US administration to continue arming Ukraine and fueling the crisis in it, a number of US lawmakers expressed concern that weapons stocks in the United States will run out within a few months.
The newspaper, "Stars and Stripes" specialized in US military affairs, reported that lawmakers and military experts warned during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee that US arms shipments to Ukraine, such as Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, reduced the Pentagon's stockpile by about a third. Replacing and restocking them will take several years, leaving the US military empty-handed.
Among the US lawmakers who have expressed concern about the rapid depletion of weapons stockpiles in the United States, Senator Richard Blumenthal, who indicated that the process of boosting production of Javelin missiles would take a full year, while the process of restocking these missiles would need 32 months unless US President Joe Biden moved towards restocking Work by the Defense Production Act to fund and maintain a higher rate of ammunition production.
David Berto, President of the Specialized Services Council of the American Trade Federation, stressed during the session that since the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, the United States has placed about a third of its stockpiles of weapons on alert, while no contracts have been signed to renew these stocks, indicating that if it continued Washington withdraws weapons from its stockpiles at this rate, these stocks will expire within six months.
Berto pointed out that contractors with the Pentagon will not be able to deliver alternative weapons to those that were withdrawn from American stores within six months, even if they start producing them now.
In turn, former Deputy US Defense Secretary Elaine Lord considered that the withdrawal of weapons from US warehouses and sending them to Ukraine "represents a major threat to the security of the United States," noting that Washington has handed over to Kyiv authorities nearly a quarter of its stockpile of "Stinger" portable air defense systems.
The United States continues to mobilize its Western allies to provide the regime in Kyiv with heavy weapons, as the White House announced in recent weeks two additional aid packages worth $ 800 million to Ukraine, despite many warnings of Washington's continued escalation of the situation in this country.
In compliance with Washington's orders to increase the armaments of NATO countries to Ukraine, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced yesterday that her country will provide Kyiv with Gibbard anti-aircraft tanks and provide training for Ukrainian forces.
Media reports also revealed that Britain would call on Ukraine's allies to prepare for a "prolonged battle and intensify" their production of heavy weapons, including tanks and aircraft.
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