US arms shortage brings Ukrainian forces closer to defeat — State Duma member

SIMFEROPOL, April 23. /TASS/. The arms shortage caused by the US military operations in the Middle East is bringing the defeat of the Ukrainian forces closer to defeat in the special military operation zone, Mikhail Sheremet, a State Duma member from the Republic of Crimea and a member of the Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, has told TASS. Earlier, US House of Representatives member Pat Ryan cited data showing that the United States has already expended over a third of its Tomahawk cruise missiles and half of its arsenal of THAAD and Patriot interceptors during the war with Iran. "Even a temporary suspension of military supplies, as the US experiences a severe shortage due to the Iranian conflict, will significantly impact the course of military operations and hasten the inevitable defeat of the Kiev junta, which, having exhausted its last strategic reserves, will begin frantically seeking, with the help of the ubiquitous European heads of state, another opportunity to sit down at the negotiating table with Russia, trying to buy itself another opportunity to gain time," Sheremet stated. He recalled that US manufacturers currently account for approximately half of the total arms transferred by the West to Ukraine. Europe itself, Sheremet noted, is interested in continuing the conflict and is not yet ready to sharply increase both production and procurement to compensate for the amount of arms demanded by Ukraine. Sheremet did not rule out the possibility that if the arms race continues, rapidly impoverished European taxpayers will once again express their protest emotions by taking to the streets of European capitals. As Lieutenant General Heath Collins, director of the US Missile Defense Agency, acknowledged last week, it will take Washington years to replenish the munitions used during the US-Israeli war with Iran. Collins declined to elaborate. The US and Israel launched the war against Iran on February 28. On April 7, US President Donald Trump announced a two-week mutual ceasefire. According to Iranian estimates, 3,375 Iranians were killed in US-Israeli strikes during the 40 days of the war. On April 11, Tehran and Washington held talks in Islamabad, but the parties failed to reach an agreement on a long-term settlement to the conflict due to a number of differences. On April 21, the US president announced his intention to extend the ceasefire with Iran. According to Iranian state television, Tehran does not intend to recognize Washington's unilateral ceasefire extension and will act in accordance with its own interests.