NEW YORK, August 8. /TASS/. The US could pare down assistance to Ukraine if a conflict breaks out between Israel and Hezbollah, as the Jewish state would need the same types of weapons as Kiev, said Mick Ryan, a retired Australian army major general.

The victory of a Democratic nominee in the US elections later this year wouldn’t help, he wrote in a column for Foreign Affairs.

"Even if Democrats triumph, Ukraine could see US support dip," Ryan said. "If conflicts in the Middle East expand, that will only further drain Ukraine of resources and attention—particularly if Israel’s war with Hezbollah heats up."

"A full-blown Hezbollah-Israeli conflict would consume almost exactly the same kinds of artillery and air defense weapons that Ukraine needs, such as 155-millimeter munitions, tank ammunition, and even aircraft-dropped precision bombs. Expanded fighting with Iran or the Houthis might eat up similar provisions," the analyst went on to say.

Ryan said the Gaza conflict meant that the US is spending less resources on Ukraine and also "spurred a massive shift in media attention away from the country."

"Ukraine faces a critical shortfall in air defense systems, and its national budget is on life support," he said.

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel last October accompanied by killings of residents of Israeli settlements near the border and taking multiple hostages. Israel declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started a ground operation in the enclave that goes on to this day.

Another round of escalation in Gaza followed the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, and the elimination of Fuad Shukr, a Hezbollah commander, in Beirut. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah held Israel responsible for the incidents and said they would not let it go unanswered.