US troops are apparently on the ground in Ukraine to monitor NATO arms shipments to the country. This is reported by US media such as “NBC News”, citing an anonymous Pentagon source.
Washington has confirmed the presence of US uniformed troops in Ukraine for the first time since the war broke out. It remains unclear how many troops will be deployed where in the country, since when and for how long.
Accordingly, US forces are investigating weapons and military equipment supplied to Ukraine. The troop contingent is led by Brigadier General Garrick Harmon, the US military attaché in Kiev.
No Combat Missions
“There have been several of these inspections,” reporters from the Pentagon Press Pool quoted an army official as saying. The checks would not take place near the front lines, but where security conditions allowed.
These inspectors appear to be among the first US military personnel deployed to Ukraine since the Russian invasion. They also reportedly have to make sure that American weapons do not end up on the black market.
In April, CNN anonymously quoted the CIA as supplying weapons that threaten to “disappear in a huge black hole” once they enter the country. There is also some concern that Russia is taking US weapons systems.
Ukraine gets US air defense system
After Russia’s devastating missile and drone strikes on Ukraine’s electricity and water supply networks, Americans now appear to be yielding to pressure from Kiev to provide state-of-the-art air defense systems.
The Pentagon announced Monday that the United States would provide Ukraine with eight Nasams missile defense systems and associated munitions — two of them “soon.” Nasams is a short to medium range ground-based anti-aircraft weapon. (keep)