Ukraine's ammunition shortage has been alleviated by the delivery of 1.1 million rounds from the US.
In a situation strongly reminiscent of the cold war in more ways than one, the ammunition had been confiscated from a ship from Iran abound for Yemen in December. Iran has also been supplying Russia with weapons.
In a further irony, the Pentagon added that the ammunition was 7.62mm calibre used in Soviet rifles and light machine-guns such as the still quote-unquote “popular” AK 47.
The delivery is an important stopgap for Ukraine, but it nevertheless only represents temporary replenishment of supplies – the 1 million is less than 0.5 % of the total ammunition delivered to Ukraine from the US alone.
The Iranian munitions had been seized by the US navy in December of last year. Since then the United States has apparently been seeking a legal means of transferring the confiscated bullets to Ukraine.
The delivery could not come at a better time for US-Ukraine relations with the US treasury unable to make cash payments because of the government shutdown.
Sources: BBC, SKY News, Twitter
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