The US Department of State has cleared Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to send US-made missiles and other weapons to Ukraine, three sources familiar with the decision said, as US President Joe Biden predicted that Russia would move on Ukraine, prompting an angry response from Moscow.
Under US export control regulations, countries must obtain approval from the department before transferring any weapons they received from the US to third parties.
The agreements will allow Estonia to transfer Javelin missiles to Ukraine, while Lithuania will be permitted to send Stinger missiles, one of the sources said.
Photo: AFP / Satellite image 2022 Maxar Technologies
A department spokesperson confirmed that the US government had approved third-party transfers allowing Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the UK to provide US-made equipment to Ukraine.
“The United States and its allies and partners are standing together to expedite security assistance to Ukraine,” they said. “We are in close touch with our Ukrainian partners and our NATO allies, and are creatively utilizing all available security cooperation tools to help Ukraine bolster its defenses.”
News about the approved weapons transfers emerged late on Wednesday after Biden told a news conference that Russia would pay dearly if it invaded Ukraine.
Russian officials have repeatedly denied planning to invade Ukraine, but the Kremlin has massed about 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders, a buildup that the West says is preparation for a war to prevent Ukraine from ever joining NATO.
Biden told a news conference that a “minor incursion” by Russia would elicit a lesser response.
He later sought to clarify that he was referring to a non-military action, such as a cyberattack, that would be met with a similar reciprocal response, and that if Russian forces cross the Ukrainian border, killing Ukrainian fighters, “that changes everything.”
Russia yesterday condemned Biden’s vow of a “severe” response to any invasion of Ukraine, saying it was “destabilizing.”
Statements like that “can facilitate the destabilization of the situation, because they can inspire some hotheads in Ukraine with false hopes,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Additional reporting by AP and AFP
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