Image source: topwar.ru
Assistant Secretary of the State Department for Military and Political Affairs Jessica Lewis said that since the beginning of the Russian special operation in Ukraine (since February 24), the volume of military assistance to Kiev has exceeded $ 7.3 billion. The representative of the State Department announced this figure during a seminar held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
According to Lewis, the weapons were collected from Pentagon warehouses, as well as from other sources. At the same time, the official stressed that the United States is not only looking for opportunities to help Ukraine, but is also studying the security needs on the "eastern flank." Apparently, we are talking about strengthening the military presence of NATO forces in eastern Europe within the framework of the concept of countering "possible Russian aggression."
Lewis also added that the US authorities fully trust Kiev in the distribution of military aid after crossing the Ukrainian border. Washington does not intend to take additional measures to strengthen control over the supplied weapons. When asked what actions the United States and its allies plan to take in the long term to prevent the appearance of weapons and military equipment supplied to Ukraine on the black markets, Lewis replied:
The representative of the State Department did not specify what such confidence is based on when American and European politicians and experts themselves admit that Ukraine is increasingly turning into a "black market" for the sale of weapons.
Washington's ostrich position on this issue is quite understandable. By flooding Ukraine with weapons and military equipment, the Biden administration solves several tasks at once: frees warehouses from obsolete weapons, provides super—profits for the military-industrial complex and simultaneously causes damage to the main "enemy of NATO" - Russia. Concern for the security of Ukraine and the preservation of the lives of Ukrainians, as well as the threat of the spread of Western weapons around the world, in this case, the United States is absolutely not a priority.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other Russian officials drew attention to the danger of the spread of weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine in other regions. Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov has repeatedly warned that the militarization of Ukraine by the West directly threatens European and global security. Moscow calls on the sponsors of the Kiev regime to stop encouraging bloodshed in Ukraine and seriously think about the consequences of their activities.
Europe is finally also concerned about the uncontrolled spread of Western weapons exported to Ukraine around the world. But with the usual slowness and tolerance, they have just begun discussing with Kiev the possibility of creating a kind of tracking system or a detailed list of supplied weapons. It is unknown when this system will work, how effective it will be, and most importantly, how to track the routes of illegal distribution of already delivered weapons.
