Pentagon sending US arms stored in 'Israel' to Ukraine: Reports
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A US arms and ammunition stockpile in "Israel" is used to further arm Ukraine in the face of Russia.
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The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, US, March 3, 2022 (Reuters)
The US Department of Defense is tapping into a major US ammunition stockpile in "Israel," which holds arms and ammunition used by the Pentagon in its war on the Middle East, to aid Ukraine in the war, The New York Times reported citing US and Israeli officials.
The US military stockpile dates back to 1973 during the Israeli war on Egypt and Syria when the US airlifted weapons to resupply Israeli forces.
The newspaper revealed that in 2022 the United States and "Israel" reached an agreement to move about 300,000 155-millimeter shells.
Behind the scenes, US officials have been acting to collect enough shells to keep Ukraine sufficiently supplied in 2023.
Earlier, ex-Israeli Security Minister Benny Gantz said "Israel" would not supply weapons to Ukraine.
On the other hand, the Israeli occupation donated money to buy Ukraine weapons from third countries, a Russian intelligence source told Al Mayadeen in December.
"Tel Aviv" is using third countries to conceal its bias toward Ukraine, the source noted, highlighting that "Israel" was giving Ukraine non-lethal aid, but several Israeli armored vehicles have been detected in Ukraine.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported in November that the occupation spent millions of dollars to appease its western partners by procuring undisclosed strategic materials for Ukraine after "Tel Aviv" faced pressure to send arms to Kiev via a third country.
Read next: 'Israel' pressured to deliver millions in strategic materials to Kiev
Reportedly, the United States is the party that pressured the occupation, which had to go against its proclaimed stance to only send humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
The Biden administration demanded the occupation to switch from strictly providing humanitarian supplies and expanding its assistance to Ukraine and providing military equipment, prompting "Tel Aviv" to fund the purchase of strategic materials for Ukraine, including air defense systems, Haaretz said.
In October, former Russian President and senior Russian Security Council member Dmitry Medvedev warned "Israel" against providing weapons to Ukraine, threatening that any move to boost Kiev's arsenal would severely damage bilateral relations.
The Israeli occupation also agreed to allow NATO to supply Kiev with weapons that have Israeli-produced components, such as optical equipment and fire monitoring systems, media said.
Following Russian threats to "Tel Aviv", senior advisor to the Ukrainian President, Mikhail Podolyak, slammed the Israeli decision not to supply Ukraine with air defense systems, stating that "Israel chose to be on the wrong side of history," and that it, "causes great disappointment in Ukrainian society."
