Pentagon reviews arms exports to allies as munition stockpiles reportedly drop

The Pentagon has said that it is reviewing weapons deliveries to allies around the world as reports grow of concerns over dwindling stockpiles of crucial munitions including anti-air missiles.

The announcement came after the White House confirmed that it was limiting deliveries of weapons to Ukraine to “put America’s interests first following a Department of Defense review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries around the globe”.

Those weapons were believed to include both offensive precision munitions such as Himars long-range missiles and 155mm artillery shells, and defensive Patriot anti-air missiles that are crucial for defending Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure from Russian missile attacks.

The Kremlin strikes have been condemned by most western leaders, including Donald Trump, who last week told a Ukrainian journalist that he would look for ways to deliver more Patriot missiles to Ukraine.

Instead on Tuesday, deliveries of Patriot missiles and other munitions were reported to be halted because of a Department of Defense review inspired in part by the expenditure of hundreds of US interceptor air defense missiles, which were used to help protect Israeli cities as well as Qatar from Iranian bombardments during last month’s war.

On Wednesday, the Pentagon confirmed that its review of exports of US weapons could affect countries other than Ukraine, according to Sean Parnell, a defence department spokesperson, who said the review was ongoing. It was not clear if this could include Israel, which buys 68% of its foreign-sourced weapons from the US.

Parnell’s remarks came during a briefing in which he defended the review and pause in delivery of munitions to Ukraine but declined to discuss which specific munitions were being held back.

“A capability review is being conducted to ensure US military aid aligns with our defense priorities, 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,” he said. “We see this as a commonsense pragmatic step … to evaluate what munitions are sent and where. 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.”

On Wednesday, Kyiv warned that a halt in shipments from the US would weaken its ability to defend against intensifying airstrikes and battlefield advances.

Ukraine said it had called in the acting US envoy to Kyiv to underline the importance of military aid from Washington continuing, and cautioned that any cut-off would embolden Russia in its war in Ukraine.

“The Ukrainian side emphasised that any delay or procrastination in supporting Ukraine’s defence capabilities will only encourage the aggressor to continue the war and terror, rather than seek peace,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said.

The review was said to be carried out under the under secretary of defense for policy, Elbridge Colby, who leads a group of foreign policy thinkers who believe that the US should redirect resources from Europe and the Middle East toward combating the threat posed by China. The so-called prioritisers have powerful allies in the Republican party, including Vice-President JD Vance, who has been a prominent critic of US aid to Ukraine.

“For a long time, four years under the Biden administration, we were giving away weapons and munitions without really thinking about how many we have,” said Parnell. “I think that this president was elected on putting this country first and defending the homeland and then you couple that with … a shift to the Indo-Pacific. Part of our job is to give the president a framework that he can use to evaluate how many munitions we have and where we’re sending them.”

Reuters contributed reporting