Official announcements from the U.S. Department of Defense or Ukrainian government

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

Jan 4, 2025, 02:32 PM

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has disclosed that the United States began arming Ukraine well before the onset of Russia's special military operation. In an interview with The New York Times, Blinken revealed that the U.S. started supplying weapons, including Stinger and Javelin systems, to Ukraine as early as September 2021, with further deliveries in December of the same year. The aim was to ensure that Ukraine had the necessary means to defend itself, particularly to prevent the capture of Kyiv by Russian forces.