Ukraine Wants 1,000 Javelin Systems in Exchange for Nuclear Warheads
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Ukraine should have the right to receive at least a thousand US-made anti-tank Javelin missiles in return for nuclear warheads, the country's newly-appointed Ambassador to the United States Valeriy Chaly said.
Javelin is the American portable anti-tank missile system of the third generation, designed to target armored vehicles and low-flying targets, Sputnik reported on Friday.
"We need to understand that we must be prepared for any situation [in the southeast]. And also need to understand that Ukraine, which gave 1,240 nuclear warheads, should have the right to receive, if necessary, at least a thousand Javelins", Chaly was quoted as saying by Ukraine's Mirror Weekly newspaper on Friday.
On Thursday, US Joint Chiefs Of Staff Chairman Nominee Joseph Dunford said in his confirmation hearing that it would be "reasonable" to provide Ukraine with anti-tank missiles.
After Kiev began a military operation against rebels in Ukraine's southeast in April 2014, Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly asked western states for lethal aid.
Washington has provided non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine, but has stopped short of providing lethal aid over concerns it would escalate the conflict.
In April, US Ambassador to Russia John Tefft said that the United States was not going to deliver the Javelin system to Ukraine.
The European Union largely opposes Washington arming Ukraine with lethal weapons.