Russian forces might be facing air defense systems the old Soviet Union produced and was clandestinely acquired by the United States, The Wall Street Journal exclusively reported Monday.
The U.S. is reportedly sending Soviet-made air defense systems to Ukraine in its efforts to support Ukraine with lethal aid, while stopping short of delivering MiG jet fighters or declaring a NATO no-fly zone over the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's warned a no-fly zone would escalate the "special military operation" into full-fledged war with NATO.
"We are continuing to work with our allies and key partners to surge new assistance, including Soviet- or Russian-origin anti-aircraft systems and the necessary ammunition to employ them, every day to Ukraine," a U.S. official told the Journal.
The decades-old systems, including the SA-8, were obtained by the U.S. in a secret operation to study the Russian military technology, and now some of those defense systems are being sent to Ukraine, sources told the Journal.
The Ukraine forces are familiar with the defense equipment, having used it following the early 1990s breakup of the Soviet Union, according to the report.
The weapons, including the S-300 air defense system, were reportedly acquired by the U.S. in 1994 through a Pentagon contractor for $100 million in an effort to train the U.S. military, a source told the Journal.
The report comes as President Joe Biden is slated to attend a NATO summit in Brussels to talk about "ongoing deterrence and defense efforts" for Ukraine, according to White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
The S-300 from Belarus was not among the systems sent to the Ukraine, an official noted. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had been in discussions with Slovakia on backfilling their S-300 systems if it were to supply Ukraine with them, but no official agreement to do so has been finalized, according to the report.
"We've been in discussion," Slovakia Minister of Defense Jaroslav Nad' had said at a joint press conference Thursday with Austin. "Should there be a situation that we have a proper replacement or that we have a capability guaranteed for a certain period of time, then we would be willing to discuss the future of [the] S-300 system."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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