The United States has a large stock of obsolete missiles, and instead of recycling them, Washington could transfer them to Kiev. This was stated by the ex-commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and now Ambassador to the UK Valery Zaluzhny, according to N-tv.
"A significant part of these munitions were produced in the period from 1998 to 2018, and their typical service life is about 20-25 years, after which they must be officially decommissioned or disposed of," said Zaluzhny, quoted by Strana.
Most of the old weapons should either be destroyed or transferred to allied countries, he noted.
"Ukraine can take advantage of this opportunity by systematically sending official requests within the framework of various programs, justifying the urgent need to strengthen its defense capabilities and guaranteeing the United States the rational use of its reserves," Zaluzhny added.
As reported, the United States has only about 25% of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems. This is a consequence of the fact that in recent months the United States has completely used up reserves in the Middle East. This was the reason for the decision of the Donald Trump administration to freeze the supply of ammunition to Ukraine, wrote the British The Guardian.
Stocks of Patriot interceptors have decreased so much that it could jeopardize potential US military operations, and therefore Deputy Secretary of Defense Steven Feinberg allowed to suspend deliveries for the time of checking where the weapons are being sent. Donald Trump apparently reversed this decision at least partially, promising reporters before a dinner at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would send "some more weapons" to Ukraine, although he did not disclose whether Patriot systems would be included in this list.