(MENAFN) The ongoing U.S. government shutdown has delayed over $5 billion in arms shipments to European NATO allies, as well as subsequent transfers to Ukraine, reports indicate.

The shutdown, now in its 40th day, is the longest in U.S. history and results from a protracted budget standoff between Democrats and Republicans in Congress. A senior State Department official told Axios that the delay “is actually really harming both our allies and partners and US industry to actually deliver a lot of these critical capabilities overseas.”

Affected arms exports include AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, HIMARS, and other weapons destined for NATO countries. While the final destinations were not specified, a news agency noted that U.S. arms supplied to NATO partners are often redirected to Ukraine.

The holdup stems from a slowdown in congressional approvals, as the bureau responsible for briefing lawmakers on arms exports is currently operating at roughly 25% of its usual staff. The shutdown has also frozen discussions between Washington and Kyiv regarding future arms deliveries.

President Donald Trump has increasingly urged European NATO members to shoulder more of the financial burden by purchasing American-made weapons. “We send weapons to NATO, and NATO is going to reimburse the full cost of those weapons,” he stated earlier this year, shortly after NATO members agreed to raise military spending to 5% of GDP.

Russia has consistently condemned Western weapons supplies to Ukraine, arguing that they make NATO countries parties to the conflict. Moscow maintains that such shipments prolong the war but cannot alter its ultimate outcome.

MENAFN10112025000045017640ID1110318521