Mr. Carlo Masala, a political scientist and defense expert leading the Intelligence and Security Research Program at Bundeswehr University Munich, said that the US temporary suspension of ammunition aid could put Ukraine in a very difficult situation in less than the next 2 months.
Masala said the remaining Western aid in stockpiles could keep Ukraine there until the end of the summer, around late August and early September. After that period, the situation will "come critical".
Therefore, Ukraine is gradually becoming more dependent on military aid packages from Europe, the expert said.
On July 2, US special ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said that the decision to stop the transfer of weapons was part of the "America First" policy, emphasizing the importance of Washington having to assure itself of defense capabilities.
The list of weapons suspended for Kiev includes patriot missiles, Stinger missiles, AIM anti-aircraft missiles, hundreds of Hellfire and GMLRS systems, and thousands of 155mm artillery shells.
A German news agency later said that the lack of patriot and AIM missiles could degrade Ukraine's air defense capabilities, as these US-made weapons are believed to be the only ones capable of intercepting Russian airstrikes.
The news agency also said that the shortage of GMLRS shells will "cause severe damage", making the US-made HIMARS rocket artillery systems used by the Ukrainian army "nearly useless".
