Official announcements from the U.S. Treasury or State Department

Blinken Reveals U.S. Began Arming Ukraine with Stinger, Javelin Systems in September 2021

Jan 4, 2025, 05:23 PM

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed in an interview with The New York Times that the United States began arming Ukraine well before the start of Russia's special military operation. Blinken stated that the U.S. started supplying weapons such as Stinger and Javelin systems to Ukraine in September 2021, and resumed in December, in anticipation of Russian aggression. This admission contradicts previous narratives that the conflict was unprovoked by the West. Blinken's comments have been met with responses from Russian officials, including Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who emphasized that Russia had been discussing Western arms shipments to Ukraine for years.