A military strategist has claimed that the US military is running low on ammunition due to billions in donations it has sent to Ukraine.
Ret. Lt. Col. Darin Gaub said during a TV interview that Washington’s controversial decision to send cluster bombs to Kyiv indicates that US armed forces are struggling with a dangerously depleted ammunition supply.
Last week, President Joe Biden gave the green light to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine despite sharp criticism from international rights groups.
“The reason why [Biden’s] doing it is because this is what we have left to send them,” Gaub explained to Fox News.
The US military is reportedly behind in manufacturing 155-millimeter artillery shells despite plans to increase production by 500 percent to replenish stockpiles sent to Ukraine.
Gaub estimates it will take 10 to 15 years before the US can fully replenish the ammunition it has shipped to the war-torn country.
‘Faster Than We Can Make It’
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the US has sent 42 military aid packages to Kyiv totaling more than $40 billion.
The donations include artillery shells and ammunition for the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system.
Gaud was asked how “the most prosperous nation in the world” ended up running “perilously low” on ammunition.
According to him, the US is sending ammunition faster than it can produce it.
He also claimed that some American production lines are inactive and unfunded, limiting the country’s ability to manufacture such munitions.
“We’re not even able to make these munitions and much of the equipment we need for the American military at the pace that we need to now for just us to maintain our own readiness,” Gaud said.
Controversial Decision
Debate about whether the US should send cluster bombs to Ukraine has been ongoing for months.
The concern is that civilians may be killed or injured if they accidentally stumble upon unexploded bomblets.
Typically, the US does not export cluster munitions with a “dud” (bomblets that do not explode) rate of one percent. Gaud said the bombs the US is donating have “a little over double that number.”
More than 100 countries, including the UK, France, and Germany, are part of a convention that bans the use of these weapons. Neither the US nor Ukraine are signatories.
“It’s a multiyear-long problem to clean that kind of thing up, which is why many people have issues with us sending them into Ukraine,” Gaud stated.