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Ukrainian soldiers carry empty shells from a self-propelled howitzer near the settlement of Makariv, Ukraine, March 6, 2022. Photo/REUTERS/Maksim Levin
WASHINGTON – The New York Times (NYT) reports that the United States (US) military is supplying Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells withdrawn from Israel-based stockpile.
The Pentagon was reportedly “rushing” to find the ammunition as Ukrainian forces continued to exhaust their arsenal.
“The Pentagon has sourced from America’s vast but little-known ammo stockpile in Israel to help meet Ukraine’s urgent need for artillery shells,” said the Times report on Tuesday (17/1/2023), citing several unnamed Israeli and American officials. .
While it is not clear when the deal was reached, Israel has agreed to allow Washington to take some 300,000 155-millimeter rounds from warehouses on its territory.
“About half of the 300,000 bullets destined for Ukraine have already been sent to Europe and will eventually be shipped via Poland,” the Times added.
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US supplies in Israel are intended for use in America’s ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The Pentagon was forced to seek new weapons supplies as Ukrainian forces reportedly detonated around 90,000 rounds a month, double the rate produced by the United States and Europe combined.
The United States has shipped or authorized shipments of more than one million 155mm rounds to Ukraine since the conflict with Russia began last February.
“Most of that has been withdrawn from existing inventories in South Korea and Israel,” a senior US official told the Times, though not specifying the total amount sourced by each.
