The United States sends confiscated Iranian weapons to Ukraine
The US military said on Tuesday that the United States had sent Ukraine thousands of light weapons and more than 500,000 rounds of ammunition that it confiscated more than a year ago while Iran was transferring them to the Houthis in Yemen.
The arms shipment sent last week is the latest military assistance provided by the administration of US President Joe Biden to Kiev in its confrontation with Russia.
Biden’s attempt to send more US weapons to Kiev was aborted due to Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson’s refusal to call for a vote on a new military aid package worth $60 billion.
As Ukrainian forces run out of weapons and ammunition, especially heavy artillery shells, the United States and its allies are looking for new methods to arm Kiev.
The US Central Command said in a statement posted on X that the weapons transferred by the United States to Kiev on April 4 constitute enough materiel to equip a Ukrainian brigade.
The infantry brigade usually consists of 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers, but its exact strength is unknown.
The Central Command explained that the equipment included more than five thousand Kalashnikov assault rifles (AK-47), automatic machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, and more than five hundred thousand rounds of ammunition.
It added that the munitions were confiscated from four stateless ships that were intercepted by US Navy ships and ships of unidentified partner forces between May 22, 2021 and February 15, 2023.
The US Central Command indicated that the weapons were sent from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to the Houthis.
