With European funding: The Pentagon has decided to redirect Patriot missile deliveries from Ukraine to the Middle East
26 March 15:14
The U.S. Department of Defense is discussing the possibility of redirecting interceptor missiles intended for Ukraine to the Middle East, three people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
They were supposed to be delivered under the NATO-coordinated “Priority Ukraine Requirements List” (PURL) program, in which American missiles are purchased with funds from European countries. Although a decision to halt deliveries to Ukraine has not yet been made, the Pentagon has already planned to use part of the European funds received through PURL for its own needs, the WaPo found.
In less than four weeks of war in the Middle East, the U.S. has taken out more than 9,000 Iranian air targets, such as ballistic missiles and drones, and its ammunition stocks are running low. According to the newspaper’s sources, the weapons that could be redirected from Ukraine to the Middle East include interceptor missiles ordered under the PURL program. Since last summer, 75% of the missiles for Ukrainian Patriot batteries and virtually all the ammunition used by other air defense systems have been supplied under this program, says a NATO representative.
Deliveries under PURL will likely continue, but future shipments may not include air defense systems, as the U.S. seeks to replenish its own and its allies’ stocks in the Persian Gulf, a person familiar with the Pentagon’s calculations told the WaPo. According to another source, there is currently a “real discussion” in Washington about “how much [weapons] to give Ukraine.”
So far, the U.S. has redeployed components of the THAAD missile defense system from South Korea to the Middle East.
Last winter, the Russian army unleashed a “cold war” in Ukraine, using missiles and drones to destroy energy facilities that provide the residential sector with electricity, heating, and water. In late January, Volodymyr Zelenskyy complained that due to a delay in payment under the PURL program, Ukraine did not receive a shipment of interceptor missiles on time, which prevented it from protecting cities from a massive airstrike.
After the war began in Iran, Zelenskyy warned of the risks associated with a possible ammunition shortage in the U.S. This is also a concern in Europe, according to two European diplomats. According to one of them, the U.S. is using up missiles in the Middle East at such a rapid pace that “questions arise about how much they will be able to continue supplying under PURL” and to meet orders from European countries for their own air defense systems.
In early March, Germany quickly organized the delivery of 35 PAC-3 guided missiles, used in Patriot systems, to Ukraine. It provided five missiles from its own stockpiles and persuaded several European countries to allocate another 30 or so.
It remains unclear whether deliveries of U.S. interceptors to Ukraine will be postponed and carried out later if the Pentagon makes such a decision, or redirected entirely to other purposes, a U.S. official told the WaPo. The Pentagon must notify Congress of this.
So far, it informed lawmakers on Monday of its intention to redirect about $750 million allocated by NATO countries under the PURL program to replenish U.S. stockpiles rather than to provide additional aid to Ukraine, two U.S. officials told the WaPo. According to one of them, it is unclear whether the European countries participating in this initiative understand how their funds are being spent.
