US approves transfer of American weapons from allies to Ukraine

CNN

By Kylie Atwood, Jennifer Hansler and Alex Marquardt, CNN

The State Department told Congress that it has approved export licenses for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which will allow the countries to transfer US-origin weapons to Ukraine, according to an administration official, a State Department official and a congressional aide familiar with the matter.

This move comes as the Biden administration warns that Russia could invade Ukraine at any point, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the Kremlin has plans for sending more troops to the Ukrainian border.

The approvals — which occurred in recent days — are a signal that the US is looking to inflict a greater cost on Russian President Vladimir Putin if he goes forward with the invasion. Biden said Wednesday he expects Putin will “move in.”

The State Department cited close coordination with European countries and Ukraine when asked about the export licenses transfer.

“European allies have what they need to move forward on additional security assistance from Ukraine in the coming days and weeks,” said a State Department spokesperson. “We are in close touch with our Ukrainian partners and our NATO Allies on this, as well as utilizing all available security cooperation tools available to us including expediting authorized transfers of US origin equipment from other allies and partners via our Third Party Transfer process and Excess Defense Articles from DoD inventories, among other mechanisms.”

It’s unclear when the weapons will arrive in Ukraine.

Earlier this week Blinken visited Ukraine where Ukrainian officials thanked him for US security assistance. But Ukrainians have also routinely sought additional military support.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

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