How Ukraine can cope with US pause on crucial battlefield weapons

Kyiv: The decision by the United States to pause some weapons shipments to Ukraine has come at a tough time for Kyiv: Russia’s bigger army is making a concerted push on parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometre front line and is intensifying long-range drone and missile attacks that increasingly hammer civilians in Ukrainian cities.

Washington has been Ukraine’s biggest military backer since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour on February 24, 2022. But the Trump administration has been disengaging from the war, and no end to the fighting is in sight, despite recent direct peace talks. Here’s a look at Ukraine’s options following the US pause of some arms deliveries: Specific weapons needed from US Amid recurring concerns in Kyiv about how much military support its allies can supply and how quickly, Ukraine has raced to build up its domestic defence industry.

The country’s output has gradually grown, especially in the production of more and increasingly sophisticated drones, but Ukraine needs to speedily scale up production. Crucially, some high-tech US weapons are irreplaceable. They include Patriot air defence missiles, which are needed to fend off Russia’s frequent ballistic missile attacks, but which cost USD 4 million each. That vital system is included in the pause, and many cities in Ukraine, including Kyiv, could become increasingly vulnerable.

A senior Ukrainian official said Thursday that Patriot systems are “critically necessary” for Ukraine, but US-made HIMARS precision-guided missiles, also paused, are in less urgent need as other countries produce similar assets. “Other countries that have these (Patriot) systems can only transfer them with US approval. The real question now is how far the United States is willing to go in its reluctance to support Ukraine,” he told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of sensitivity of the subject.

The official said that Patriot missiles exist in sufficient numbers globally, and he said that accessing them requires political resolve. “There are enough missiles out there,” he said, without providing evidence. He also stated that Ukraine has already scaled up its domestic production of 155 mm artillery shells, which were once critically short, and is now capable of producing more than is currently contracted.

“Supplies from abroad have also become more available than before,” he said. Backup plan Amid at times fraught relations with US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been enlisting greater European help for his country’s arms manufacturing plans. European countries don’t have the production levels, military stockpiles or the technology to pick up all the slack left by the US pause, but Zelenskyy is recruiting their help for ambitious joint investment projects. he said.