Europe faces up to prospect US may be unable to arm Nato allies

Ukrainian servicemen fire a Himars rocket towards Russian troops near the frontline in Donetsk region last month. Photograph: Reuters View image in fullscreen Ukrainian servicemen fire a Himars rocket towards Russian troops near the frontline in Donetsk region last month. Photograph: Reuters Analysis Europe faces up to prospect US may be unable to arm Nato allies Andrew Roth in Washington Wars in Iran and Ukraine have expended stockpiles of sought-after missiles, leaving gap in military resources There are growing concerns in Europe that the US defence industrial base is no longer providing the weapons pledged to Nato allies with US stockpiles depleted owing to the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, leaving allies to consider new avenues to arm and defend themselves. As Nato leaders including the US president, Donald Trump, convene in Ankara , Turkey, the US plans to address European defence spending and concerns over the Trump administration’s future commitment to the military alliance. The US this year has delayed or cancelled deliveries of a series of key arms shipments to countries in Europe , including Tomahawk cruise missiles, Himars mobile rocket artillery and desperately needed Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles, of which the US used an estimated 50% through April of this year during its war with Iran. They are crucial for countering the threat of missile strikes in Ukraine and would also be needed for the defence of Europe in case of an armed conflict with Russia. After a Russian bombardment killed at least 21 people and left dozens injured in Ukraine on Monday, the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the country had been unable to intercept about 23 ballistic missiles that were launched as part of a salvo alongside other missiles and drones. View image in fullscreen The US president, Donald Trump, left, and his secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, have been critical of European countries’ defence budgets. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters “The reason for this is precisely the insufficient supply of interceptor missiles,” Zelenskyy wrote. “It is very important that the world, especially America and our European partners, come out of the Nato summit in Ankara with strong decisions to support our defence of the sky, and hence, the protection of ordinary people’s lives.” The shortages have also angered European capitals, which have quietly seethed while seeking to avoid direct conflicts with the Trump administration in order to prevent a broader collapse in transatlantic relations. “There are five or six problems at once contributing to this,” said one European diplomat, describing dwindling stocks from the war in Iran and the conflict in Ukraine, the effort to shift defence resources away from Europe toward Asia and replenished stocks of interceptors being sent first to allies such as Israel. “We know that we are not customer number one.” The US has demanded that Nato allies increase their defence spending to 5% for a seco