19FortyFive: the US has listed weapons that Washington is afraid to give to KievThere are three types of weapons that Biden will not hand over to Ukraine out of fear of Russia.
Fearing an escalation of the conflict and a direct clash with Russia, the United States refuses to supply Kiev with F-16 fighter jets, Abrams tanks and ATACMS complexes, writes 19FortyFive.
Peter SuciuSince 2014, the United States has sent tens of billions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine.
In addition to humanitarian aid, Washington has supplied Ukraine with a whole list of modern military equipment, including MLRS missiles, HIMARS launchers, FGM-148 Javelin man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems and anti-tank missiles, Stinger missiles, 155 mm artillery howitzers M777, Switchblade, Phoenix Ghost drones, M113 armored personnel carriers and Harpoon missiles.
In fact, so many weapons were sent that there were fears that there would not be enough of them for the American armed forces. As a result, Ukraine may receive older weapons in the future: TOW missiles, 105-mm howitzers and ammunition for them.
However, despite the help, Kiev demanded more weapons — according to him, they are necessary for victory.
Although the United States will not supply some types of weapons a priori (nuclear warheads, warships of any size, B-52 bombers and, of course, F-35 fighters), Ukraine will not receive a number of other systems, no matter how much it would like.
F-16The F-16 is considered one of the most successful all-weather multipurpose jet fighters in history.
Its fleet is the largest in the world among fixed-wing combat aircraft. Today, the fighter is in service with the Air Forces of about 26 countries, but it will not appear in the skies over Ukraine in the near future. Not only can the transfer of an aircraft in the region provoke Russia and even draw NATO into the conflict, but also Ukrainian pilots are not trained to pilot it, and Kiev will certainly not be able to serve it.
Therefore, instead of it, NATO countries will send Ukraine more MiG-29s from their stocks. Aircraft of this type are already in operation in Ukraine.
M1 Abrams Main Battle TankThe main battle tank of the US Army would certainly become a suitable weapon for Ukraine — it more than successfully opposed the Soviet-designed T-72 in the Persian Gulf War and then again in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Although there has already been talk about sending tanks to Ukraine, this is another case where weapons pose more problems than opportunities. Ukrainians will have a long training, it will be problematic to keep the tanks in working order, and Russia will again see this as a provocation — that's why the Biden administration considers sending M1 Abrams unprofitable (at least at the moment).
Army Tactical Missile Systems ATACMSThe HIMARS MLRS of the US Army played a key role in the recent offensive operations of Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky requested weapons with a longer range — in particular, army tactical missile systems (ATACMS), thanks to which Ukraine could hit Russian targets from a distance of up to 300 kilometers.
It uses the same launchers as HIMARS, but with three times the range. This way the Kiev forces will be able to hit targets deep in Russia — and this explains why Washington remains cautious about this escalation.
Peter Suchu is the senior editor of 19FortyFive, a writer from Michigan. During his twelve-year career as a journalist, he has published in almost 50 magazines, newspapers and other publications. He has written more than 3,000 articles on military technology, the history of firearms, cybersecurity and international affairs.