US to delay arms shipments to Europe, potentially affecting Ukraine, FT reports
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Washington has warned its European allies to prepare for delays in U.S. weapons arrivals, including missiles used by Ukraine to defend against Russia, the Financial Times reported on May 2, citing its sources.
During the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran that began in February, the United States churned through its weapons and now needs time to replenish stocks. The U.S., Israel and Iran reached a ceasefire deal on April 8 but no progress has been made in peace talks so far.
Several sources told the Financial Times that the United States has informed the United Kingdom, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia that there will be long delays, with two sources also mentioning possible delays to Asia.
Under the PURL agreement, the U.S. sells weapons to European countries, which then supply U.S. arms to Ukraine.
The most concerning for Ukraine will be munitions for missile systems such as HIMARS — used to hit enemy positions and facilities behind the front line — and NASAMS — used to eliminate aerial threats such as drones and missiles.
Ukraine is already running low on air defense as Russia continues to launch wave after wave of attacks on civilians and infrastructure across the country. While Ukraine's defense industry is finding alternative solutions to Western systems, American-made arms are still crucial for the country's survival.
"Washington delaying delivery of HIMARS and NASAMS — systems that European allies have already paid for under Foreign Military Sales contracts — to countries like Britain, Poland, Lithuania, and Estonia marks a fundamental shift in how the United States now functions in the alliance architecture," Bohdan Popov, head of analytics for the Ukrainian defense advisory firm Triada Trade Partners, told the Kyiv Independent on May 2.
"The reliable senior partner is being replaced by a transactional player that reallocates contracted shipments according to current operational priorities."
Last week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said U.S. arms deliveries to Ukraine hadn't stopped despite the war in the Middle East. But an anonymous Ukrainian official told the Financial Times that the Iran war has caused some weapons delays to Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed shortage concerns entirely, saying the United States has inventories "all over the world."
"We can take that if we need it," he said May 1.
On April 21, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank, reported that the United States had burned through more than half its stockpiles of key air defense missiles in under two months.
For Ukraine, the most significant are air defense systems such as Patriots, which Ukraine has, and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries, which Ukraine wants.
Washington’s increasing unreliability will push European countries to further ramp up their own production lines for air defense, ammunition, and multiple launch rocket systems, Popov said.
"Until recently, talk of strategic autonomy was largely political. Now it has become a budgetary and procurement necessity," Popov said.
