Washington Covertly Arming Ukraine

by Stephen Lendman

Repeated administration/Pentagon Big Lies claim otherwise. Saying only non-lethal aid supplied.

Including communications equipment. Body armor. Night vision goggles. Humvees. Radar. Counter-mortar detection units. Binoculars. Small boats. Various other gear.

Kiev is infested with CIA, FBI, US special forces and various other so-called Washington advisors. Directly involved in aiding, abetting and directing Donbas fighting.

Pentagon spokesman Admiral John Kirby lied saying:

"Nothing has changed about the non-lethal assistance that we continue to flow to Ukrainian armed forces and security forces."

Washington "continue(s) to focus on non-lethal assistance…" False! More on this below.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich warned about supplying weapons and munitions.

Doing so brazenly violates Geneva and Minsk agreements. Stipulating all sides refrain from violence, intimidations and provocations. Mandating an immediate ceasefire.

Violating agreed on terms sends "a very serious signal," said Lukashevich. "(T)his is a direct violation of agreements, including the ones achieved in partnership with the United States."

Meaning Geneva, Minsk, UN pledges and Kerry promises to Sergey Lavrov during bilateral meetings.

America's word isn't its bond. It says one thing. Does another. Public and private comments are Big Lies. Especially on war and peace. Major geopolitical issues.

White House Deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken favors what he ludicrously calls "defensive lethal equipment."

Arms and munitions. Directly aiding Kiev's naked aggression. Currently being supplied covertly. Big Lies claim otherwise.

According to State Department press office director Jeff Rathke:

Washington "continues to believe that there's no military resolution to the crisis."

"Our focus from the outset has been to support Ukraine and to pursue a diplomatic solution that respects Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"And we've worked closely with our partners in Europe and around the world to help accomplish this."

"(O)ur position on lethal aid hasn't changed. Nothing is off the table, and we continue to believe there's no military solution."

Ukrainian CyberBerkut members revealed otherwise. Based on documents they hacked.

On November 25, Sputnik News headlined "Hackers Leak US Document Scans With Plans to Supply Weapons to Kiev," saying:

"Despite earlier claims that US had no intention of supplying Ukraine with weapons, a recent leak of government documents has revealed plans to supply weapons to Kiev."

"The leak was published online by Ukrainian hackers group CyberBerkut."

"(O)n Tuesday, documents show(ed) the Ukrainian military…receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from Washington."

Information was obtained during Vice President Joe Biden's November visit. Confidential State Department documents were accessed via a US delegation member's mobile device.

CyberBerkut saying:

"After examination of just a several files, there is the impression that the Ukrainian army is the branch of US Armed Forces." "

"The volume of US financial assistance amazes with its scale. They also show the highest level of degradation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces."

"Besides, thousands of dollars go on personal accounts of military personnel and used by certain officers in personal needs. What will the American taxpayers say?"

Other documents show Washington supplying Kiev with weapons and munitions.

Including "400 units of sniper rifles, 2,000 units of assault rifles, 720 hand grenade launchers, nearly 200 mortars and more than 70,000 shells for them, 150 stingers and 420 anti-tank missiles."

What's known may be the tip of the iceberg. Washington is directly involved in planning and directing Kiev's naked aggression.

Much like its Syria proxy war. Arming, funding, training and directing IS, Nusra Front, Al Qaeda, and other extremist fighters. Using them as foot soldiers against Assad.

Aiding Kiev's military the same way. Covertly. Likely since conflict began last April. Claims otherwise are Big Lies.

Washington's Letter of Notification authorizes "the Government of the United States (USG) (to) provide to the Government of Ukraine the defense articles or defense services collectively referred to as 'items' set forth herein."

Weapons and munitions listed above. For combat. For naked aggression against Donbas freedom fighters and civilians. Unrelated to defense.

Citing authorization based on Sections 506(a)(1) and 552c2, of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act (FAA).

FAA and the 1976 Arms Export Control Act (AECA) prohibit what Obama authorized.

AECA permits military related sales only for defense or internal security. FAA forbids aiding governments that engage:

"in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, including torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged detention without charges, causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction and clandestine detention of those persons, or other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, and the security of person, unless such assistance will directly benefit the needy people in such country."

The 2001 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act's (FOAA) Leahy Law provision states:

"None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to support any training program involving a unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of Defense has received credible information from the Department of State that a member of such unit has committed a gross violation of human rights, unless all necessary corrective steps have been taken."

FOAA prohibits funding foreign security forces that commit gross human rights violations unless its government "is taking effective measures to bring the responsible members of the security forces unit to justice."

FAA prohibits giving putschist regimes aid in all forms. Obama did straightaway. Pledging $1 billion in loan guarantees.

At the time, Russia's Foreign Ministry said US law prohibits aiding " 'the government of any country whose whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree.' "

"Thus, by all criteria, the provision of funds to the illegitimate (Kiev) regime, which seized power by force, is unlawful and goes beyond the boundaries of the US legal system."

"The US administration will most probably continue to close its eyes on the dominance of the ultranationalist forces in Kiev, which have launched a hunt for dissidents across the country, increasing pressure on the Russian-speaking population and our compatriots, threatening the people in the Crimea with punishment for their desire for self-determination."

Kiev putschists threaten all Ukrainians. They're guilty of high crimes against peace. Including scores of Maidan killings.

Hundreds massacred in Odessa. Many more than reported. War crimes in Donbas. Fascist regimes operate this way. Tolerating no opposition.

Escalated Kiev aggression looms. Expect it any time. With full US support and encouragement.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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