Latest US arms package for Ukraine includes Sea Sparrow missiles

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Jan 19:37

The upcoming military package will also include Bradley vehicles for the first time.

Launch of a Sea Sparrow missile

The latest $3 billion arms package for Ukraine that is soon going to be announced on Friday will, for the first time, include RIM-7 Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft guided missiles, which can be used to intercept aircraft or cruise missiles, Politico reported on Friday.

According to the report, Ukraine's armed forces managed to adapt their Soviet-era BUK launchers to use the missiles.

The upcoming military package will also include Bradley vehicles for the first time, Politico added.

In response to the decision by the White House to send Bradley fighting vehicles to Ukraine, Russia's Ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, said on Thursday that this indicates that the US does not want any peace or political settlement for the war in Ukraine.

"This step [the delivery of Bradley fighting vehicles] comes as a confirmation that our interlocutors in the United States have not even tried to listen to our numerous calls to take into account possible consequences of such a dangerous course by Washington," Antonov relayed to journalists, adding that "nobody should still have doubts who bears responsibility for prolonging this conflict. All the actions by the Administration indicate a lack of any desire for a political settlement."

Discussions about the "defensive nature" of weapons supplied by Western countries have become "absurd", as he continued that "it is finally becoming clear to the whole international community that in 2014 the US unleashed a real proxy-war against Russia by supporting nazi criminals in Kiev."