Kiev announced the readiness of the United States to supply Ukraine with lethal weapons
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that a new day is beginning in relations between Kiev and Washington. So he commented on the readiness of the United States to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons. Moscow took Kiev's enthusiasm with skepticism, recalling that earlier the United States exported decommissioned equipment to Ukraine, which is cheaper to export than to dispose of.
Washington promises to provide Kiev with lethal weapons - this is stated in the message of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry following a telephone conversation between the head of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba and the head of the US State Department Anthony Blinken.
"Anthony Blinken assured Dmitry Kuleba of the readiness of the new US administration to develop economic and military support for Ukraine, including the provision of lethal weapons," the ministry said in a statement.
In general, the diplomats confirmed the importance of strengthening the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States, in particular, in the Black Sea region and in Central Europe. Washington expressed support for Kiev's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
"A new day begins in our relations," the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced.
Kuleba noted that Ukraine will welcome the increased role of the United States in diplomatic efforts to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict and the so-called "de-occupation" of the Donbas and Crimea.
This strategy of Washington regarding Ukraine is not new - said the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev.
"This is nothing new, given the role that Washington assigns to its next "outpost" in the post-Soviet space - to maintain tension on the Russian borders, as well as the myth of "Russian aggression" itself, " he wrote on Facebook.
The senator pointed out that in fact, Kuleba's enthusiasm is not very clear, since his American counterpart did not make any breakthrough statements.
"There was absolutely nothing new that went beyond the banal assurances of readiness to help Kiev while it is at war with Russia, in reality killing its own fellow citizens in the Donbas. Washington needs a picture of "Russian aggression", and the Ukrainian authorities are obliged to show it about and without it, " the parliamentarian detailed.
The head of the Institute of Regional Problems Dmitry Zhuravlev admitted that the new head of the White House, Joe Biden, will continue the policy of former US President Barack Obama towards Russia, Sputnik reports.
Russian State Duma deputy Ruslan Balbek was skeptical about the US promises to strengthen Ukraine militarily, recalling the decommissioned equipment previously transferred by the American side, "which is cheaper to give than to dispose of, "RIA Novosti reports.
"But in reality, there are corruption scandals related to the Biden family, multimillion-dollar loans that will still have to be paid back, and, of course, the seizure of the Ukrainian market, and now the soil by major international players. Today, Ukraine is independent of itself, " concluded a member of the lower house of the Russian parliament.
A week earlier, military expert Taras Chmut and his colleague Alexander Argat on the air of the Youtube channel "Militarny Portal" said that almost half of the American army jeeps HMMWV are already in non-working condition.
In 2015, the 36th Marine Brigade received several dozen of these vehicles. They worked effectively, but immediately there were questions about spare parts, tools, repairs, rubber and military training.
"We will sort it out ourselves, we will somehow repair it and do it ourselves. This led to the fact that in the 36th brigade, more than half of the Humvees got up on the hook, " the Ukrainian expert stressed.
According to Chmut, things are even worse with the American Raven unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
In 2020, the United States signed agreements with Ukraine for a record amount of $510.599 million. A year earlier, this amount was just over $272 million.
Earlier it was stated that, among other things, Ukraine received from the United States portable anti-tank missile systems FGM-148 Javelin, Barret sniper rifles, HMMWV vehicles in armored and conventional versions, AN/TPQ-36, AN/TPQ-49 counter-battery radars, PSRL-1 grenade launchers, radio stations, night vision devices, bulletproof vests, etc.
Raphael Fakhrutdinov
