US weapons to Ukraine “in a big black hole” - US official
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US officials affirm that the US has no clue as to what will happen to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of US weapons sent to Ukraine, according to CNN.
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A Ukrainian soldier train to use an M141 Bunker Defeat Munition weapon supplied by the US, Lviv, in February (REUTERS)
A senior US defense official warned, on Tuesday, that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of US weapons sent to Ukraine might “drop into a big black hole, and you have almost no sense of it at all after a short period of time."
The official stressed, as quoted by CNN, that the US military supply to Ukraine is "certainly the largest recent supply to a partner country in a conflict."
However, current US officials and defense analysts agree that the risk is that some of those weapons will end up in the hands of mercenaries.
US' information gap
It is worth mentioning that the US has mobilized and encouraged the participation of foreign mercenaries as well as bolstering the presence and reputation of far-right extremist groups such as Azov, Dnipro 1, Dnipro 2, Aidar, and Donbas units.
When deciding to send billions of dollars in weapons and equipment to Ukraine, the Biden administration considered the possibility that some of the shipments would end up in unexpected places, CNN quoted another defense official as saying.
Furthermore, two sources familiar with US and western intelligence admitted that the West, including the United States, has some information gaps.
"It's hard to track with nobody on the ground," said one source familiar with the intelligence as quoted by CNN.
What will happen to US weapons, Russia warns
Russia has constantly warned that flushing US weapons into Ukraine will have dire consequences.
Since Russia launched its operation in February, the US has delivered more than $2.5 billion in weaponry and other military aid to Ukraine. After initially sending thousands of anti-tank missiles and ammunition to the war-torn country, the Biden administration has since delivered heavier armaments to Volodymyr Zelensky's regime.
Last week, the United States announced that it is giving another $800 million in military assistance to Ukraine, including artillery systems and munitions, in addition to armored personnel carriers.
This comes after the Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, warned that the influx of Western arms to the conflict zone in Ukraine was adding fuel to the fire.
"It is extremely important that Western countries stop adding fuel to the fire by pumping Kiev's regime with weapons," he said.
Since the start of the war, the United States has deployed more than 100,000 of its troops to NATO member states, with the Biden administration authorizing $1.7 billion in military aid. Since Biden took office, however, Washington has given Ukraine $2.4 billion in military assistance, the White House said.
On April 16, Russia reportedly sent a diplomatic cable to the US, accusing the US and its NATO allies of violating "rigorous principles" governing the transfer of weapons to conflict zones, as well as being blind to the "threat of high-precision weapons falling into the hands of radical nationalists, extremists, and bandit forces in Ukraine."
Kiev's policy of arming civilians and paramilitary organizations to repel Russian soldiers has already had unintended repercussions, with stories of gang warfare, looting, and extrajudicial killings emerging from Ukraine since the conflict began.
