Russia has long used Iranian-made drones to attack Ukraine. Now Ukrainian forces will use bullets confiscated from Iran against Russian troops. A US Navy ship seized 1.1 million rounds from a ship used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to arm Houthi rebels in Yemen’s civil war, violating a Council resolution of UN Security.
The 7.62mm rounds have now been transferred to Ukraine, US Central Command announced Wednesday. The much-needed munitions were sent at a time when continued U.S. financial support for Kyiv’s struggle to defend itself remains in doubt. These types of bullets are the standard ammunition for Soviet-era Kalashnikov assault rifles and their numerous derivatives. Ukraine, as a former Soviet republic, still relies on the Kalashnikov for many of its units.
“With this arms transfer, the Department of Justice’s forfeiture actions against an authoritarian regime now directly support the Ukrainian people’s fight against another authoritarian regime. We will continue to use all legal authorities at our disposal to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom, democracy and the rule of law,” said US Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement
The US Navy’s Middle East-based Fifth Fleet and its allies have intercepted numerous ships believed to be transporting weapons and ammunition from Iran to Yemen in support of the Tehran-backed Houthis. This is the first time that the seized weapons have been delivered to Ukraine, said Mendo Central spokesperson Captain Abigail Hammock.
The seizure of the bullets was carried out in December from a ship that the US Central Command described as a “stateless dhow”, a traditional wooden sailboat of Arab origin, which was being used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, to arm the Houthis. The United States then “obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justice’s civil forfeiture claims against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
In Yemen there is currently a fragile ceasefire after a civil war that pits the Yemeni government, supported by Saudi Arabia, and the former president’s supporters against the Houthi rebels. The fighting has caused a serious humanitarian crisis and hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths for almost a decade. But Iran has continued to provide lethal aid to the Houthis, Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, head of the U.S. Central Air Forces, told reporters Wednesday.
A United Nations embargo has banned arms transfers to the Houthis since 2014. Iran insists it respects the ban, even as it has long transferred rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, missiles and other weapons to the Houthis across the sea. Western nations and UN experts have traced components seized aboard the detained ships to Iran.
Although the shipment of more than a million small arms rounds is substantial, it pales in comparison to the amount Washington has already sent to Kyiv since Russia invaded in February 2022, much of which has already been used in the intense land battle. The United States has provided more than 300 million small arms ammunition. and grenades as part of the nearly $44 billion in military aid it has sent to help Ukraine.
Additional US funding for the Ukraine war was not included in a stopgap measure that averted the partial shutdown of Joe Biden’s government last weekend. Prospects for continued attendance in Kyiv have been complicated by the ouster of Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. It is unclear whether the future leader will be able to rally enough support from hardline Republicans, who have opposed sending more money to Ukraine.
