Perhaps the most famous of the American weapons provided to Ukraine has already been used in the Donbas.
For the first time, the Armed Forces of Ukraine used the American Javelin anti-tank missile systems during the hostilities in the Donbas. Against the backdrop of incessant reports of preparations for a military invasion by Russia, the media also reported that the United States wants to send military advisers and additional weapons to Ukraine. Correspondent.net tells the details.
A powerful deterrent
The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kirill Budanov announced the use of the American Javelin anti-tank missile system during the hostilities in the Donbas.
“Budanov said that Javelin systems were also used against Russian troops,” wrote November 21 edition of the Military Times, to which the head of the GUR gave an interview
Budanov noted that American Javelin together with combat unmanned aerial vehicles Bayraktar Turkish production have a “powerful psychological deterrent” for the armed formations of the “LPNR”.
Later, the head of the subcommittee on the defense industry and technical modernization of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Igor Kopytin, confirmed this information.
“Yes, it’s true. Our warriors used it in the conduct of the battle. While I have no right to divulge where it happened and during what circumstances … We have the right to defend our land. Exactly as we see fit – using Javelin or Bayraktar , or other weapons that are on the balance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Because we are defending our own state, “the People’s Deputy wrote on his Facebook page on November 22.
He stressed that he had talked about this with American partners and they supported Ukraine’s position on the use of Javelin.
On the evening of November 23, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Valery Zaluzhny, said that today the military had worked out a new tactic of using Javelin and Bayraktar.
“Taking into account the experience of hostilities in the area of the Joint Forces operation, today we worked out new tactics of their use in combat conditions and demonstrated them to the commanders of brigades and regiments. We also showed their integrated use in night conditions and poor visibility,” he said on his Facebook page and posted a photo.
Javelin and other American weapons shipments
The deliveries of American Javelin systems to Ukraine have been carried out within the framework of bilateral agreements since the spring of 2018, when Kiev received 37 of these complexes and more than 200 missiles.
Ukraine signed a contract for the supply of the second batch of ATGMs with the United States in December 2019, and already this year, US President Joe Biden approved aid to Kiev for $ 60 million, which will also include the supply of Javelin complexes.
Several deliveries of American weapons to Ukraine took place this fall. So, on October 10, a batch of technical assistance sent by the United States arrived at Boryspil airport as a result of an agreement concluded during a visit to Washington by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in September.
As the Ministry of Defense clarified, it was agreed to receive assistance in the amount of $ 250 million. “[Кроме того] Ukraine receives from its American partners medical equipment, weapons, necessary ammunition, precision weapons and radar surveillance equipment for another $ 60 million, “the ministry said.
On November 14, about 80 tons of ammunition were delivered to Ukraine as part of the fourth delivery, the US Embassy in Ukraine reported on Twitter. “This is a demonstration of US support for the success of a stable, democratic and free Ukraine,” the message says.
The diplomatic mission noted that the delivery was carried out within the framework of the assistance program that US President Joe Biden ordered at the end of August at the expense of the Pentagon budget. As stated in the document, it was planned to send the money, in particular, to “defense products and services of the Ministry of Defense.”
14 sheets. ???????? received from ???????? about 80 tons of ammunition. This was the fourth delivery of $ 60 million in additional security assistance that President Biden sent to ???????? in August, demonstrating his commitment to the success of a stable, democratic, and free Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/kpR8JVGyz5
— U.S. Embassy Kyiv (@USEmbassyKyiv) November 14, 2021
In total, since 2014, Kiev, within the framework of material and technical support, has received cargo from the United States totaling two billion dollars, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported in early October.
The aid that Washington is sending to Kiev also includes the supply of Javelin anti-tank missile systems, Defense Secretary Lloyd James Austin III said on August 31.
“[Будет поставлено] and much more so that Ukraine could better defend itself against Russian aggression, “the general stressed.
Note that in May 2018, the former Deputy Minister for the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, Georgy Tuka, argued that one of the conditions for the supply of Javelin to the United States was not to use them on the contact line in Donbass.
The fact that the Javelin systems are not intended for use on the line of conflict was also stated by the former US special envoy for Ukraine, Kurt Volcker. According to him, the complexes are “defensive weapons” and are used only when necessary to repel a “tank attack.”
Anti-tank complexes of the third generation FGM-148 Javelin were developed in the United States in 1989 and entered service in 1996. The delivery of complexes abroad takes place after the approval of the State Department.
They will discourage the Russian Federation from hunting. Western experts on Javelin
The complex is equipped with an infrared homing head and can operate on the “fire and forget” principle. Another feature of Javelin is that the projectile is capable of hitting a target from above, in the least protected place of armored vehicles.
How else will the United States help Ukraine
On November 22, the American television channel CNN reported that the Biden administration was considering sending its military advisers, as well as additional weapons, to Ukraine amid reports of preparations for a Russian invasion. The publication cites numerous sources familiar with the discussion in the White House.
According to the channel, the United States wants to send Ukraine a new batch of Javelin and mortars. In addition, the Ukrainian military can receive from Washington a batch of portable Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as Mi-17 helicopters purchased by the United States from Russia, which were originally intended for the Afghan army.
As noted by CNN, the White House is concerned that such supplies may be perceived by Russia as an attempt by the United States to lead to a noticeable escalation of the situation, therefore, despite its readiness to also provide military advisers to Ukraine, the United States is not sure that any of them will be able to come. personally.
CNN sources also report that US officials are in talks with European allies to develop a new package of sanctions that will take effect if Russia invades Ukraine.
Yet officials who spoke to the channel are unaware of what Russia is actually planning.
“There is no direct evidence of Putin’s intentions,” said an unnamed defense official. The troop movement could also be “an attempt to sow confusion or force the West to make concessions.”
The worst-case scenario, according to the United States, would be an attempt to overthrow the government in Kiev. However, this “cannot be achieved without grabbing another chunk” of the Donetsk region, an intelligence expert said.
CNN writes that American officials provided their Ukrainian colleagues with evidence of the destabilizing activities of the FSB of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, aimed at inciting sentiments against Zelensky’s government, and also pointed to the presence of special forces and intelligence officers of the GRU and the Russian foreign intelligence service near the borders of Ukraine.
White House spokesman Jen Psaki declined to comment on CNN’s data. “I have nothing to announce to you in this regard,” she said at a briefing.
The United States is practicing a nuclear strike against Russia
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, in turn, said that sending military advisers and weapons systems to Ukraine leads to further escalation.
“The best security guarantees will be the implementation of the Minsk agreements … Everything should be discussed by all parties in a direct dialogue,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
The use of Javelin by Ukraine in Donbass was commented on by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. This gesture shows “a desire to carry out a provocation,” he said.
“In principle, in recent weeks, months, we have been observing such a stream of consciousness on the part of the Ukrainian leadership. Especially on the part of the military, the stream of consciousness is so overly inflamed and dangerous. he said.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, at the same time, said that the United States is practicing missile strikes on Russian territory. He noted that over the past month, American strategic aviation made about 30 flights to the Russian borders, which is 2.5 times more than in the corresponding period last year.
So, for example, in November, ten US strategic bombers “practiced the option of using nuclear weapons against Russia almost simultaneously from the western and eastern directions” as part of the Global Thunder 22 exercise, Shoigu said.
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