NYT: U.S. supplies 155mm shells to Ukraine from its depots in Israel
Washington and Tel Aviv reached an agreement to supply Ukraine with about 300,000 pieces of 155mm artillery ammunition from U.S. depots located in Israel. This was reported by The New York Times on January 17, citing sources among U.S. and Israeli officials.
As the newspaper notes, about 150,000 artillery shells have already been shipped to Europe. Presumably, they will be delivered to Ukraine via Poland. The shipments are coming from the American depots established on the territory of Israel after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war for the use of the American military in the conflicts in the Middle East. According to the newspaper, the Israeli military has repeatedly gained access to the stockpiles of weapons held by the Central Command of the U.S. Armed Forces.
The New York Times stresses that the previous Israeli government initially opposed the shipment of ammunition from the US depots located on the territory of the country, among other reasons, because of their desire not to spoil relations with Moscow.
However, after an official request from Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid approved the deal in order to avoid tensions with the United States.
According to the newspaper’s sources, the US side has promised to replenish the stocks in Israel’s warehouses and to arrange for the immediate supply of ammunition in case of urgent need.
At the same time, an unnamed representative of the Israel Defense Forces, cited by The New York Times, noted that the country’s policy regarding the provision of military assistance to Ukraine had not changed. For his part, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder told the newspaper that the United States would not disclose details of the military equipment supply routes.