“Though concerns are serious, given Russian aggression, it’s hard to argue that Ukraine shouldn’t have the necessary weapons to defend itself.”
Last week, the State Department approved the sale of over 200 Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine.
“This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of Ukraine,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in its official notice.
“The Javelin system will help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to meet its national defense requirements. Ukraine will have no difficulty absorbing this system into its armed forces.”
The Javelin is the latest generation of shoulder-mounted rockets that first started with the bazooka in World War II. This is an important step in countering Russian aggression in the region but does not come without risks.
“Royal Marines of 40 Commando are pictured firing a Javelin Anti-tank Guided Weapon as a part of Exercise Noble Mariner.” (Credit: Defenceministry.mod.uk via Wikimedia Commons)
Since seizing the Crimean peninsula in 2014, Russia has been increasingly strident and assertive in Eastern Europe. They have pressured Montenegro for its warm-water port, backed pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, and developed new kinds of “super weapons” and hybrid warfare that present distinct challenges to the United States. This is a relatively simple move that can increase Ukrainian defenses.
As RAND noted in regards to a possible Russian invasion of the Baltics, the lack of heavy ground forces opposing Russia would be catastrophic in the case of an invasion, resulting in the loss of the capital in less than 48 hours. These missiles represent an important deterrent to Russian heavy forces and any Russian forces unofficially helping Ukrainian separatists.
Upgrading Ukrainian hardware could increase tension in the region and lead to an arms race.
The move has inspired the usual criticisms that simply blame this decision on anti-Russian hysteria, a money-grabbing move by the military industrial complex, or Trump’s supposedly plummeting approval ratings.
Substantively this does have several concerns. Upgrading Ukrainian hardware could increase tension in the region and lead to an arms race. Moreover, considering the insurgents in Afghanistan who fought the Russians only to turn on the US, and the tanks supplied to a friendly Iraq that were lost to ISIS or Iranian backed militias, any hardware given to an ally might be used against us years down the line. Though concerns are serious, given Russian aggression, it’s hard to argue that Ukraine shouldn’t have the necessary weapons to defend itself.
This was a news item that barely received a paragraph in many papers, but it shows the need for the US to remain engaged around the world and how some minor items like a few hundred missiles can help respond to serious threats and support US allies. There is some danger in releasing technology, but the benefits outweigh the risks considering the recent history of Russian aggression.
