Russian invasion
USA sends thousands of confiscated weapons to Ukraine
The weapons for Ukraine were seized by the US military and the armed forces of allies on unflagged ships in the Arabian Sea between 2021 and 2023 (symbolic image)
© ZUMA Wire / Imago Images
A billion-dollar aid package for Ukraine is currently stuck in the US Congress. But the US government is once again finding another way to send weapons to the country attacked by Russia.
The US government has attacked Russia Ukraine says it sent thousands of confiscated machine guns from Iran. The weapons were seized by the US military and allied forces on four unflagged ships in the Arabian Sea between 2021 and 2023, the US Department of Justice said on Tuesday. The ships were on their way from Iran to Yemen.
Around 5,000 AK-47 assault rifles, sniper rifles and machine guns as well as around 500,000 rounds of ammunition were secured, it said. According to the Justice Department, Iran planned to send the weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen, in violation of a UN Security Council resolution. The USA consequently declared the ammunition to be its property.
USA as Ukraine’s most important ally
“With this arms transfer, the United States government is disrupting Iran’s destabilizing efforts and supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s brutal, unprovoked invasion,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. The U.S. government has previously provided Ukraine with ammunition seized from Iran.
The USA is considered Ukraine’s most important ally in the fight against the Russian invasion. However, further aid for Kiev is currently pending. A US military aid package worth $60 billion has been stuck in Congress for months. The Senate, controlled by Democrats, has already approved the package, but Republicans in the House of Representatives have been blocking the vote required for it for weeks.