Pentagon Admits; US Arsenals Shrinking amid Ukraine, West Asia Crises

Speaking at the Brookings Institution, the official was asked about how the conflicts in Ukraine and the West Asia region impacted the US defense preparedness in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Up to this year, when most of the employed weapons were really artillery pieces and short-range weapons - I had said, not at all. But now, with some of the Patriots that have been employed, some of the air-to-air missiles that have been employed, it's now eating into stocks, you know. And to say otherwise would be dishonest," TASS quoted him as saying.

Paparo emphasized he was speaking about "the stocks of the United States of America, and the high end capabilities of the United States of America."

"We should replenish these stocks and add some," he said, adding that he was "dissatisfied" with his country’s present-day arsenals.