PRESS RELEASE

---

Sale of Lethal Weapons to Ukraine Will Lead to More Bloodshed, Russia Warns

Dec. 21, 2017 (EIRNS)—The U.S. State Department has confirmed that U.S. manufacturers can now obtain export licenses to sell lethal defense weapons to Ukraine, and that Congress was advised of this on Dec. 13, according to spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS that this decision may well motivate "loose cannons" to unleash additional bloodshed in Donbass. Perhaps the sale of lethal weapons "will once again motivate loose cannons among those nationalists who are solely seeking to switch over to a use-of-force method to settle the situation in Donbass—an absolutely dead-end technique, which would unleash bloodshed again," Peskov warned.

Speaking to reporters this week, Nauert emphasized that the U.S. government isn’t supplying the weapons to Ukraine, but only allowing U.S. weapons manufacturers to do so. According to Voice of America, a commercial export license covers such weapons as semiautomatic and automatic firearms, and includes combat shotguns, silencers, military scopes, flash suppressors and parts. The equipment approved for sale is valued at $41.5 million. As of now, the Washington Post reports, Ukrainian requests for heavier weapons have not been approved.