US Halts Arms Shipments to Ukraine Despite Sufficient Stockpiles, Pentagon Faces Internal Pushback

Oleksandr Yan  |  July 4, 2024  |  19:48

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has unilaterally halted a shipment of weapons to Ukraine, despite internal assessments showing the move would not compromise U.S. military readiness, NBC News reported, citing multiple sources ...

Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking Democratic leader on the House Armed Services Committee, criticized the Pentagon’s rationale, calling it misleading. “We are not at the lowest level of weapons stockpiles we have seen in 3.5 years of the conflict in Ukraine,” Smith told NBC News, adding that his staff had reviewed the figures and found no justification for the aid suspension ...

The suspension has included deliveries of MIM-104F Patriot missiles - critical for Ukraine’s defense against ballistic threats. In response, the German government has launched an urgent procurement effort to provide the interceptors for Ukraine’s U.S.-made Patriot systems ...

https://militarnyi.com/en/news/us-halts-arms-shipments-to-ukraine-despite-sufficient-stockpiles-pentagon-faces-internal-pushback/

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The problem with DoD's position here is that the weapons transfers are for drawdowns that have already been paid for.  In addition, the drawdowns come with an appropriation that covers replacements for the drawdowns.  What has happened is that those funds have been misappropriated, and DoD now lacks the ability to replace those stockpiles.