Bogdan Frolov11:07, 20.09.25

They also answered whether this applies to supplies to Ukraine.

The first sign that something had changed in the U.S. approach to selling military equipment to Europe came when Denmark moved closer to a decision on buying a multibillion-dollar air defense system. For weeks, American and French negotiators had been actively pursuing a deal. But as the deadline approached, the U.S. Department of Defense suddenly lost interest.

During a phone call with the State Department in early September, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby said he did not believe in the value of some foreign military sales, The Atlantic reports .

He added that he “doesn’t like the idea of ​​selling Patriot systems” to Denmark because there are few of them and they should be reserved for the US to use as needed.

The comments reportedly surprised some State Department officials, but they soon learned that access was not limited to Denmark. Current and former administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Pentagon had identified a number of weapons as being in short supply and intended to block new requests for them from Europe.

“It is not yet clear how long this restriction will last, exactly how many weapons are on the list, and whether the list can be expanded. Exceptions will be extremely rare,” the material says.

Concerns about the Patriot shortage have been raised for months: the US has only about 25% of the interceptor missiles needed to carry out its war plans, the Defense Department says. At the same time, the Patriot has no real analogue in Europe, making the system especially valuable and in demand on a continent where concerns about air attacks are growing. This became even more evident after Estonia, a NATO member, reported violations of its airspace by Russian military aircraft.

Journalists say that if the restriction proves to be long-term, it risks creating new cracks in relations with allies, weakening their defenses at a time when Russia poses an immediate threat, and reducing US military influence on the continent. The change also means the loss of billions of dollars in public and private revenues, job losses in the defense industry, curbs on production expansion, and cuts to research and development.

Does this apply to Ukraine?

Media reports say several European countries have given Ukraine their best weapons to help it defend itself against Russian invasion, and in return have bought American weapons to replenish their arsenals. Trump insists that NATO countries take more responsibility for Europe’s security.

Officials note that the latest discussions on restrictions do not apply to weapons going directly to Ukraine: they are supplied under a separate program. “We tell the Europeans to send weapons to Ukraine and buy replacements, and then we say, ‘You can’t get them.’ We also tell them, ‘Defend yourself,’ but we also say we won’t sell them what they need to do that,” said Mark Kansian, a retired Marine colonel and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

One of Ukraine’s most sought-after weapons was the Patriot, a system that Denmark was planning to buy. Its active use in the war against Russia and Israel in the Middle East has only heightened concerns about stockpiles, which led to the current export restrictions. This “undermines the security of American allies in Europe,” Kansian said, but the current US presidential administration attaches much less importance to their security than previous ones.

Other news about arms supplies to Ukraine

UNIAN previously reported that the leader of the Czech opposition promised to cancel the initiative to supply shells to Ukraine. Former Prime Minister Andriy Babis said that the initiative is too expensive… for taxpayers

In addition, we also reported that EU countries are purchasing American weapons for Ukraine at a 10% markup . This was personally stated by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant. He also noted that the US and Ukraine have entered into a beneficial strategic partnership.

(C)UNIAN 2025