The US military has sent large quantities of seized Iranian ammunition to war-torn Ukraine, it announced on Tuesday, as fears grew that direct aid from Washington to Kyiv would soon run out.
On Monday, the US delivered more than 1.1 million rounds of 7.62mm rifle ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces.
“The US is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter Iran’s deadly flow of aid in the region by all legal means including US and UN sanctions and through sanctions,” US Central Command said in a statement.
The material was seized in December 2022 en route to Houthi rebels in Yemen, in violation of international sanctions, according to the release.
The US government obtained possession of the firearms on July 20 after the Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture suit against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
That same month, the DOJ said it had requested possession of “more than 9,000 rifles, 284 machine guns, approximately 194 rocket launchers, more than 70 anti-tank missiles, and more than 700,000 rounds of ammunition” in the Iranian weapons tranche.
Meanwhile, officials warn that funds to replenish Ukraine’s war supplies are running low.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with troops on the front line on October 3, 2023. The US military announced it had delivered Ukrainian ammunition seized from Iran. Press Service of the President of Ukraine / Circulation via REUTERS Iranian ammunition and other materials were seized while en route to Houthi rebels in Yemen in December 2022.AP Photo/Seth Wenig
There is a paltry $1.6 billion left to replace inventory and $5.4 billion worth of recall from existing stocks, the Pentagon said this week.
“I think, given what we’ve left and given the rate at which we’ve given support — you’re talking maybe a few months or more, roughly speaking,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday when asked how long the U.S. could continue to support Ukraine at this level. current funding.
So far, Congress has greenlit around $113 billion in both military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.
Pentagon officials have warned that funds to supply Ukraine with much-needed military aid are running low. Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty ImagesIran has provided Russia with drones for use in the war in Ukraine.Iran Military Office/AFP via Getty Images
However, an additional $6 billion in aid installments was cut from the latest government funding law enacted Saturday — and it’s unclear when or if that will be restored.
The shipment of Iranian arms to Ukraine comes weeks after five Americans detained in Tehran were returned to US soil as part of a prisoner exchange in which Washington froze about $6 billion in oil revenue.
US officials say Tehran has boosted Russia’s war effort by supplying the Kremlin with attack drones.
Russia is also openly appealing to Iran’s rogue state, North Korea, to find more weapons for its aggression in the face of Western sanctions.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
