Paparo: Growing Russia-China ties and global aid dull U.S. firepower

• Second, support provided to Israel and Ukraine is "eating into" some of the most precious U.S. weapons stockpiles, dampening potential U.S. firepower in China's backyard.

Why it matters: This is a damned if you do, damned if you don't moment — a test of American production and planning prowess.

• How the Pentagon juggles competition with Russia and China, counterterrorism crusades in other countries and negotiations back home will have consequences.

By the numbers: The U.S. has provided more than $64 billion in security aid to Ukraine since early 2022.

• That includes three Patriot air defense batteries, 40-plus High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, 31 Abrams tanks, more than 300 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, countless drones and stacks upon stacks of ammunition.
• There are fears aid will dry up in a second Trump administration. That's just two months away.

The bottom line: "The relationships are 19th century," but they concern "21st century weapons," Paparo said over the weekend at the Halifax International Security Forum.

• "This is a dangerous environment, and this is adding complexity to the environment itself."