Ukraine's lack of ammunition problem is a lot worse than first thought and can't be addressed until 2024
There is growing evidence that for the remainder of 2023, the West in general and the U.S. in particular likely do not have sufficient on-hand stocks of key weapons and ammunition to match what has been provided to Ukraine over the first 14 months of the war.
On Tuesday (09/05/23), the United States announced yet another tranche of military support to Ukraine, this time in the form of a $1.2 billion package.
What is key about this promised support is that it was not given under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, but the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
The difference in the two programs is significant and has ominous implications for Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) operations through the rest of this year, especially following the outcome – win, lose, or draw – of the upcoming Ukrainian offensive.
The drawdown authority means Biden can order the immediate delivery of existing U.S. weapons and ammunition, meaning they can, in theory, be delivered to the battlefield within weeks.
The security assistance initiative, on the other hand, means contracts must be written, publicized, undergo a bidding process, and then defense contracting companies that win bids must produce the ammunition or military gear, sometimes taking years to complete.
This means Ukraine will not see the primary benefits of this latest round of U.S. support until at least 2024.
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2023/05/ukr ... eat-putin/
