The US provides weapons to Ukraine from stockpiles in Israel - media

 

The United States has transferred American munitions stored in Israel for use in Ukraine and plans to send more in the near future. This is reported by CNN with reference to the statements of representatives of the USA and Israel.

A senior US official told the channel that they had moved "some" of the 300,000 155mm shells the US and Israel had agreed to hand over, and that they planned to move the rest in the coming weeks.

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Richard Hecht told CNN that the Americans informed the Israelis some time ago that they were transferring ammunition. Hecht said that the munitions belong to the US, so it is the Americans' decision to move them and that they do not need Israel's permission to do so.


The day before, The New York Times reported that at first Israeli officials expressed "concern" that "they could be involved in arming Ukraine" in this way. The newspaper also explained that stocks of American weapons in Israel are intended for the possibility of use in conflicts in the Middle East or for use by Israel in emergency situations.

Earlier, the Voice of America reported that the statements of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel in Kyiv and Washington were understood to mean that Israel would avoid publicly condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.


As the NYT writes, since stocks in the United States are limited, and American arms manufacturers are not yet able to keep up with the pace of hostilities in Ukraine, the Pentagon also turned to South Korea to buy ammunition there.