Zelensky Warns Iran War Could Starve Ukraine Of Critical US Arms

This isn’t the first time the world’s attention has shifted away from the Ukraine war, but it certainly marks the biggest other conflict to erupt throughout the four-year long war in Eastern Europe.

Every time there is a ‘distraction’ – President Zelensky takes pains to try and refocus attention on Kiev’s plight, quite naturally. At a moment the depth of American arms supplies and ammo stockpiles are in question given the rate of expenditure in the new Iran war, the Ukrainians are rather nervous to say the least.

Zelensky has freshly warned that deeper US involvement in the conflict with Iran could disrupt the steady flow of American weapons that Ukraine depends on in its war against Russia. Of course, Ukraine was issuing desperate pleas for more arms and ammo even long before Trump’s Operation Epic Fury kicked off.

On slowed arms flows, he said as quoted in WSJ:

“We understand that a long war–if it is long–and the intensity of the military actions will affect the amount of air defense we receive,” Zelensky told reporters on Monday, according to audio of his remarks published by Ukrainian media.

Zelensky said he spoke to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about the issue of weapons supplies to Ukraine, and was in contact with other allies. So far, he added, there are no signs of any delays.

“Everyone understands that, for us, this is a matter of life,” Zelensky said of the arms Ukraine receives through the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, a program European allies use to purchase weapons from the U.S. for Ukraine.

But then again America’s Gulf allies, who are also desperate for anti-air replenishment, consider this moment a matter of life and death too.

WSJ notes further, “Ukraine has said it desperately needs PAC-3 interceptor missiles for the Patriot systems supplied by the U.S.”

Further, “The U.S. has been using its own Patriot systems to protect U.S. military bases and the airspace of allied countries in the Middle East from Iranian retaliatory strikes.”

So it seems like Zelensky’s arms wish list will be further delayed – not for lack of money, but simply based on rate of slow replenishment, but mostly Washington’s new conflict theatre priority: Iran and the Gulf. What’s worse is that the war is already threatening expansion across the whole Mideast region, as the conflict spreads to Lebanon.

Still, Ukraine has come out in favor of Trump’s strike on Iran, given especially that Russia uses Iranian suicide drones in the Ukraine conflict, and has from nearly the start.