With President Trump’s impeachment trial focuses on the U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, the details of U.S. support are key to understanding the debate in the Senate.
The Washington-based Security Assistance Monitor explains what the aid does–and does not–do.
U.S. support has grown rapidly since 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea, the easternmost part of the Ukraine. After Afghanistan and Iraq, Ukraine receives more assistance from the Department of Defense than any other country.
Not included in this aid are joint training exercises with U.S. National Guard units from California, Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
Perhaps the most important part of the military aid is the Javelin anti-tank weapons. In 2018 and 2019, the United States provided 37 Javelin missile launcher and 360 missiles.
Elias Yousif, an analyst for the the Security Assistance Monitor, explains:
In 2018, the Trump Administration reversed an Obama era decision to refrain from providing lethal equipment to Ukraine and approved the sale of FGM-148 Javelins, a shoulder fired, man portable anti-tank weapon.
With the impeachment trial now scrutinizing the suspension of security aid to Kyiv, President Trump has pointed to those sales to underscore the depth of his commitment to the country, and refute accusations he leveraged their security package for his personal gain. His defense team has also suggested that discussions of Javelins in the impeachment inquiry are irrelevant, since those were sales and not strictly part of Ukraine’s security aid package. Both these claims merit caveats.
Firstly, though the Javelins offer an important demonstration of U.S. support and commitment to the Ukrainian government, provisions in the sale agreement require their storage in the country’s east, and away from the frontlines, meaning their immediate impact on the battlefield are minimal.
Secondly, though the Javelins were purchased by Ukraine through the Foreign Military Sale process, it is possible, and even likely, that Ukraine used part of their Foreign Military Finance package, a State Department grant to buy U.S. weapons, to buy the missiles. The grant was, in fact, part of the 2019 suspension.
Source: Issue Brief: Ukraine Military Aid Suspension at the Heart of Impeachment | Security Assistance Monitor
