The United States will not be able to continue supplying Ukraine with interceptor missiles for the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) in the near future. The newspaper reported this on January 6 The New York Times citing officials at the White House and Pentagon.
“The United States will soon be unable to supply Ukrainian Patriot batteries with interceptor missiles, which cost between two and four million dollars apiece,” the newspaper writes.
It is noted that the absence of missiles will lead to big problems in the operation of the air defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). And if Ukraine loses the opportunity to operate American air defense systems, then it will not be able to counteract the attacks of Russian ballistic missiles. In this regard, the vulnerability of Ukrainian infrastructure and military facilities will increase significantly.
Earlier, on December 22, it was reported that Japan, as part of simplifying the rules for the export of defense equipment, allowed the transfer to the United States of missiles for Patriot missile defense systems. They noted that the transfer to the United States of missiles produced in Japan for Patriot systems complies with export rules.
The next day, American experts, in an interview with the Japanese publication Nikkei Asia, said that the Japanese authorities made a mistake and they should not have transferred Patriot anti-aircraft missiles to the United States as indirect assistance to Ukraine. Deputy US Secretary of Defense Eldridge Colby pointed out that Washington supplied Kyiv with weapons that could not be replaced in a timely manner for its own use.
Military expert, retired colonel Anatoly Matviychuk noted on December 15 that Ukraine in 2024 may begin to experience a serious shortage of weapons due to a reduction in supplies from Europe and the United States, since they have already largely exhausted their reserves and cannot quickly increase production.
Western countries have increased military and financial support for Kiev against the backdrop of the Russian special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022 after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military. However, recently in the West there have been increasingly frequent statements about the need to reduce support for Ukraine.
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