Biden Admin Freezes Sale of Lethal Arms to Ukraine Amid Russian Military Buildup

What’s the story?

• The Biden administration has frozen a $100 million military aid package for Ukraine that includes lethal defensive weaponry amid Russia’s buildup of military forces along Ukraine’s border for what it claims are training exercises, according to a report by Politico. 
• The arms sale was prepared in response to a military buildup by Russia along its border with Ukraine and in Crimea, the Ukrainian territory Russia forcibly annexed in 2014. Russia began the buildup earlier this spring, as more than 100,000 troops, armored vehicles, and heavy artillery were moved to the region. 
• The maneuvers brought Russian troop levels in the region to an even higher level than what was seen during the 2014 invasion, which prompted alarm among American, NATO, and Ukrainian officials. The National Security Council moved to prepare the lethal arms package earlier this year, but it then put the sale on hold in the lead-up to Biden’s summit with Putin when Russian officials said they would reduce their force levels near Ukraine. 
• However, Russia has only withdrawn a fraction of its troops since that announcement, with Ukrainian officials telling Al Jazeera that there were still 100,000 Russian troops near the border in May, while Biden officials told the New York Times the number of Russian troops was closer to 80,000. Russia has kept much of its heavy weaponry in the region ahead of planned exercises with Belarus in the area later this year and indicated it intends to base more troops in the area over the next year.
• The arms package, which hasn’t yet been canceled outright and may still go forward, would reportedly include Javelin anti-tank missiles, surface-to-air missile systems, and small arms for the Ukrainian military. 
• The decision to freeze the provision of lethal weaponry to bolster Ukraine’s defensive capabilities could be viewed as undercutting the public remarks made by Biden after his summit with Putin when he told a press conference:

“I communicated the United States’ unwavering commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

• It’s unclear at this time when or if the Biden administration will unfreeze the lethal arms sale to allow it to proceed. A separate arms sale for Ukraine valued at $150 million that includes non-lethal military aid ― including unarmed drones, radar systems, and radios ― is expected to go forward.
• U.S. military aid to Ukraine has proven controversial in the past. The Obama administration was criticized for not providing lethal defensive aid to Ukraine after Russia’s 2014 invasion of Eastern Ukraine and annexation of Crimea. The Trump administration approved arms sales to Ukraine which included lethal weaponry in 2017 and again in 2019.
• Trump faced his first impeachment inquiry after he blocked (and later allowed) an arms sale to Ukraine in 2019 after a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he encouraged Ukraine to investigate the Biden family’s business dealings in the country, which Zelensky ultimately declined to pursue.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine photo by Taras Gren via Flickr / Creative Commons)