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Can Ukraine deploy U.S.-made weapons against the Russians?

Can Ukraine deploy U.S.-made weapons against the Russians?

Can Ukraine deploy U.S.-made weapons against the Russians?
Apr 12, 2021 1 min, 55 secs

There are no geographic restrictions on the deployment of the missiles, which means Ukrainian forces can transport, distribute and use them any time.

Wess Mitchell, who served as the Trump administration’s top State Department official overseeing European and Eurasian affairs, noted that the Javelins and other lethal weapons are designed not for first use but to deter Moscow from encroaching on Ukrainian territory.

But while Washington urges Kyiv to use the Javelins only for defensive purposes and requires that the weapons be stored in a secure facility away from the conflict, there are no geographic restrictions on the actual deployment of the missiles, U.S.

officials said, which means that Ukrainian forces can transport, distribute and use them at any time.

An official close to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said that any discussions about moving the Javelins had not reached the presidential level and that no decisions have been made on whether to deploy them.

Zelensky is eager to de-escalate tensions, so he would not be naturally inclined to move the weapons east, said another person close to the Ukrainian president.

officials said they were not aware of any decisions to deploy the Javelins.

Senior Ukrainian officials are not yet convinced that the troop buildup means that Russia is planning an invasion — the fact that the troop movements have been so public and dragged on in the open for more than two weeks, suggests to Kyiv that Moscow may just be saber-rattling to try to create leverage with the new Biden administration

Biden, who pushed unsuccessfully to provide lethal aid to Kyiv during the Obama administration, also recently approved an additional $125 million worth of lethal aid to help the country defend its borders, including two armed patrol boats and counter-artillery radar

Jim Townsend, a Pentagon official during the Obama administration, said that while the deployment of missiles in itself would not be escalatory, they would be of limited use if the Russians are not planning on mounting a conventional attack with armored vehicles

“If the Russians are up to something, and that ‘something’ doesn’t involve armor, then the Javelins won’t matter,” said Townsend, who went on to refer to Russia's paramilitary forces that invaded Crimea in 2014

“For instance, Javelins aren’t useful if the Russians are using ‘little green men’ to infiltrate Ukrainian lines."

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