The United States has twice sent arms aid packages to Ukraine amid fears of
a Russian invasion. However, the type of weapons that Washington supplied
was classified. Washington's second arms aid package arrived in Kiev on
Sunday.
"The second bird in Kiev! More than 80 tons of weapons to strengthen the
defense capabilities of Ukraine from our friends in the US! And this is not
the end," Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet,
quoted by CNN, Monday (24/1). /2022). The first package from America arrived
in Ukraine on Friday.
"This shipment includes nearly 200,000 pounds of lethal aid, including
ammunition for Ukrainian frontline defenders," the US Embassy in Kiev said
late Friday, without specifying the type of weapon.
The deliveries come as the US tries to convince Moscow to de-escalate on the
Ukrainian border, where Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops. Not
only weapons assistance, the US is known to have deployed special forces to
train Ukrainian soldiers, but the number of elite personnel has not been
revealed.
The Pentagon is even prepared to put about 8,500 US troops on standby if
NATO activates its Response Force or if the security situation in Europe
worsens.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said thousands of troops, mainly ground
troops, could bring some capabilities to mainland Europe if needed, as well
as logistics, medical, aviation, intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance supplies, transportation.
"The decision has now been made to place these units on higher alert, and
only on higher alert. No decisions have been made to deploy troops from the
United States at this time," Kirby said.
"The United States will maintain close coordination with allies and
partners, as we continue to review our force posture and make decisions
regarding troop movements into and within Europe," he said.
President Joe Biden's government has threatened to impose very tough
sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine.
However, it was only a threat. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended
the administration's reluctance to rush sanctions against Russia, despite
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urging the US and its allies to
punish Moscow. "When it comes to sanctions, the purpose of those sanctions
is to deter Russian aggression," he said.
"So if it's triggered now, you lose the deterrent effect." Meanwhile, the
New York Times on Tuesday (25/1/2022) reported that the US was operating spy
flights over Ukraine to track the buildup of Russian troops on its border.
Since late December, the US Air Force has been regularly flying the RC-135
Rivet Joint electronic-tapping aircraft over Ukraine to listen to Russian
ground commanders' communications.
The media report further noted that the US Air Force also operates ground
reconnaissance flights with E-8 JSTARS to track Russian troop build-ups on
the Ukrainian border and Kremlin troop movements.
Biden is particularly interested in using spy planes to find indications
that Russia is considering deploying nuclear weapons across the border with
Ukraine.
