Patriot air defense systems and some other weapons are in short supply, unnamed officials have told the outlet
The US has ‘quietly’ paused sales of certain weapons to its European allies, The Atlantic has reported. The Trump administration is seeking to stockpile arms as part of its ‘America First’ agenda.
Washington has provided Kiev with over $67 billion in arms and military assistance since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Most of the deliveries were made under the administration of former US President Joe Biden.
The Pentagon has now identified some weapons as being in short supply and is moving to block new requests for those systems from NATO countries, the outlet said in an article on Friday.
The unnamed current and former US administration officials who spoke to The Atlantic could not say how long the hold will last or name the exact hardware on the list.
According to the report, the first evidence of a shift in policy was the Pentagon’s recent decision not to go ahead with the sale of “a multibillion-dollar” Patriot air-defense system to Denmark, despite US and French negotiators previously pressuring Copenhagen to make the purchase.
US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby said during a call earlier this month that “he did not believe in the value of certain foreign military sales,” two administration officials told the outlet.
The sources claimed that Colby also “did not like” the idea of selling Patriots to Denmark because they are in short supply and should remain in the US.
The Atlantic warned that a prolonged pause in weapons sales to Western Europe “risks creating new rifts with allies, weakening their defenses at a time when Russia poses an imminent threat, and diminishing US military influence across the continent.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated in early September that “the constant hysteria about Russia allegedly planning to attack Europe… is either a provocation or sheer incompetence.”
“Russia has never had, does not have, and never will have any desire to attack anyone,” Putin said. As for the Ukraine conflict, it was provoked by the West, and Moscow is only defending itself, he stressed.
