【Text/Observer Network Zhou Yibo】
At a time when the situation in Russia and Ukraine is tense, NATO countries are trying to provide Ukraine with U.S.-made weapons.
According to the news of the US Political News Network (Politico) on January 19, informed sources and officials revealed that Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia intend to transport deadly weapons to Ukraine, including the US-made "Javelin" anti-tank missile.
Under U.S. export controls, these countries need to obtain approval from the U.S. Department of State for arms transfers. In response, a US State Department official said that if Russia sends troops to Ukraine, the Biden administration will provide additional defense materials to Ukraine on the basis of "beyond the scope already provided" and will "strengthen our NATO allies on the east wing."
Another State Department official confirmed that the United States had approved a $200 million weapons program in late December, which included shipping more Javelin missiles, ammunition, radar systems and medical equipment to Ukraine.
Earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Fiscal Year 2022 Defense Authorization Act (NDAA 2022), which showed that the United States would provide $300 million in military aid to Ukraine in 2022, of which at least $75 million was earmarked for aid in lethal weapons.
Screenshot of the Political News Network report
Peter Kumit, head of Estonia's Ministry of International Cooperation (ICD), reportedly said last month that Estonia was "currently considering" supplying Ukrainian Javelin anti-tank missiles and 122mm howitzers, but was still awaiting U.S. approval of missiles, as well as those of Finland and Germany.
Last December, Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvidas Anushaukas promised to deliver lethal weapons to Ukraine, but he declined to disclose the specific types of weapons, "It is a matter of multilateral agreement because there are several countries involved, not only the givers and receivers, but also the manufacturers and suppliers." ”
Among them, Estonia purchased 350 Javelin anti-tank missiles from the United States in 2014, and Lithuania purchased 230 Javelin anti-tank missiles from the United States in December 2021.
In addition, the US Political News Network said that a person familiar with the matter revealed that Latvia also plans to ship American-made weapons to Ukraine, but the report did not introduce specific details.
Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are both members of NATO and the former Soviet Union. The countries are not only seeking to ship weapons to Ukraine, but are also asking NATO to send additional troops to reinforce troops already stationed in their countries.
Ukrainian soldiers in the trenches of the front line, Zelett, Ukraine, January 19 Image source: Visual China
Under U.S. export controls, the transfer of U.S.-made weapons to a third party requires approval from the U.S. Department of State.
Senator Jim Richter, Republican senator from Idaho and Republican leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he hoped the State Department would approve the requests as soon as possible, "given the urgency of the situation, the Biden administration should show political will to figure out how to move forward with these export licenses more quickly."
An official at the U.S. State Department declined to respond to ongoing approval reviews, but said that if Russia sends troops to Ukraine, the Biden administration will provide additional defensive materials to Ukraine on the basis of "beyond what has been provided" and will "strengthen our NATO allies on the east wing."
Signing an agreement to transfer U.S.-made weapons to a third party is a complex business that requires review and approval by multiple agencies within the U.S. government. But in some cases, weapons are still transferred by third parties faster than Washington can ship weapons directly to the recipient.
Elias Yousef, an arms transfer policy analyst at the Stimson Center, an American think tank, said that "countries that carry out arms transfers must explain why they are transferring (weapons) and all the relevant information they have, including information about the recipient and the receiving unit", and that "this process takes time".
"If the U.S. government is really keen to see these 'javelins' used in Ukraine for Ukraine's defenses, things could go very quickly." Yousef added, "The U.S. government knows how to make things move quickly, if that's the end." ”
U.S. soldiers fire "Javelin" anti-tank missiles infographic
Given the rapidly changing situation on the ground, some countries have also begun planning to ship their own weapons to Ukraine.
On January 17, local time, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace announced that the United Kingdom would "provide Light, Anti-Tank, and Defensive Weapons Systems to Ukraine" and send "a small number of British personnel" to Ukraine for weapons training.
Last November, Britain also signed an agreement with the Ukrainian government to produce eight new warships, including mine-hunting ships for the Ukrainian Navy.
The same is true for the U.S. mainland, where another State Department official confirmed in late December that the U.S. had approved a $200 million weapons program in late December, which included shipping more Javelin missiles, ammunition, radar systems and medical equipment to Ukraine.
Earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Fiscal Year 2022 Defense Authorization Act (NDAA 2022), which showed that the United States would provide $300 million in military aid to Ukraine in 2022, of which at least $75 million was earmarked for aid in lethal weapons.
Russia's deployment of troops in Belarus over the weekend added a new and worrying problem to the situation in Russia and Ukraine.
Some US Defense Ministry officials claimed that Russia sent 100,000 soldiers to the Russian-Ukrainian border and transferred troops to Belarus in a short period of time on the grounds of military exercises, "of course exceeding our expectations for normal exercises."
Under the agreement between Russia and NATO, exercises involving more than 9,000 soldiers require 42 days' notice, and if the exercises involve 13,000 soldiers, international observers are required. But as of now, Russia has not issued any notice.
"That's just the normal way it looks." The State Department official said, "This is a completely different behavior [from military exercises]." ”
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