In late November, the Atlantic Council, established as a NATO cheering section in 1961, applauded the National Security Council for its decision to send more weapons to the Poroshenko government in Ukraine.
On November 18 it was reported President Trump would consider a plan “to counter Russian aggression in the region.” The NCS plan includes a $47 million grant package that would supply Ukraine with high-tech weapons, including Javelin anti-tank missiles.
The man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank missile is manufactured jointly by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Each launch unit costs $246,000. Individual Javelin missiles run $78,000 each.
A little more than a month later, on December 22, the Trump administration officially announced a plan to provide the Kiev government with “lethal weapons,” including the Javelin.
At the State Department, Heather Nauert said the Trump administration had decided to provide “enhanced defensive capabilities" to help Ukraine build its military, defend its sovereignty, and “deter further aggression.”
This “aggression” includes status referendums held in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in the Donbass region in 2014. Although the Poroshenko government tried to disrupt the vote, participation was high and the people of Donbass voted overwhelmingly to leave Ukraine.
The vote was portrayed by the establishment media in the West as Russian interference and an attempt to undermine the sovereignty of Ukraine.
However, if this was the case, Russia would have immediately recognized the breakaway republics. It didn’t do this. Instead, as was the case in South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2008, it refrained. [READ MORE]
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