Approved by the United States! The three Baltic countries, such as Lithuania, could supply Ukraine with U.S.-made lethal weapons

Source: Global Times New Media

According to Reuters reported on the 20th, according to three people familiar with the matter, the US State Department has approved Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to transport US-made missiles and other weapons to Ukraine. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden predicted that Russia would "move in" Ukraine.

Screenshot of the Reuters report

One of the people familiar with the matter said that the "third-party transfer agreement" would allow Estonia to resell Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, while Lithuania would be allowed to resell "Stinger" missiles.

Later on Wednesday (19th), Biden said at a press conference that if Russia "enters" Ukraine, it will pay a heavy price. Subsequently, news of arms transfers surfaced.

A State Department spokesman said the Biden administration approved $200 million in additional defensive security assistance to Ukraine last December, as well as $60 billion worth of lethal and non-lethal equipment from the U.S. existing ordnance stockpile.

Under U.S. Export Control Regulations, countries must obtain approval from the U.S. Department of State before transferring any weapons acquired from the United States to a third party.

A State Department spokesman confirmed that the U.S. government had approved third-party transfers allowing Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the United Kingdom to supply U.S.-made equipment to Ukraine from their arsenals, but did not provide specific details on which weapons would be shipped.

"The United States and its allies and partners will work together to accelerate security assistance to Ukraine," the spokesman said. Help Ukraine strengthen its defenses in the face of Russia's growing 'aggression'. ”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on January 18 that at the invitation of the United States, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Blinken had a telephone conversation. The Russian side reiterates that the United States should give specific responses and explanations to the draft security treaties and agreements proposed by Russia in writing as soon as possible. In the call, Lavrov also urged the US secretary of state not to repeat the speculation that "Russia is about to invade Ukraine", and the US side should urge the Ukrainian side to fully implement the Minsk agreement.