The United States supplied the AFU with a batch of FGM-148E missiles for Javelin anti-tank systems as part of the US Government's International Military Sales program. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The transfer of ammunition to Kiev took place on June 16.
“The project provides for the supply of an armament complex for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, its maintenance and the provision of related services for the training of personnel for the reliable and efficient operation of anti-tank systems throughout the entire life cycle,” the website of the Ukrainian military department says.
The cost of the kit delivered by APU and related services from the United States amounted to $ 27 million. The transfer of the FGM-148E is part of the deal concluded between Kiev and Washington in December 2019 for a total of $ 36.5 million. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine notes that the implementation of the agreement “is significant a step towards the development of Ukrainian-American strategic cooperation in support of the defense capability of Ukraine. ”
Also, according to the military department, the contract with the United States opens up new prospects for the implementation by Kiev of "direct foreign economic agreements in the field of armaments and military equipment with partner states."
Hawk Looks
According to experts, from the information provided by Kiev it follows that we are talking about the commercial supply of missiles for Javelin, which are armed with the Armed Forces. In the first half of 2018, the Ukrainian army received 37 American complexes and 210 missiles for them in the amount of $ 47 million. On August 24 of the same year, these weapons were demonstrated at the parade in honor of Independence Day of Ukraine.
In mid-September 2019, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced its intention to acquire a second batch of Javelin and missiles. Later, the US State Department approved the sale to Kiev of 150 rockets for Javelin and various equipment worth over $ 39 million.
- Military cargo with walkie-talkies, ammunition and anti-tank missiles for Ukraine
- © US Embassy Kyiv Ukraine
In October, the Supreme Commander of NATO forces in Europe, US General Tod Walters said that the Ukrainian military successfully mastered the operation of Javelin. He also pointed out the need to increase the number of American anti-tank systems in the Armed Forces. According to a senior officer, Javelin allows the Ukrainian army to more effectively defend its territory.
On December 3, US Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-Proliferation Christopher Ford announced a positive solution to the issue of supplying Kiev with a set of equipment for Javelin. On December 26, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Anatoly Petrenko said that Kiev and Washington signed a new contract on anti-tank systems.
At the end of January 2020, US Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs Clark Cooper said that a total of Ukraine had purchased 360 rockets for Javelin. In June, the US embassy in Kiev announced that the Armed Forces will receive $ 60 million worth of weapons. This arsenal includes walkie-talkies, ammunition and anti-tank missiles.
According to the American publication Politico, one of the main lobbyists for the armament of the Armed Forces of Ukraine anti-tank systems is Kurt Walker, who until September 2019 held the post of US Special Representative for Ukraine. Previously, the diplomat worked at BGR Group and at the McCain Institute think tank, which, in turn, promoted the commercial interests of Raytheon, a Javelin-based corporation.
Journalists claim that Volker always adhered to “hawkish views” in relation to Russia and advocated the supply of lethal weapons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2017, when he was appointed special representative.
At the same time, Volker is opposed to the use of Javelin on the contact line and during Ukraine offensive operations. According to the diplomat, it was on the basis of the non-use of complexes in such situations that the United States sold them to Kiev.
Georgy Tuka, deputy minister for temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons of Ukraine, spoke about Javelin's similar operating conditions in May 2018 on the Direct channel. True, the official emphasized that restrictions can be lifted in a critical situation.
- Launch missiles from Javelin ATGM
- © mod.uk
According to military expert Dmitry Drozdenko, restrictive measures of the United States are connected with the fact that Javelin may fall into the hands of militias. In a commentary on RT, he recalled that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had repeatedly suffered defeats in the ATO, and high-ranking officials of Ukraine were convicted of fraud with arms deliveries.
“The most important thing is that Javelin can fall into the hands of Donbass militias. They can be captured in battles or even sold to an opponent. Corruption is the main scourge of the APU. The Americans are well aware of this, though not always publicly focusing attention on this issue, ”says Drozdenko.
"Symbolic support"
According to experts interviewed by RT, Javelin is one of the most efficient systems in its class. However, the disadvantage of American weapons is the high cost. According to analysts, the money Ukraine is spending on the purchase of ammunition and equipment for Javelin is a very sensitive expense for the military budget of Ukraine, which should provide all the necessary 255-thousand units of the Armed Forces.
“Ukraine has acquired a symbolic number of complexes, which will not affect the combat potential of the army and the balance of forces in the Donbass. As far as I understand, almost all of the delivered Javelin are located at the Yavorovsky training ground in the Lviv region, and the Ukrainian armed forces continue to use outdated Soviet systems such as Fagot and Stugna, ”said Viktor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of Arsenal of the Fatherland, in a conversation with RT.
A similar point of view adheres to Drozdenko. The analyst believes that the United States is providing “symbolic support” to Ukraine under Javelin contracts. In his opinion, for a real increase in the combat potential of the Armed Forces, it will be necessary to supply more anti-tank systems, ammunition and other nomenclature of lethal weapons.
In turn, a professor at the Academy of Military Sciences, an employee of the Center for Political Studies of Russia, Vadim Kozyulin, focused on the fact that the Ukrainian army is actually dependent on the United States, without receiving any serious positive results on modernizing the army. Despite the annual US military assistance, which in 2020 will amount to $ 250 million, and the growing military budget in recent years, funds for updating the APU are still sorely lacking.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine, in fact, are still a fragment of the Soviet army, the development of which until 2014, the elite did not do at all. Now the Armed Forces of Ukraine are on the path to becoming a typical NATO army - they are moving to new standards, receiving weapons from the outside, and are purchasing Javelin from the United States. But all these external supplies and rising defense spending do not solve the numerous problems that are expressed in the huge shortage of modern technology, ”summed up Kozyulin.