US Admits Troops Officially Stationed in Ukraine

  A senior US official said that while the country's troops are officially stationed in Ukraine, they are not fighting Russia at all. John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator, US National Security Council, Friday (28/7/2023) evening as quoted by Sputnik, acknowledged the official presence of US troops in Ukraine. In his press conference in Washington, John Kirby tried to anticipate the possibility of Russia's reaction to the official presence of US troops in Ukraine. He claimed that US troops were officially stationed in Ukraine, but were not involved in the war against Russia. "US troops are stationed in Ukraine, but are not engaging in combat, and are not supporting the operations of their local counterparts, namely Ukrainian forces," Kirby added.

Pressed on questions about the involvement of US troops in the war in Ukraine, Kirby explained, "I can assure you, no one from the US forces, was involved in military operations or present in the arena of combat with Ukrainian soldiers." He emphasized that the presence of US troops in Ukraine was to protect the US Embassy in Kiev, and they worked in the Military Attache's office, where they conducted an audit of defense equipment. (HS)The United States, along with NATO member states, have played a key role in providing military equipment and weapons to Ukraine as the continuation of the bloody war between Russia and Ukraine continued, and to date has shipped tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons to this country. However, a new report published by the Heritage Foundation indicates that some of these weapons have found their way onto the black market and are in the possession of criminal gangs and smugglers.

This 19-page report, published last October, was made public only after a Freedom of Information Act was requested by the Heritage Foundation. The report notes that weapons shipments from the US Department of Defense to Ukraine are carried out with very little oversight, and at times, these shipments end up in the hands of criminal gangs and arms smugglers. Western arms shipments to Ukraine Since the United States began arming Ukraine's military, criminal gangs in Ukraine have obtained several shipments of grenade launchers, machine guns, rifles, bulletproof vests, and thousands of rounds of ammunition shipped by the United States, according to a report by the Department of Defense inspector general who acquired by the Heritage Foundation. Some Western Weapons in Ukraine Stolen Important point, the Heritage Foundation has warned many times about weapons being shipped to Ukraine from the West reaching the black arms market and criminal gangs and smugglers access to these weapons.

For example, Seymour Hersh, a well-known American journalist said about the sale of weapons shipped to Kiev on the black market that the West knows all too well that currently the countries bordering Ukraine, namely Poland, Romania and other countries, are awash in weapons. which should have reached Kiev. According to him, Western Arms were being sold by Ukrainian commanders to smugglers in Poland, Romania and other countries. Seymour Hersh stated that the West is well aware of this black market trade, as several reports of missing arms shipments have been published in the American media. Hersh was referring to a report prepared by the American news channel CBS on this matter, which the network's management was forced to refute as soon as it was published. The United States, along with NATO member states, has played a key role in providing military equipment and weapons to Ukraine as the continuation of the bloody war between Russia and Ukraine continued, and has delivered tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons to this country to date. Russia has also warned about how Western weapons find their way onto the black market and their damaging effects. Russian officials have repeatedly warned about Western weapons being smuggled beyond Ukraine's borders. A problem they say has exacerbated security in other parts of the world.