Ammunition and weapons intended for Yemen's Houthi rebels were sent by the United States to Ukraine

A previously confiscated shipment of small-caliber weapons and ammunition sent by Iran to Yemen's Houthi rebels, previously confiscated by the US Navy, has been transported to Ukraine.

About it writes CNN Greece, citing a message from the US military on Tuesday 9 April. This supply of weapons will certainly help Kyiv, which is experiencing an acute shortage of ammunition in the war against Russia, but will not solve the problem of the lack of heavy weapons in the Ukrainian military, since the US Congress has still not been able to agree on the approval of a new package of military aid.

The April 4 delivery included more than 5,000 AK-47 assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, RPG-7s and more than 500,000 7.62mm rifle rounds, according to a statement from the US Middle East Command on X (formerly Twitter):

“This amount of equipment is enough to equip the Ukrainian brigade with small-caliber rifles.”

These arms shipments were “transferred by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to Yemen's Houthis in violation” of a UN Security Council resolution and were seized by US forces and their allies, the United States Central Command said. The seizures occurred from four stateless transit vessels between May 2021 and February 2023, the US military said, vowing to “do everything possible to expose and end Iran's destabilizing activities.” In October, there was a similar transfer from the US to Ukraine, with 1.1 million rounds of ammunition seized between Iran and the Houthis.

Tehran supports Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have been targeting shipping in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea since last fall in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, destabilizing global trade.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Sunday that his country will lose the war if expected $60 billion in U.S. aid remains blocked in Congress, as Russia steps up pressure on the eastern part of the country.

A $60 billion US military and economic aid program for Kyiv has been blocked in Congress since last year due to opposition from Republican lawmakers ahead of the November presidential election.

Recently, Speaker of the House of Representatives Johnson said that he expected the package, including assistance to Ukraine, to be promoted after the holidays. He suggested that the package would include some important innovations. In this context, Johnson mentioned the seized Russian assets frozen in the United States, as well as the loan concept.

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