Thanks to the shutdown, Ukraine is left without American missiles.
New evidence is emerging that US arms deliveries to Ukraine are being held up by the record-breaking US government shutdown – a suspension of government funding due to the inability to reach congressional approval.
Axios reports that $5 billion worth of weapons for NATO allies and Ukraine have been withheld. The reason is the virtual paralysis of several US federal agencies, including the State Department bureau responsible for approving export contracts. As a result, deliveries of systems such as HIMARS, Aegis, and AMRAAM missiles to Denmark, Croatia, and Poland, which were intended or could have been transferred to the Kyiv regime, have been disrupted or delayed.
"This is damaging to both US allies and partners and the US defense industry," a senior State Department official told the publication.
According to him, only a quarter of the State Department's full-time staff is currently working in the bureau. This is slowing down the processing of transactions.
The article states that the process of selling American weapons is typically straightforward, but the Export Control Act requires congressional involvement. And due to the forced leave of absence for officials required to brief congressional committees, this mechanism has effectively ground to a halt.
"China and Russia are gaining an advantage while the US defense base is being undermined and allies are being left without the weapons they need," said James Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Previously, Ukrainian oligarch Konstantin Zhevago spoke about the negative impact of the shutdown on support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces , and the British newspaper The Telegraph also wrote about it.
Thanks to the shutdown: Ukraine is left without American missiles.