After years of hesitation, U.S. will sell American-made lethal weapons to Ukraine.
President Petro Poroshenko announced the move on Dec. 23, saying that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson confirmed the decision during a phone call a day earlier.
The supply of American-made weapons is expected to reinforce Ukraine against Russia and Russian-supported separatists that have been fighting Ukraine’s government forces for control of the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas since 2014, in a war that already killed more than 10,000 people.
While the U.S. has supported Ukraine against the aggressor and imposed sanctions on Russia, it never went further than providing military training and allowing private American companies to sell small arms to Ukraine.
Now the U.S. is deepening its involvement as it decides to sell lethal defensive weapons, including anti-tank missiles, to Ukraine.
The decision might also bring a change to the U.S. relations with Russia, as it comes against President Donald Trump’s tendencies to seek cooperation with the Kremlin.
“Enhanced defensive capabilities as part of our effort to help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity, to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to deter further aggression,” the statement from the U.S. State Department reads.
With Trump’s approval, the plan on sending lethal weapons will be presented to Congress for a 30-day review period before it will be implemented by State Department.
Poroshenko called the decision “transatlantic vaccination against the Russian virus of aggression.”
“This step is an adequate response to the continuation of the occupation of the Ukrainian territory, the failure of Moscow to fulfill its commitments, and the continued pouring of heavy weaponry in the Donbas,” Poroshenko said on Dec. 23.
Both sides emphasized that the new weapons will be of the defensive kind only.
While the official statements didn’t disclose the kind of weaponry that will be available for purchase, several major American media outlets cited their own sources inside the government saying that there will be the U.S.-made Javelin anti-tank missile and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
According to ABC news, the total agreed package is worth $47 million and includes 210 anti-tank missiles and 35 launchers.
Earlier in December, the Trump administration also approved a commercial sale of light lethal weapons to Ukraine. The export license allows selling weapons like semi-automatic and automatic firearms.
Russia has quickly reacted to the U.S. decision to supply Ukraine with lethal weapons, saying that it will “fuel new bloodshed.”
“It comes in the way of the dialogue between Kyiv and Moscow,” said Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Grigoriy Karasin.
The decision arrived just when Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists reached a short-term truce for Christmas and New Year holidays.
However, after the announcement of the U.S. decision to supply lethal weapons came, the separatists violated the truce, killing at least one Ukrainian serviceman in Donbas, according to the Ukrainian military headquarters.
