Poland has claimed that there could soon be a new nuclear arms race if the West fails to send Ukraine the weapons it needs to defeat Vladimir Putin’s army.
Radek Sikorski, Poland’s foreign minister, said an ongoing furore within the US over whether to send a $60bn aid package to Ukraine, as well as the reluctance from some key allies in Europe to arm Ukraine, could trigger a scramble for new nuclear weapons.
‘If America cannot come together with Europe and enable Ukraine to drive Putin back, I fear that our family of democratic nations will start to break up. Allies will look for other ways to guarantee their safety,’ Sikorsky said during an interview with the Atlantic Council think tank.
‘Some of them will aim for the ultimate weapon, starting off a new nuclear race.’
Ukraine was once a nuclear nation, after inheriting a portion of the former Soviet Union’s nuclear stockpile after it collapsed in the 1990s.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has entered its third year
The flow of military aid to Kyiv and the use of as many as 3,000 155mm Howitzer shells a day has steadily emptied U.S. reserves
Poland’s foreign minister said Ukraine may be forced to develop its own nuclear weapons
But it gave them up in 1994 after it signed the Budapest Memorandum in exchange for a recognition of its independence by Russia, sovereignty and its own national borders.
Ukraine’s arms stockpiles are currently so low that the Pentagon may soon have to tap into its own diminished supply to ensure that Ukraine can still keep fighting, even as Congress is stalling additional funding.
The Pentagon has not made a final decision, but officials are considering the move as way to keep backing Ukraine despite the potential political pitfalls for the Biden administration.
Depleting American stockpiles in order to support Ukraine would anger many Republicans who believe Biden has to prioritize the defense of the United States first.
The flow of military aid to Kyiv and the use of as many as 3,000 155mm Howitzer shells a day has steadily emptied U.S. reserves, which at its height in 2005 was worth $1.5 billion.
The military uses around 150,000 rounds a year for training and is working to increase production from 20,000 shells a month to 75,000 a year.
The Pentagon asked for $1.5 billion last year to increase manufacturing and asked for $30million in the budget to ‘sure up’ its arsenal.
Ukraine was once a nuclear nation, after inheriting a portion of the former Soviet Union’s nuclear stockpile after it collapsed in the 1990s
Ukraine’s arms stockpiles are currently so low that the Pentagon may soon have to tap into its own diminished supply to ensure that Ukraine can still keep fighting
A handler and a dog examine the ruins watch at a section of a residential building destroyed by a Russian drone
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who serves at chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the New York Times that the idea was ‘on the table.
The Defense Department has around $4 billion authorized to send Ukraine from its own stockpiles, according to CNN, but that the Pentagon remains reluctant to use them without reassurance that they will get replaced.
In April 2022, U.S. stocks of Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles had been depleted by a third, leaving the Pentagon scrambling to replenish them.
The Pentagon already warned in September that the replenishment of U.S. stockpiles was slowing due to reluctance from House Republicans to pass more aid for Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl raised concerns of the armed service’s ability to replenish stockpiles while assisting Ukraine.
The Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package earlier this month which includes $60 billion for Ukraine.
The Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package earlier this month which includes $60 billion for Ukraine. But Republican Speaker Mike Johnson remains reluctant to bring it to the floor
But Republican Speaker Mike Johnson remains reluctant to bring it to the floor, citing the need for President Biden to confront the crisis on the southern border first.
Biden continues to reassure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the United States will ultimately provide him the aid and munitions that he needs to defend his country from Russia.
‘I’m going to fight until we get them the ammunition they need and the capacity they need to defend themselves,’ Biden said during a White House speech last week.
Poland, a NATO member since 1999, isn’t a nuclear power, nor has it signalled its intent to acquire nuclear weapons.
But it has expressed interest in NATO’s Nuclear Sharing programme, which allows it to take part in planning the use of nuclear weapons.