U.S. cannot fully halt arms supplies to Ukraine – Defense Express explains why

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.  

"A few weeks ago, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that over 30% of the weaponry used by Ukraine’s Defense Forces comes from the U.S., while less than 30% is European. However, it’s important to understand a key point: much of the weaponry sold by European partners is actually American-made. This includes U.S. F-16 fighter jets, Patriot air defense systems, M109 self-propelled howitzers, and many others. There’s a significant amount of such equipment.  

Therefore, the issue now is how to maintain what has already been delivered and how to replace, for instance, the over 1 million 155mm shells that the U.S. provided annually. European countries had promised to supply Ukraine with 1 million shells per year, but it took them a year and a half to meet this target. Now, they not only need to continue providing 1 million shells annually, but also compensate for the loss of U.S. supplies. If mechanisms are agreed upon for European nations to purchase weapons from the U.S., they will need to negotiate both financial and logistical aspects," Katkov explained.  

The expert emphasized that American defense companies have large contracts for weapons production and sales to Ukraine. This is why they could advocate for continued U.S. military aid to Kyiv.

"Regarding U.S. arms supplies to Ukraine. Few people mention the numerous American companies that make up a significant percentage of the U.S. GDP and serve as lobbyists in high-level government decision-making. For example, Lockheed Martin has a larger budget than Ukraine. Naturally, these companies have their own leverage over the decisions that will be made. And objectively, these decisions will be in Ukraine's favor. These companies have massive contracts, are expanding their range of weaponry, and so on. This system is working, and the war continues.  

Now, some are suggesting that nothing should be done and that no weapons should be sold to Ukraine. Such a decision is already meeting a rather interesting reaction from companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and others. We are talking about huge sums of money, which is why there is a strong likelihood that the U.S. will not completely freeze arms supplies to Ukraine," he added.P

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the full-scale war has cost Ukraine $320 billion. At the same time, the USA has provided $100 billion in aid to Ukraine during this period.