Due to the failure of both Russia and Ukraine to reach a result in the talks, the realization of a ceasefire has been delayed. US President Trump has become increasingly disappointed with Russia. Trump criticized Putin, saying that he "speaks politely during the day but bombs everyone at night." On July 14, when Trump met with NATO Secretary General Rutte, he also showed no restraint in his dissatisfaction with Russia.

Trump said that if Russia does not reach a peace agreement with Ukraine within 50 days, the United States will impose "very strict" tariffs and secondary tariffs on Russia, meaning a 100% tariff on Russia, and secondary tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil and other goods.

In addition, the United States announced that it would provide military aid to Ukraine, including the "Patriot" air defense missile system, through NATO. Trump said that NATO will quickly pay billions of dollars for military equipment and distribute it to the battlefield in Ukraine, with some equipment arriving in Ukraine very quickly.

Evidently, Trump's intention is clear. Since soft methods have failed, it is now time to take hard measures. However, just as the United States was trying to solve the problem through hard means, a big news was disclosed by a U.S. military insider.

On July 18, Douglas MacGregor, a former U.S. Pentagon advisor and retired U.S. Army colonel, stated that the U.S. missile reserves for defense and offense can only sustain "about eight days" of military operations, and the country's stockpiles have been exhausted. Moreover, MacGregor also called on the United States to stop supplying weapons to other countries at this time.

MacGregor pointed out that a very reliable source told me that our missiles for defense and attack can last about eight days. We can fight for eight days of war, after which we will have to use nuclear weapons. President Trump should be aware of how low our actual stockpiles are.

Evidently, if the information from the U.S. military insider is true, this is a major advantage for Russia, and a big cold shower for the United States, which was about to take action.

Certainly, the disclosure of insufficient U.S. weapon stocks by U.S. military insiders is not an isolated case. On July 2, NBC News reported that due to concerns about the low level of U.S. missile stocks, the Pentagon had suspended the delivery of certain weapons to Ukraine.

At that time, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, Elbridge Colby, halted the plan to transport dozens of "Patriot" air defense missiles, thousands of 155mm shells, and over 100 "Hellfire" missiles to Ukraine.

However, the fact that the U.S. has insufficient weapons stocks is indeed a real situation faced by the U.S. military. Relevant data show that since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the United States has provided Ukraine with more than 500 million bullets, 3 million 155mm shells, etc.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military has been engaged in a long battle with the Houthi rebels, and has used a large number of advanced equipment such as "Tomahawk" cruise missiles. In order to help Israel, the U.S. has also provided tens of thousands of precision-guided munitions to Israel. When assisting in the defense against Iranian missile attacks, the U.S. has consumed a large number of interception missiles from the "Patriot" and "Thaad" anti-missile systems.

Certainly, more seriously, the U.S. has a significant deindustrialization situation. A large amount of U.S. manufacturing has moved overseas, resulting in serious shortages of domestic production capacity. There is a severe shortage of engineers and skilled workers in the U.S. military industry, and R&D innovation capabilities have continued to decline.

Therefore, after continuous consumption, the U.S. weapon stockpiles have significantly declined, which is completely possible. The U.S. faces a shortage of weapon stocks, but Russia clearly has prepared well.

Not to mention anything else, just before Trump announced the 50-day deadline, South Korean media reported that Russia had already obtained 12 million rounds of artillery shells from North Korea, and all these shells were in place. In June, Russia had already gathered 120,000 armored troops on the front lines.

Now, Trump has made a bold statement, claiming that within 50 days, Russia and Ukraine will reach a ceasefire agreement. However, facing its own insufficient weapon stockpiles and the increasing difficulty of sustaining Ukraine's firepower, the U.S. goal may end up being unattainable.

(End of the article)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7528320660129497646/

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