White House: US running low on ammunition stockpiles amid military aid to Ukraine
The US is running low on its stockpiles of ammunition as the country gave billions of dollars worth of military assistance packages to aid Ukraine in its war against Russia, said.
President Joe Biden “found that overall stocks of 155 munition, which is the NATO standard ammunition used for artillery rounds, was relatively low,” Sullivan told CNN.
He added that the administration also learned that it would take years, not months, to restock the supplies to acceptable levels.
“President Biden ordered his Pentagon to work rapidly to scale up the ability of the US to produce all the ammunition we could ever need for any conflict at any time,” Sullivan said, adding: “Month on month, we are increasing our capacity to supply ammunition.”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the US has directed more than $75 billion in assistance to Ukraine, which includes humanitarian, financial, and military support, according to the German research institute Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
US military aid to Ukraine between January 24, 2022, and May 31, 2023 amounted to $46.6 billion – divided into security assistance: Training, equipment, weapons, logistics support, and other assistance provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative; weapons and equipment: weapons and equipment from Defense Department stocks, provided through presidential drawdowns; and grants and loans for weapons and equipment: grants and loans provided through the Foreign Military Financing program, according to the Council of Foreign Relations.
Weapons and equipment Ukraine gained from the US arsenal included: infantry arms, air defense, air-to-ground missiles, manned aircraft, drones, artillery, tanks and armored vehicles, coastal defense, ground support vehicles, radar and communications.
