18:03 07.02.2020

Trump's administration delays supplies under six arms deals to Ukraine – media

2 min read
Trump's administration delays supplies under six arms deals to Ukraine – media

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is currently withholding approval for at least six commercial orders for arms and ammunition from U.S. companies to Ukraine, BuzzFeed has reported.

"The Trump administration is currently withholding approval for at least six commercial orders for arms and ammunition from US companies to Ukraine, together worth roughly $30 million, according to three current Ukrainian officials and a former senior U.S. official who have direct knowledge of the sales, straining an already fragile relationship between the two countries," says the article posted on the BuzzFeed's website on Thursday.

All four officials said that five of the pending sales from U.S. companies have been delayed for around a year, and one of the sales has been held up for more than a year. The officials said they haven't been able to get any answers from the Trump administration about why the deals, which typically take around two months to approve and must be licensed by the State Department, haven't received approval.

"It might be wise for the Ukrainians to look for other sources" from which to buy arms and ammunition, said the U.S. official, who said he has questioned senior White House and State Department officials about the issue.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv declined to comment on the matter, and the White House and State Department did not respond to requests for comments. Ukroboronprom, the Ukrainian state-owned arms conglomerate and the official buyer of all the arms and ammunition, also didn’t respond when asked for comment.

"Two Ukrainian officials who spoke to BuzzFeed News believe the delays could be related to a Chinese attempt to buy a strategic Ukrainian aerospace company that the U.S. has tried to block, raising the possibility of Kyiv getting caught up in a power play between Beijing and Washington," BuzzFeed said.

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