US says military readiness unaffected by aid to Ukraine

Washington DC: The Pentagon has denied that arms transfers to Ukraine have impacted America’s military readiness amid concerns that the Pentagon’s own stockpile of Javelin weapons might be dwindling.

“We are comfortable that our readiness has not been impacted by the series of presidential drawdown authorities that we’ve executed,” a senior US Defense Department official told reporters on Monday. The official also said that the US has delivered more than 5,000 of the 5,500 Javelin anti-tank weapons systems Washington has committed to Ukraine.

However, despite the Pentagon’s assurances, the Biden administration is looking at alternative plans in case there are shortages.

“We’re considering a range of options, if they’re needed, to increase production capacity and improve production timelines of both... Javelins, as well as Stingers,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said later in the day.