Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated<\/a> the U.S. has used 1,060 to 1,430 Patriots during the conflict with Iran, which could take three years to replenish.<\/p>\nKelly said he sees more optimism in Ukraine than earlier this year but the effort to beat back Russia requires more from the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe if they had everything they need right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSen. Kelly saw \u2018fantastic job\u2019 in Ukraine but warns that US weapons shortage hampers war with Russia<\/p>\n
Carsten Oyer, Cronkite News
\nJune 3, 2026<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2013 Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, fresh from a weekend visit to Ukraine, said the country\u2019s chances of winning its war with Russia remain strong but he is concerned about the impact of the U.S. war with Iran on weapons deliveries.<\/p>\n
Ukraine has done a \u201cfantastic job\u201d with the resources at its disposal, he said. \u201cThings in the last several months have started to trend their way. Hopefully it continues.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Democrat said he hopes Russia\u2019s staggering casualty count will convince President Vladimir Putin to end the war \u2013 as high as 35,000 a month, according to The Economist.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a time of year that the Russians usually double down on their invasion force, but lately they’ve been having a hard time replacing the people that are killed on the battlefields,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n
His visit to Ukraine came amid a sharp escalation in Russian strikes. A barrage of drones and missiles killed 22 people in Kyiv on Tuesday, the day he spoke with reporters at the Capitol about his visit.<\/p>\n
Kelly said roughly five drones were intercepted over Odesa while he and other U.S. lawmakers attended the Black Sea Security Forum.<\/p>\n
This was Kelly\u2019s fourth visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022. At the security forum, he spoke on advancements in defense technology, disinformation and U.S. alliances. He also visited nearby Moldova, a poor former Soviet bloc nation that hopes to join the European Union.<\/p>\n
Despite the positive outlook on Ukraine, Kelly warned that President Donald Trump\u2019s resistance to aid has hampered efforts to fend off Russia. Trump\u2019s decision to go to war with Iran three months ago left U.S. stockpiles depleted, further impacting Ukraine.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the House rebuked Trump\u2019s stance on Ukraine by approving roughly $1.8 billion in aid and $8 billion in loans, with a half-dozen Republicans breaking ranks and siding with Democrats. The measure also includes further economic sanctions.<\/p>\n
Kelly also supports more U.S. support for Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis administration has done a poor job putting pressure on the Russian government and on Putin,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s often hard to understand our president\u2019s relationship with Putin and his motivations.\u201d<\/p>\n
He called the war with Iran \u201ca gift to the Russians\u201d by cutting global oil supplies and creating a windfall for the Russian oil sector.<\/p>\n
In addition, U.S. weapons shortages have diminished the amount of munitions America is willing to provide for Ukrainian defense.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you expend a lot in the Middle East, you’re going to be less comfortable delivering what Ukraine needs to defend itself,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cIt’s just a math problem, it’s not hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
On May 26, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked the White House and Congress for more Patriot missiles to protect Kyiv and other cities against Russian ballistic weapons.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the U.S. now has a huge backlog of those interceptors. The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated the U.S. has used 1,060 to 1,430 Patriots during the conflict with Iran, which could take three years to replenish.<\/p>\n
Kelly said he sees more optimism in Ukraine than earlier this year but the effort to beat back Russia requires more from the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe if they had everything they need right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.<\/p>\n
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