Washington DC/Kyiv (Washington Insider Magazine) – American weapons are pouring into Ukraine as the Russian assault continues. The US is providing aid worth billions to Ukraine’sUkraine’s forces to stand a chance in their war against Russia.
Since the US cannot directly go into the war with Russia, they are Strengthening Ukraine’s force with advanced weaponry to defend their integrity and territorial positions.
From Heavy artillery to Tactical drones to armored vehicles, the US has provided $3.4 billion in weapons to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion two months ago.
What could so many weapons mean for Ukraine?
Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden visited the Lockheed Martin factory that builds anti-tank missiles known as Javelins. They have been a great source of help for Ukraine forces in the war against Russia.
The visit caught my attention to see how integrated military support is in US foreign policy, where the US cannot involve directly in the fight.
Biden said to the Factory workers, “So these weapons, touched by the hands –your hands- are in the hands of Ukrainian heroes, making a significant difference.”
Besides visiting Lockheed Martin Factory, the US President visited the Ohio metals factory and an executive from other arms makers. He also held a Pentagon roundtable meeting with further weapons industry executives to see how they boost supply chains.
As the US continues to provide Ukraine with advanced weapons worth billions, the question arises of what will happen with all these weapons.
Ukraine Less Credible
Ukraine ranks in the bottom third of the watchdog group Transparency International corruption ranking. Ukraine has been seen as a nexus of illicit arms trafficking in recent years.
Woods, a Former State Department official, said, “Ukraine certainly has a problem with corruption, and if that’s the case in a country, you can be sure that some of the weapons will be lost or transferred or sold.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) held up a senate bill as he called for a government watchdog to supervise taxpayer funds going to Ukraine”. This will ramp up the activities of the watchdog to oversee the whole situation.
A White House spokesperson, Jen Psaki said, “I would say that we agree oversight is critical. That is why the package already includes millions of dollars to support additional oversight measures, including additional funding for existing inspectors general”.
Moreover, Congress creates an accounting process into the massive funding bill to supervise what weapons are bought. They will also be employing an “end-user monitoring” program to ensure that the arms sent to Ukraine end up where they are supposed to be.
Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center in Ukraine, said, “It is difficult to monitor end-use during wartime, but the country is trying”
What does this mean for the Russian Ground and Air Offensive?
Military Experts believe that the US-supplied Anti-tank weapons have been among the most effective weapons in the Ukraine’sUkraine’s arsenal since the war began.
Christopher Mayer, a former US army colonel, said, “The invading Russian forces “are primarily mechanized forces,” meaning armored coveys” so “the best thing you can do is to take them [the vehicles ] out.”
He further added that Ukraine had received multiple anti-tank systems that have strengthened their position to defend against the Russian vehicles.
Ukraine officials have claimed that they are using weapons to frustrate the opposition. As of this week, Ukraine forces claim that they have destroyed more than 800 tanks and 2,000 other Russian vehicles.
The value of Anti-tank weapons nullifies and does nothing to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia’sRussia’s air force. Russia’sRussia’s air force has been striking for the past 8 weeks in different parts of the country.
So, the US has also equipped Ukraine with aircraft weapons; they have given around 25,000 of them so they can retaliate against the Russian air force’s strikes.
The most famous aircraft weapon is a man-portable, shoulder fire stinger system. The use of this system has been controversial around the world since 1981.
We previously used this system in Afghanistan to take down hundreds of Russian aircraft and helicopters during the Soviet occupation.
List Of Weapons Supplied By The US
1-Drones (121 tactical Unmanned Phoenix ghost drones)
2-Armored and Tactical vehicles ( 200 M1113)
3-Heavy artillery (90 Howitzers)
4-Missiles and other Anti-armor systems (6,000 javelins)
5-Aircraft and Radars (11 Mi-17)
6-Guns and ammunition (5,000 rifles, 40 million rounds of small ammunitions)
7-Protective Equipment (30,000 sets of body armour)
Conclusion
So, now we can say that the US military aid means everything to the Ukraine forces. If it was not for the US military Aid, Russia may have taken control of all parts of Ukraine by now.
With the US providing so many weapons to the country that ranked bottom third in the watchdog group transparency, the weapons could be sold to other countries.
