New SACEUR to look into what weapons Ukraine needs for defense

Wednesday, May 4, 2016 - 22:35 (EEST) Section: Latest news

The new Supreme Allied Commander Europe, U.S. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, is going to find out exactly what types of weapons Ukraine needs for its defense, according to an UNIAN correspondent reporting from a change of command ceremony outside SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) in Mons, Belgium.
”I do believe that we should support Ukraine with what they need to successfully defend their territory and their sovereignty. I`ll take a look at that as SACEUR specifically because I need to assess what weapons are best, what capabilities they can use features they can use, what capabilities are complimentary to their forces today,” said Scaparrotti, answering the question of an UNIAN correspondent.
As UNIAN reported earlier, during the hearings in the profile Senate Committee, Scaparrotti said he believed Ukraine should be provide with weapons ”they need to defend their sovereignty and that they are capable of using.”
At the same time, former EUCOM commander Gen. Ben Hodges said that granting Ukraine Javelin missile systems will entail an increase in Russia`s military presence in Donbas.
On July 29, 2015, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in an interview with The Wall Street Journal said that Ukraine needs 1,240 Javelin man-portable anti-tank missile launchers to deter Russian aggression.
Before that, Ukraine`s Ambassador to the United States, Valeriy Chaly said that Ukraine expected to receive from the United States at least 1,000 Javelins in case of Russia`s large-scale offensive in Donbas.
Over the past year, the White House has repeatedly stated that the decision on the possible supply of lethal weapons to Ukraine was still pending.
White House spox Josh Earnest said Washington feared that providing Ukraine with lethal weapons could increase the bloodshed in Donbas.
On September 25, 2015, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak and U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said they had not discussed the issue of providing lethal weapons to Ukraine at their meeting at Pentagon.