It’s time to return Donbass to the control of Kyiv – Poroshenko is rejoicing after the news about Javelin deliveries
Ukraine is pleased with the decision of the United States to allow the supply of lethal weapons, пишет Kommersant.
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The publication notes that the news about supplies from the United States, which appeared in the form of leaks in the media, was confirmed by the head of the State Department press service, Heather Nauert, who stated: “The United States has decided to provide Ukraine with advanced defensive capabilities as part of our efforts to help Ukraine strengthen defense capabilities, protect sovereignty, territorial integrity and deter aggression.”
The publication reports that the lethal weapons that Ukraine will begin to receive in 2018 will include large-caliber Barrett M107A1 sniper rifles, ammunition and spare parts for them worth $41,5 million, as well as Javelin anti-tank missile systems (210 anti-tank missiles and 35 installations worth $47 million).
In Kyiv, the newspaper points out, the latest news from the United States “was greeted with jubilation.”
“A transatlantic vaccination against the Russian virus of aggression,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the news.
“Javelin anti-tank systems are already coming towards us. Ukraine's defense capability will now strengthen. And those who are supposedly not on our land will understand that, firstly, it’s time for them to leave the curb, and secondly, they won’t see Mariupol and it’s time to return the temporarily occupied territories to the control of Kiev,” political strategist Viktor Ukolov told the publication. close to the administration of the President of Ukraine.
Verkhovna Rada deputy from the “Petro Poroshenko Bloc” Alexander Chernenko is no less enthusiastic.
“At the end of the year we received several good news at once. Firstly, the decision of the Stockholm arbitration on the gas contract between Ukraine and Russia, abolishing the “take or pay” formula. And secondly, the long-awaited step by the United States, which gave the green light to the supply of lethal weapons. Both of these decisions are victories for Ukrainian diplomacy, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary,” says the deputy.
At the same time, more cautious assessments are being made in Kyiv.
“The decision of the Donald Trump administration to supply Javelin is a moral, psychological victory for Ukraine. But it will not fundamentally change the balance of forces in Donbass. We should have neither euphoria nor illusions. If a big war breaks out in the southeast and Russia decides to join it for real, no Javelin will help us - our weight categories are too different from Moscow. If sporadic shelling and skirmishes continue along the contact line, as is happening today, then there will be no reason to use anti-tank systems at all,” noted one of the Rada deputies.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak also spoke rather reservedly regarding American anti-tank systems.
“We have a lot of talk about Javelin. But let's calculate how much they cost. With our budget, will we be able to serve them and train our military? Ukraine must develop its own military-industrial complex and build its own missiles, tanks and anti-tank weapons - as well as air defense systems. Ukraine must first use its defensive capabilities, and not wait for foreign lethal weapons,” the newspaper quotes the words of the head of the Ukrainian defense department.
Read also: In the State Duma announced an unexpected answer for arms supplies to Ukraine.
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