As the Russia-Ukraine War reaches its one-year mark, the United States is feeling the strain. Supplies are running low and the Pentagon is now tapping into a little-known stockpile of American ammunition in Israel to meet Ukraine’s need for artillery shells in the war.
This stockpile, located on Israeli soil, is typically used to provide arms and ammunition for the Pentagon to use in Middle Eastern conflicts, but the stockpile remains open for Israel to use in its own emergencies. Already, hundreds of thousands of 155 mm shells have been shipped to Ukraine as Kyiv shifts to firing ammunition almost exclusively donated by the U.S. and Western allies.
Military analysts believe the war’s end may hinge on which side runs out of ammunition first. U.S. officials say the Ukrainian army is using about 90,000 artillery rounds a month, or about twice the rate the artillery rounds are being manufactured by the U.S. and European countries combined.
To date, U.S. taxpayers have committed at least $18.5 billion in weaponry alone to Ukraine. When U.S aid as a whole is factored in, that figure jumps to nearly $100 billion, which is more than any other country in the world.
