The United States of America has transferred over 5,000 AK-47s, machine guns, sniper rifles, and RPG-7s, and over 500,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces to support Ukraine’s defence against the continued onslaught against the country by Vladimir Putin – led Russia.
The armaments were seized by United States Central Command and partner naval forces from four flagless vessels in the Arabian Sea enroute from Iran to Yemen, where sanctioned groups including Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directly support the Houthi movement.
The arms transfer to Ukraine were carried out on April 4, 2024, The Daily Crucible learnt.
It was learnt that the United States through the Department of Justice, is engaged in a larger investigation of the Iranian weapons-smuggling network, with substantial assistance from the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in conducting the seizures.
However, the transfer of the seized weapons followed the Department of Justice filing a civil forfeiture action against the seized munitions, resulting in a December 1, 2023, order by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia transferring title to the United States.
“With this weapons transfer, the United States government is both disrupting Iran’s destabilizing efforts and supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s brutal, unprovoked invasion,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
“The Justice Department will continue to use our legal authorities, including forfeiture, to support the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.”
“As we see Russia and Iran engaging in conduct to undermine global security, the Department of Justice is taking deadly weapons out of the hands of terrorists and putting them into the hands of Ukrainians defending their homeland,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen.
According to the Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia, the United States will continue to use the full reach of her authorities to disrupt the Iranian government’s efforts to undermine stability and to support the Ukrainian people’s stance against tyranny of Russia.
“Civil forfeiture remains an important tool in our efforts to stop or disrupt terrorist organizations like the IRGC,” he said.
Also stressed that “Its use in this case demonstrates the power of our counter-threat financing actions to strip legal control of assets from bad actors. We are proud to have been able to work with CENTCOM in this matter, and through them to further the efforts of partners like the Ukrainian armed forces in their fight to maintain freedom.”
According to court documents in the civil forfeiture action, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command seized the weapons from four interdictions of stateless vessels: two from 2021 and two from 2023. These interdictions led to the discovery and seizure of four large caches of conventional weapons, including long arms and anti-tank missiles, and related munitions – all of which were determined to be primarily of either Iranian, Chinese, or Russian origin.
Meanwhile, Ukraine needs military aid and air defence systems in the face of Russia’s intensifying attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, on Thursday, April 11, as he criticised his country’s allies for engaging in “lengthy discussions” and “turning a blind eye.”
Aljazeera reports that the Russian military launched attacks on five regions across Ukraine, killing at least seven people and damaging infrastructure including substations and power generation facilities, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.
Zelenskyy said Russia fired more than 40 missiles and about 40 attack drones overnight, many targeting energy infrastructure. The attacks show how “critical” air defence has become for Ukraine, he posted on X, adding that the Russian missiles and Iranian-designed one-way drones must not be allowed to hit Ukraine.
In southern Odesa, Governor Oleh Kiper said on his Telegram channel on Wednesday night that Russian missile strikes killed four people, including a 10-year-old girl, and left several others in critical condition.
The region’s air defences shot down seven Iranian-designed attack drones of the Russian military near energy infrastructure, which was not damaged, Kiper said on Thursday morning.
In northeastern Kharkiv, two women and a 14-year-old girl were killed after a missile strike on Wednesday afternoon, Governor Oleg Sinegubov said on Telegram, also posting photos of rescuers clearing up rubble.
He reported multiple other attacks across Kharkiv through Thursday morning, including a drone attack that injured one person, and a missile fired from a Russian S-300 system that targeted “energy infrastructure”.
Kharkiv was targeted with more than 10 missiles, leaving more than 200,000 subscribers without power.
Kharkiv, the capital of the region of the same name, lies just 30km (19 miles) from the border with Russia and has come under frequent bombardment since Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022.
Attacks in the capital Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and Lviv also targeted infrastructure, but left no casualties, according to local authorities.
Zelenskyy said that “if Russian missiles and ‘Shahed’ drones continue to strike not only Ukraine but also the resolve of our allies, this will amount to a global license for terror”.
Overnight, Russia fired more than forty missiles and about forty drones at Ukraine.
I thank everyone engaged in recovery efforts after the attack, as well as to every warrior of our air defense system who was on guard last night.
The president travelled to Lithuania to participate in a regional security summit on Thursday, saying that “Russian evil is a threat not only to Ukraine, but to every nation bordering Russia and to everyone who values international law”.
On Wednesday, United States President Joe Biden urged the US House of Representatives to vote immediately on a $60bn Ukraine aid bill, which has been stuck in the House after clearing the Senate.
“There’s overwhelming support for Ukraine among the majority of Democrats and Republicans. There should be a vote now,” Biden told reporters.
However, the top general for US forces in Europe told Congress on Wednesday that Ukraine will be outgunned 10 to one by Russia within a matter of weeks if Washington does not send more ammunition and weapons soon.
“They are now being outshot by the Russian side five to one. So the Russians fire five times as many artillery shells at the Ukrainians than the Ukrainians are able to fire back. That will immediately go to 10 to one in a matter of weeks,” General Christopher Cavoli said.
