The US is sending Ukraine Soviet-made air defense equipment that Washington acquired through a secret program decades ago, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The systems, including the SA-8 short-range surface-to-air missile system, were procured by the US to study Russian military technology and help train American troops, US officials told the outlet.
The weapons are useful to the Ukrainian Armed Forces as their military already knows how to use Soviet systems.
Both the National Security Council and the Pentagon declined to comment on what specific weapons the US sent to Ukraine to help the country repel a violent Russian invasion that began on February 24.
“Operational security is important to Ukrainians right now,” said spokesman John Kirby
John KirbyTime to restore pressure on Pyongyang’s night defenses and national security – Presented by AM General – US fears China could help Russian Pentagon chief travel to Brussels, Slovakia and Bulgaria this week, MORE said on Monday to reporters.
“They are fighting for their country, and the Pentagon will not publicly disclose the tools they use to do so,” he added.
The Biden administration approved more than $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine last month, including an $800 million package announced last week.
But the US government has hesitated to say exactly what will be sent in, so as not to give a clue or incur Moscow’s wrath. The Kremlin has publicly stated that any Western country supplying Ukraine with certain weapons, including aircraft and missile defense systems, could be considered entering the fray.
The US has a small number of Soviet missile defense systems, which it acquired over the past 30 years as part of a secret $100 million project first revealed in 1994, a former official involved with the mission told the Journal.
Among the weapons the US has received – some of which have been kept at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama – is the SA-8, which can be easily moved by ground forces and provides cover from planes and helicopters.
Also in the US inventory is the S-300 long-range air defense system. The system is intended to protect larger areas and is already owned and operated by the Ukrainians. However, according to an official, this weapon will not be sent to Ukraine.
The government is authorized to transfer such devices under President Biden’s new annual government spending law
Joe BidenBiden visits Poland during European trip Former DC judge, Penn law professor to introduce Ketanji Brown Jackson at US hearing, concludes violence against Myanmar’s Rohingya was genocide: report MORE signed into law last week. The legislation authorizes a $13.6 billion aid package to Ukraine, of which about $3.5 billion will go to the Pentagon to replenish equipment sent to Ukraine by the US.
Also under the law, the US can transfer deadly supplies to NATO allies that are already overseas or in existing stockpiles.
The US has already tried to get Slovakia to ship its S-300s to Ukraine, but the NATO ally wants a guarantee that it will get an “adequate replacement,” and soon. An agreement between the two countries is still pending.
Biden will now travel to a NATO summit in Brussels this week, according to the White House, to discuss ways to help Ukraine.
“We continue to work with our allies and key partners to bring new aid to Ukraine every day, including anti-aircraft systems of Soviet or Russian origin and the necessary munitions to deploy them,” a US official told the Journal.