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WASHINGTON — The U.S. has given approval for three Baltic NATO members to send American-made weapons to Ukraine, U.S. officials said.
The decision will enable Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia to provide Javelin antitank weapons and Stinger air-defense systems to Ukrainian forces.
Context: Russia moves more troops westward as U.S. fears a Ukraine invasion could be launched at any time
Also read: Biden says any Russian move across Ukraine border would be an invasion
The Biden administration has also notified Congress that it intends to provide Ukraine with five Mi-17 transport helicopters, U.S. officials said. The Russian-made helicopters had been intended for Afghanistan’s military and were being repaired in Ukraine.
“The United States and its allies and partners are standing together to expedite security assistance to Ukraine,” said a State Department spokesman, who declined to discuss details of the shipments from the Baltic states.
“We are in close touch with our Ukrainian partners and our NATO Allies on this and are utilizing all available security cooperation tools to help Ukraine bolster its defenses in the face of growing Russian aggression,” the spokesman added.
An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.
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Putin loves to roll the dice. Ukraine is his biggest gamble yet.
