The vast Israeli stockpile of ammunition is secretly delivered to Ukraine by the United States; In the midst of Ukraine’s ongoing war with the former Soviet state, a new report claims that the United States is secretly delivering hundreds of thousands of artillery shells to Kyiv from the so-called American emergency stockpile in Israel.
According to a report published on Wednesday by the New York Times, which cited representatives from the United States and Israel, the Pentagon was utilizing the enormous stockpile, which supplies the US military with arms and ammunition for use in conflicts in the Middle East, to assist Ukraine in meeting its requirement for artillery shells in the conflict it is waging with Russia.
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According to the report, Washington and Tel Aviv have agreed to ship approximately 300,000 shells to Ukraine. Half of the rounds that were meant for Kyiv have already been shipped to Europe and will eventually arrive through Poland, according to the report.
The newspaper says that secret US officials have been collecting enough shells to keep Ukraine supplied in 2023 because Kyiv is running out of ammunition for its own Soviet-era weapons.
A US official told The Times that the United States has delivered or promised to deliver slightly more than 1 million 155-millimeter shells to Kyiv because artillery has become crucial to the war in Ukraine.
Last year, US officials first mentioned the possibility of providing Ukraine with supplies from the Israel stockpile, which raised concerns in Tel Aviv regarding how Russia would react. The cabinet discussed the request with Israel’s military affairs minister at the time, Benny Gantz. According to the report, the move was approved by then-Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid following discussions with cabinet and security officials.
According to Israeli officials who spoke with The Times, despite Tel Aviv’s acceptance of the US’s use of its own supplies, the country maintains its opposition to providing Ukraine with lethal weapons.
Israel has attempted to remain neutral regarding Russia’s war on Ukraine, stating that it will not consider supplying Kyiv with offensive weapons or advanced defensive technology, but will look for donated equipment to avoid a conflict with Moscow.
Despite the fact that the two sides had been on good terms, Israel was soon pressured to join Western nations in condemning Russia and accusing Moscow of alleged war crimes.
If Israel provided Ukraine with military aid and equipment, Russia threatened retaliation in April of that year.
The US delivered weapons to resupply Israeli forces during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, establishing the US military’s munitions stockpile in Israel.
Additionally, “in emergency situations,” Israel is permitted direct access to the stockpile, and weapons may be transferred through significantly simplified Foreign Military Sales channels.
Although not widely known, the stockpile’s existence had previously been acknowledged. It was first reported by The Times that it was being used to supply Ukraine.
Over the perceived threat of Ukraine joining NATO, Russia launched what it called “a special military operation” against the country at the end of February.
Since then, the United States of America and other allies of Ukraine have given Kyiv weapons worth tens of billions of dollars, such as rocket systems, drones, armored vehicles, tanks, and communication systems. Numerous economic sanctions have also been imposed on Moscow by Western nations.
source: The New York Time
