US approves 3 NATO allies to rush anti-armour missiles to Ukraine amid fear of invasion

Amid soaring tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the US State Department has approved three NATO allies to rush anti-armour missiles and other US-made weapons to Ukraine, Politico reported on Wednesday. According to Politico, the United States approved sending lethal weapons to Ukraine after its intelligence service alerted of possible multi-front invasion by Russian forces.

As of now, the Biden administration has approved the requests from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania to move its weapons to Ukraine, according to US officials who spoke to Politico on the condition of anonymity as he is not allowed to speak to media about any developments related to Moscow and Kyiv. And the other three will be approved in the coming days, added the US officials.

When asked about mentioning the name of countries that will be given approval in the next few days, the official reportedly denied revealing any further details. The official also declined to comment on the specific details of the arms and ammunition which will be shipped to Ukraine.

Notably, the US administration has not officially announced the deployment of arms in Ukraine. Apart from dispatching anti-armour missiles and other US-made weapons to Ukraine, the administration will also ship weapons worth $200 million to Kyiv. 

According to the US intelligence reports, over one lakh Russian troops are pressed near the Ukraine border by Vladimir Putin and the forces have reportedly made all preparations to "invade Ukraine" this year - a report that Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied on multiple occasions.

While speaking to media persons on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the US claim as total disinformation. Meanwhile, on the completion of one year term in the White House, POTUS Joe Biden on Wednesday said he thinks Moscow will invade Kyiv and warned his Russian counterpart that his country would pay a dear price in lives lost and a possible cut off from the global banking system if it does.

US sanctions $200 million military aid to Ukraine

On Wednesday, the US sanctioned an additional amount of $200 million to Kyiv in order to boost its military power against Moscow.

While speaking to AP, an official on the condition of anonymity said that the aid was approved as a part of American efforts to help Ukraine protect itself. The aid was approved in late December last year.

"We are committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and will continue to provide Ukraine with the support it needs," the official said on the condition of anonymity as he wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's meetings in Kyiv.

With inuts from AP

Image: AP