Washington purchased the anti-aircraft systems to analyze Russian capabilities, and then train American troops in defeating them.
According to Wall Street Journal reports, US plans to send to Ukraine medium anti aircraft systems from its stockpile of Soviet military equipment.
These anti-aircraft weapons were made possible by a program designed to teach American troops how they can be countered. They are taught by the Ukrainian military how to use these systems.
Officials told the newspaper that at least part of the supply will be removed from Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. They also added that C-17 Globemaster cargo planes flew recently to Huntsville.
Washington “is hoping that the provision of additional air defenses will enable Ukraine to create a de facto no-fly zone,”The newspaper stated. NATO members have repeatedly rebuffed Kiev’s call to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine, stating that it would draw them directly into the hostilities and could lead to a world war.
According to the report, S-300 long-range rockets are not included in the list of equipment that is slated to be delivered. In a secret operation, the US purchased at most one of these batteries from Belarus during the 1990s. According to WSJ sources, Washington will supply 9K33 Osa system that is shorter range.
Last Wednesday, CNN’s Jim Sciutto reported that the US and NATO allies were going to send to Ukraine an array of Soviet air defense systems with capabilities better than the shoulder-launched Stinger missiles delivered in the hundreds in the weeks before the Russian attack.
New: US & NATO allies are sending several surface-to-air missiles systems to Ukraine. According to a senior US official, these systems are Soviet-era SA-8 and SA-10 mobile air defense systems. They have a range higher than Stingers which gives them the ability to strike cruise missiles.
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) March 16, 2022
This was in reference to possible deals with Slovakia. Later, Ukraine confirmed that it would share its S-300 systems. Slovakia’s defense minister, Jaroslav Nad, told a news conference on Thursday that he discussed the plan with his visiting US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, and that his country wanted to receive “a proper replacement” first.
Over the course of the almost month-long Russian invasion, multiple Ukrainian S-300 battery batteries were destroyed by Russian forces. Russian forces are attempting to militarily demilitarize Ukraine, and to ensure it does not threaten the regions that have been proclaimed independent of Moscow (Donetsk and Lugansk).
Moscow has stated that it would consider convoys transporting arms to Ukraine legitimate targets of its armed forces. The WSJ didn’t explain the proposed logistics of the delivery of the US-owned anti-aircraft systems.
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