IN-DEPTH: US Munitions Stockpile Too Low to Defend in War Over Taiwan: Officials

Abandoned munitions crates are seen on the outskirts of Izyum, in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on Sept. 14, 2022. Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images

As Russian paratroopers descended on Kyiv and attempted to seize Antonov Airport, U.S. officials offered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a lifeline. Western leaders could guarantee him safe passage if he fled immediately.

Zelenskyy famously retorted that he needed ammunition, “not a ride.”