Supplies of air defense ammunition to Ukraine from the U.S. have dwindled – Kyiv may face a shortage of weapons

Ukraine risks facing a shortage of air defense systems due to a slowdown in U.S. supplies.

This was reported by the British outlet Financial Times, citing Western and Ukrainian officials.

“It’s only a matter of time before the ammunition runs out,” one of the paper’s sources said.

In recent months, after the Pentagon issued a directive to save resources, U.S. deliveries have become irregular and smaller than expected. Missiles purchased directly from manufacturers under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) are produced in batches, leading to gaps between shipments. Deliveries of air defense systems from Europe under the new replacement program for U.S. weapons have “only partially begun.”

A White House representative denied that the U.S. is “depriving Kyiv of vital air defense means” and insisted that the Pentagon is “very deliberately working to meet Ukraine’s needs.” At the same time, he noted that Donald Trump had instructed the U.S. to “sell weapons to NATO allies to compensate for what European countries are sending to Ukraine, but European countries must also step up — including by stopping purchases of Russian oil and exerting economic pressure on countries financing the war.”

After a review, the Pentagon first suspended and then slowed deliveries to Ukraine of Pac-3 interceptors for Patriot systems, dozens of Stinger man-portable air defense systems, precision artillery shells, more than 100 Hellfire missiles, and AIM missiles used by Ukraine’s NASAMS air defense systems and F-16 fighters.

According to Ukrainian officials, since the summer Kyiv has already expended a significant amount of ammunition and expects Russia to intensify strikes, including against energy facilities.

Recently, NATO stated that the production and delivery of new Patriot systems for Ukraine will take Europe about seven years.