The United States has provided Ukraine with thousands of machine guns, rocket launchers, and sniper rifles, as well as hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition seized from Iran, officials have said.
Ukraine has repeatedly warned Western allies that it is suffering from shortages of weapons and munitions as it continues to hold out against Russia’s invading forces, as a package of further military aid for Kyiv stalls in Congress.
In an announcement on Tuesday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the weapons given to Ukraine would be enough to equip a Ukrainian brigade – typically comprising as many as 4,000 personnel – with small-arms rifles.
“These weapons will help Ukraine defend against Russia’s invasion,” CENTCOM said in a press release.
According to officials, the munitions were seized by the US military and its partners “from four separate transiting stateless vessels between May 22, 2021 to February 15, 2023,” but the US government didn’t obtain ownership of the weapons through the DOJ’s civil forfeiture process until December.
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The Biden administration has been working for the past year to legally provide Ukraine with the seized weapons, which are kept in US facilities across the Middle East.
The news comes as combat losses in Ukraine have surged above a staggering 450,000 since the war broke out just over two years ago in another massive blow for the Russian leader, according to Ukraine.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shared the new data on Tuesday, adding that 830 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded in action in the past 24 hours.
Ukraine’s estimates cannot be verified and Russia closely guards its battlefield stats, though analysts agree the losses have been considerable.
However, even in the first year of the war, which began in February 2022, Russia admitted it had suffered “significant losses of troops” in a “huge tragedy” for the country.
