US State Dept approves Javelin missile sales to Ukraine - Pentagon - UPDATED

US State Dept approves Javelin missile sales to Ukraine - Pentagon - UPDATED
# 04 October 2019 03:10 (UTC +04:00)

The US Department of State has approved a proposed sale of 150 Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine in a deal valued at nearly $40 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a press release on Thursday, APA reports quoting sputniknews.

"The Government of Ukraine has requested to buy one hundred fifty (150) Javelin missiles and ten (10) Javelin Command Launch Units (CLUs)," the release said. "Also included are training devices, transportation [and] support equipment… for an estimated cost not to exceed $39.2 million."

The DSCA said in the release it has already delivered the required certification notice to Congress.

The latest sale comes amid charges by Congressional Democrats that President Donald Trump withheld separate military aid from Kiev to compel Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter – allegations that form the basis of a House effort to impeach Trump.

Republicans argue that as vice president, Biden threatened to withhold US military aid to Ukraine to scuttle a corruption investigation of a Ukrainian energy company with Hunter Biden on the board of directors.

Russia has repeatedly warned the global community against supplying weapons to Ukraine, saying that such actions would escalate the military conflict in the country's eastern Donbass region. This stance has also been supported by a number of European officials.

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The US Department of State has approved possible sale of &39.2mln worth of Javelin missiles and related equipment tu Ukraine, Defense Department stated Thursday, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Earlier Bloomberg reported citing three officials familiar with the decision that the State Department approved and Congress has already informally signed off the deal.

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THE OPERATION IS BEING PERFORMED