US shifts Patriot missiles to Middle East, leaving Europe dangerously exposed

Washington (TIP): The US military is facing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe, largely because stockpiles have been moved to the Middle East during President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, a US defence official in Europe and a NATO official told The Associated Press. The shortfall has raised concerns about how well NATO countries could respond to a possible Russian missile attack.
The most serious gap involves Patriot missile interceptors, which can shoot down Russia’s high-speed ballistic missiles. The US official said American forces in Europe “definitely” do not have enough Patriots to stop any possible sustained ballistic missile attack and would have only a “very limited” ability to defend against even a single ballistic missile strike or a stray Russian missile that goes off course.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing sensitive military matters. The NATO official confirmed low Patriot inventories among American and NATO forces in Europe. The US official said that if Russia were to launch a ballistic missile assault on a military headquarters or power plant, NATO could find itself in a position similar to Ukraine and be forced “to take punch after punch in the mouth”.
The shortage shows the wider impact of Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran, a conflict that reaches the six-month mark on Friday.