"They do not want to provide more large-scale assistance": why the Pentagon urged to increase the supply of weapons to Kiev

US allies must lift restrictions on the supply of lethal weapons to Ukraine.

This was stated by Laura Cooper, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia.

“To begin with, I would like all our allies to lift restrictions on the supply of lethal defense weapons.

At the moment, the United States is providing Javelin systems, and Ukraine and Georgia have purchased Javelin, but this is an example of lethal defense weapons that we have provided, ”said a Pentagon spokesman at a virtual event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

She noted that a number of US allies have restrictions on the supply of lethal weapons to the Ukrainian side.

“Some have this restriction as part of their security assistance programs, while others have this restriction in terms of sales.

I believe that Ukraine should be able to acquire the weapons that it needs for defense.

So I would like these restrictions to be lifted, ”Cooper said.

She also recalled that the United States is helping Ukraine in "building up its naval potential."

“In this regard, the United States has allocated seven Island-class patrol boats so far, so they will go into service as well as nine Project Mark VI patrol boats,” Cooper added.

Despite the fact that not all of Washington's allies are transferring lethal weapons to Kiev, many NATO countries provide the Ukrainian side with military support of a different plan, the Pentagon spokeswoman recalled.

“The United Kingdom, Canada, Poland and Lithuania, as well as, of course, the United States are actively supporting the training programs for the Ukrainian military,” she stressed.

Weapon supply

We will remind, in December 2014, US President Barack Obama signed the Act "On Supporting Freedom of Ukraine" previously approved by Congress, which allowed the transfer of weapons to Kiev and assistance in the training of Ukrainian troops.

At the same time, the Obama administration claimed that it was transferring to Ukraine only non-lethal weapons and equipment, for example, unarmed Humvee armored vehicles and Raven reconnaissance drones.

At the same time, the State Department allowed American companies to sell weapons to Ukraine privately.

For example, Kiev purchased Barrett M107A1 armor-piercing sniper rifles and PSRL grenade launchers from US enterprises.

• Pentagon

• Gettyimages.ru

• © Glowimages

In addition, the department approved the supply of so-called advanced defensive weapons to Kiev, which, as it soon became known, meant the Javelin ATGM - they are designed to destroy tanks, armored vehicles and low-flying low-speed targets (UAVs and helicopters).

In March 2018, the United States approved the transfer of 37 Javelin launchers and 210 missiles to them in the amount of $ 47 million to Ukraine.In August of the same year, the complexes supplied from the United States were demonstrated to the public at the parade in honor of Ukraine's Independence Day.

In January 2019, then-President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said that American ATGMs had a "noticeable psychological effect" in Donbass. 

In October 2019, the Pentagon notified the US Congress of its intention to sell Kiev another 150 missiles for Javelin complexes and other related military equipment for $ 39.2 million.

Arms supplies to Ukraine continued in 2021 under the Joe Biden administration.

In early September, it was reported about the approval of a military aid package for Kiev in the amount of $ 60 million, which also includes Javelin anti-tank systems.

"Revenge for the Afghan fiasco"

Russia has repeatedly criticized the United States for supplying Kiev with lethal weapons, noting that this leads to an aggravation of the conflict in the Donbass.

In 2018, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow could not ban such supplies to Washington, but would draw the appropriate conclusions from this.

In addition, on the eve of the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said that Russia calls on the United States, as well as Germany and France as participants in the Normandy format, to stop militarizing Ukraine.

“We call on the Western capitals, which are pumping Ukraine with weapons (this is primarily Washington, but also Berlin and Paris as participants in the Normandy format), to stop encouraging the militarization of the country and use their influence to return Kiev to the path of achieving a lasting peace in Donbass with political and diplomatic means, ”the diplomat noted.

• Serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the line of contact in Donbass

• AP

• © Roma Mostetskiy

She stressed that the continuous supply of weapons to Kiev by Western countries strengthens Ukraine's confidence that the resolution of the conflict in the east of the country is possible only by force.

Political analysts, for their part, note that the Pentagon's statement on the possible expansion of the list of countries supplying weapons to Ukraine is most likely associated with a new exacerbation of the situation in Donbass.

“The security of Ukraine does not bother anyone, because it is not provided with weapons of this type.

America is wreaking havoc, and these supplies are needed to cement it.

At the same time, the United States has been supporting Kiev for many years with rhetoric and promises, without allocating impressive funds to really strengthen Ukraine's defenses, "political analyst Alexander Asafov told RT.

In addition, according to him, not all US allies are eager to supply weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since they may then end up on the black market in Europe.

“From time to time, such smuggled weapons are detained at the Polish border.

There were cases when weapons with "Ukrainian roots" were delivered to France and a number of other countries.

Everyone understands very well what the appearance of military-grade weapons on the illegal market means, ”the expert says.

Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Center for Political-Military Studies of the Institute for the United States and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in turn, emphasizes that the Pentagon's statement can only be interpreted as a step aimed at escalating the situation in Ukraine.

“Obviously, in this way, Washington is trying to take a kind of revenge for the Afghan fiasco, deciding to demonstrate that America has not gone anywhere, that it retains its leadership position, that it is still the leader of the“ free world ”in its confrontation with Russia and China,” - explained the political scientist in a conversation with RT.

By strengthening its military presence in the states bordering on the Russian Federation and pumping them up with weapons, Washington is building a kind of "cordon sanitaire," says Batyuk.

“This is a policy that has continued since the end of the Cold War, or at least since the mid-1990s of the last century.

In addition, in this way, Washington compensates Kiev for the lack of full-fledged membership in NATO - by supplying weapons both from the United States itself and from its partners, ”Batyuk argues.

He believes that the US appeal is likely to be answered only by its satellites in Eastern Europe.

“Some US allies, for example Poland and Romania, will support this initiative and, quite possibly, will even provide some kind of weapons systems.

Another thing is that the financial resources of the current Ukrainian government are rather limited, and neither the Americans themselves, nor even their so-called partners are willing to provide Ukraine with any larger-scale military assistance, ”the expert concluded.