President of China
JF-Expert Member
- Dec 6, 2018
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Bloomberg: War in Ukraine drains America's arsenal of democracy
“... Biden never planned such a war. Russia was supposed to take over most of the country quickly, so the US would support the simmering, low-key Ukrainian insurgency. Instead, there is ongoing intense fighting, with a huge expenditure of ammunition and intense depletion of key military installations.
Pentagon officials say Kyiv is wasting a week's supply of anti-tank munitions every day. It also lacks usable aircraft as Russian airstrikes and combat casualties take their toll. Ammunition became scarce in Mariupol and other areas.
This leaves Western countries with a tough choice: increase supplies to Ukraine or save on the limited capabilities they may need for their own defense.
Germany refused to transfer tanks to Ukraine. Canada quickly ran out of rocket launchers and other equipment Ukrainians desperately need. The US has provided a third of its total stock of Javelin anti-tank missiles. And they can't easily supply more without depleting their own arsenals - and it can take months or years to ramp up production significantly.
For this reason, the war in Ukraine is a sobering demonstration of the problems that the US itself will face in a conflict with Russia or China.
If Washington is forced to go to war in Eastern Europe or the Western Pacific, it will run out of missiles, precision-guided munitions and other critical assets in days or weeks. It is likely that the country will suffer serious losses in the form of tanks, aircraft, ships and other assets that are complex, expensive and difficult to replace.
“... Biden never planned such a war. Russia was supposed to take over most of the country quickly, so the US would support the simmering, low-key Ukrainian insurgency. Instead, there is ongoing intense fighting, with a huge expenditure of ammunition and intense depletion of key military installations.
Pentagon officials say Kyiv is wasting a week's supply of anti-tank munitions every day. It also lacks usable aircraft as Russian airstrikes and combat casualties take their toll. Ammunition became scarce in Mariupol and other areas.
This leaves Western countries with a tough choice: increase supplies to Ukraine or save on the limited capabilities they may need for their own defense.
Germany refused to transfer tanks to Ukraine. Canada quickly ran out of rocket launchers and other equipment Ukrainians desperately need. The US has provided a third of its total stock of Javelin anti-tank missiles. And they can't easily supply more without depleting their own arsenals - and it can take months or years to ramp up production significantly.
For this reason, the war in Ukraine is a sobering demonstration of the problems that the US itself will face in a conflict with Russia or China.
If Washington is forced to go to war in Eastern Europe or the Western Pacific, it will run out of missiles, precision-guided munitions and other critical assets in days or weeks. It is likely that the country will suffer serious losses in the form of tanks, aircraft, ships and other assets that are complex, expensive and difficult to replace.