United States Military personnel have been deployed to Ukraine to, it is claimed, keep track of weaponry and ammunition supplied at the expense of the American taxpayer, the Pentagon says.
In order to alleviate concerns that American military equipment will end up on the black market, a U.S. “defence attaché” of military personnel has been sent under the command of Brig. Gen. Garrick Harmon to conduct arms inspections of weaponry supplied to the Ukrainians.
The military operation, which is being conducted alongside the Office of Defense Cooperation operating out of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, will also seek to bolster the ability of Kyiv (Kiev) to set up border checks for weapons smugglers, step up training for Ukrainian inspectors and guards, as well as providing training on how to properly dispose or destroy weapons and munitions.
Speaking at a no-names Pentagon briefing, the transcript of which has been published, a “senior defense official” said “There have been several of these inspections”.
Describing the “proactive steps” taken to keep American arms out of the hands of smugglers and criminals in Ukraine — emphasising the Department of Defence had not yet seen evidence of equipment being “diverted” — the unnamed official said “ensuring accountability of advanced weapons donations is a top priority”.
Confirming that U.S. forces were officially deployed inside Ukraine, the unnamed official said: “U.S. personnel have recently resumed on-site inspections to assess weapon stocks in country whenever and wherever the security conditions allow. The return of our defense attaché and Office of Defense Cooperation personnel in country has allowed us to resume this critical function.”
American troops officially left Ukraine on February 14th, ten days before the full-scale invasion of the country by the Russian military, in order to prevent potential conflict between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
However, while American military personnel have not been acknowledged to have been operating in the country until now, intelligence operatives from the CIA have allegedly been on the ground to provide training as well as logistical support to the Ukrainians, the New York Times reported in July. The paper went on to claim that a “few dozen commandos” from NATO nations, including Britain, Canada, France, and Lithuania were also still operating in the country.
Continue reading: Breitbart.com
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