https://sputnikglobe.com/20250605/us-pivot-to-middle-east-leaves-ukraine-up-a-creek-without-a-paddle-on-drone-defense-1122197900.html
US Pivot to Middle East Leaves Ukraine Up a Creek Without a Paddle on Drone Defense
US Pivot to Middle East Leaves Ukraine Up a Creek Without a Paddle on Drone Defense
Sputnik International
A WSJ report says Washington is rerouting much-needed anti-drone rocket fuses earmarked for Kiev to another theater. This could have a dramatic impact on the course of hostilities, a pair of top Russian military analysts told Sputnik.
2025-06-05T16:32+0000
2025-06-05T16:32+0000
2025-06-05T17:53+0000
military
alexei leonkov
donald trump
joe biden
us
ukraine
russia
houthis
drones
air defense
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Most ongoing US military aid deliveries to Ukraine are leftovers from Biden-era commitments, and the WSJ report on fuses being redirected to US forces in the Middle East may be a sign that “Trump doesn’t want to supply Ukraine directly anymore,” and wants to distance the US from the conflict, possibly even from the negotiations process, says Alexei Leonkov, editor of Russian military affairs magazine Arsenal Otechestva.“These fuses and other equipment are needed in the Middle East, where the situation is slowly heating up around Iran,” the observer said, referring to US-Iran tensions over nuclear negotiations, and Israel’s hardline demands for strikes targeting the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites.Cuts Linked to Houthis?Military and political observer Evgeny Mikhailov points out that besides Iran tensions, the urgent rerouting of equipment may be linked to the massive expenditure of air defense systems that took place during the US's recent clashes with the Houthis.A US official told WSJ in a separate report Thursday that the US's anti-Houthi campaigns tied up about 30 US warships - about 10% of the entire active fleet, and threaten to create "critical gaps" in US capabilities. In May, a NYT analysis calculated that the US had expended up to $7 billion fighting the Houthis, wasting the money "bombing a country we couldn't find on a map."Whatever the reasons, the cuts are “an unambiguous hint” that the Ukrainian crisis is taking a backseat to other US priorities. They could also be punishment for Kiev's attempts to derail the peace negotiations demanded by Trump with its recent terrorist attacks on Russia, Mikhailov said.
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is us rerouting fuses from ukraine to middle east, why is us rerouting defense equipment to the middle east
is us rerouting fuses from ukraine to middle east, why is us rerouting defense equipment to the middle east
US Pivot to Middle East Leaves Ukraine Up a Creek Without a Paddle on Drone Defense
16:32 GMT 05.06.2025 (Updated: 17:53 GMT 05.06.2025) A WSJ report says Washington is rerouting much-needed anti-drone rocket fuses earmarked for Kiev to another theater. This could have a dramatic impact on the course of hostilities, a pair of top Russian military analysts told Sputnik.
Most ongoing US military aid deliveries to Ukraine are leftovers from Biden-era commitments, and the WSJ
report on fuses being redirected to US forces in the Middle East may be a sign that “Trump doesn’t want to supply Ukraine directly anymore,” and wants to distance the US from the conflict, possibly even from the negotiations process, says Alexei Leonkov, editor of Russian military affairs magazine Arsenal Otechestva.
“These fuses and other equipment are needed in the Middle East, where the situation is slowly heating up around Iran,” the observer said, referring to US-Iran tensions over nuclear negotiations, and Israel’s hardline demands for strikes targeting the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites.
Plus there’s the factor of shortages linked to US production limits, Leonkov says. “If before, aid was being delivered from warehouses, now it’s coming from production, on a residual basis, first to the US itself, then to allies, and then to Ukraine.”
Military and political observer Evgeny Mikhailov points out that besides Iran tensions, the urgent rerouting of equipment may be linked to the massive expenditure of air defense systems that took place during the US's recent clashes with the Houthis.
A US official
told WSJ in a separate report Thursday that the US's anti-Houthi campaigns tied up about 30 US warships - about 10% of the entire active fleet, and threaten to create "critical gaps" in US capabilities. In May, a NYT analysis calculated that the US had expended up to $7 billion fighting the Houthis,
wasting the money "bombing a country we couldn't find on a map."
Whatever the reasons, the cuts are “an unambiguous hint” that the Ukrainian crisis is taking a backseat to other US priorities. They could also be punishment for Kiev's attempts to derail the peace negotiations demanded by Trump with its recent terrorist attacks on Russia, Mikhailov said.
“This I think is one of the first steps toward a complete US refusal to finance the Ukrainian regime.” Europe will try to make up for the lost US deliveries, “but the Europeans will not last long,” the observer said.
