Zelenskyy: US has sent 20,000 missiles bound for Ukraine to Middle East instead
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reported that the United States has redirected 20,000 missiles, originally intended for Ukraine to combat Russian Shahed drones, to the Middle East.
Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with ABC News; a full video posted by the press service for the Ukrainian President's Office
Quote: "We have major problems with Shaheds, we're fighting them and of course will find tools to destroy them. But we had found something and decided – I think it was under the previous administration, it was defence secretary Austin. We settled on a project and we were counting on it.
20,000 missiles to fight Shaheds. It wasn't expensive, but it was a special technology. We were counting on those 20,000 missiles. This morning, my defence minister told me that the United States has transferred them to the Middle East."
Background:
On 5 June, The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration of US President Donald Trump had decided to redirect special fuses for ground-based rockets used by Ukraine to shoot down Russian drones to US Air Force units in the Middle East. These fuses are considered a key component in countering Russian UAVs.
The WSJ said that the Pentagon privately informed Congress last week that these fuses are now being transferred to US Air Force units in the Middle East.
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