The Defense Department confirmed it is in the midst of a munitions stockpile review that has halted the transfer of munitions promised to Ukraine during the last weeks of the Biden administration.
During a press briefing Wednesday, a Pentagon spokesman declined to detail which weapons are on hold, when the hold began, or who is behind the review, first reported on Tuesday by Politico and the Wall Street Journal—to whom officials said DOD policy chief Elbridge Colby is responsible for the pause.
While DOD is committed to ending the war in Ukraine, Sean Parnell told reporters, “the department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach towards achieving this objective while also preserving U.S. military readiness and defense priorities that support the president’s ‘America First’ agenda.”
“And we will not be providing any updates to specific quantities or types of munitions being provided to Ukraine or the timelines associated with these transfers, but the secretary will continue to make recommendations to the president for his decision on military assistance to Ukraine going forward,” Parnell said.
The U.S. has provided a number of weapons systems and millions of rounds of ammunition to help Ukraine beat back Russia’s invasion. Last week, President Donald Trump said at a NATO summit that he was open to sending the Ukrainians more Patriot air defense systems.
“We can’t give weapons to everybody all around the world,” Parnell said. “We have to look out for America and defending our homeland, our troops around the world.”
Lawmakers and defense experts were taken aback that the administration would reverse course so sharply.
“The decision to intervene and prevent planned munitions deliveries to Ukraine is short-sighted and will put Ukrainians at risk and reduce the credibility of U.S. deterrence globally,” Mark Montgomery, a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington told Defense One on Wednesday. “Even if Bridge Colby is somehow right and we should have never supported Ukraine, once the U.S. started providing assistance and got the Ukrainians dependent on the U.S. defense industrial base, to pull the rug out on defensive weapons now is unconscionable.”
Parnell called the review a “common sense, pragmatic step” to make sure the U.S. isn’t depleting itself of munitions stocks in its efforts to help Ukraine. At the same time, he insisted that the U.S. isn’t short on anything.
“But we want to be very clear about this last point: Let it be known that our military has everything that it needs to conduct any mission, anywhere, anytime, all around the world,” he said. “We have the most lethal fighting force in the world. If you need further proof of that, look no further than Operation Midnight Hammer and the total obliteration of Iran’s nuclear ambitions there.”
It’s the Pentagon’s assessment that the strikes set Iran’s nuclear program back two years, Parnell clarified later.
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