US export control regulations require approval from the State Department for the countries before transferring any weapons received from the US to third parties. These approvals would allow Estonia to transfer Javelin anti-tank missiles, while Lithuania will be cleared to send Stinger missiles, according to one of the sources cited by Reuters.
A State Dept spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that the US allowed Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Britain to send US-made equipment from their inventories to Ukraine, without giving details on which weapons would be sent.
For several weeks now, Russia has been building up its troops near Ukraine and Russian-occupied parts of the country, having massed at least 100,000 troops near Ukrainian borders. Russian officials keep denying any plans to invade Ukraine, while Kyiv and the West repeatedly warn about the possible Russian invasion in the near future. Throughout January, the US, EU countries, and NATO structures have been engaged in a series of talks with Russia to ease tensions.
Germany blocks Ukraine’s arms purchase from NATO as unofficial arms embargo on Ukraine continuesOn 19 January, US President Joe Biden said at a news conference that Russia will pay a "dear price" if it invades Ukraine. On the same day while on his visit to Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Kyiv,
“Now, more than ever, everything depends on Ukrainians and no one else – to decide their future and the future of this country,” he said naming 100,000 Russian soldiers near Ukraine’s borders “an unprecedented threat to Ukraine,” and confirming that Russia can attack at any moment.And two days earlier, on 17 January, Britain announced its supplies of anti-tank systems to Ukraine and delivered the first batches of the weapons on the same day.
What we know about the “light anti-tank weapons” UK started supplying to Ukraine
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- NLAW was the light anti-tank system UK supplied to Ukraine
- Russia-West talks have ended in uncertainty. Now it’s time to act.
- Germany blocks Ukraine’s arms purchase from NATO as unofficial arms embargo on Ukraine continues
- Lithuania will never abandon Ukraine, volunteer helping Ukrainian army says
- Four ways NATO can help Ukraine resist Russian aggression
- Amidst Russia’s loud sabre-rattling, US delivers military hardware to Ukraine
