Ukraine-Russia Crisis: US sends 1.1 million rounds of seized Iranian ammunition to Kyiv
The U.S. government transferred approximately 1.1 million 7.62mm rounds to the Ukrainian armed forces.
The government obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justice’s civil forfeiture claims against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
These munitions were originally seized by U.S. Central Command naval forces from the transiting stateless dhow MARWAN 1, Dec. 9, 2022.
The munitions were being transferred from the IRGC to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216.
The U.S. is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means including U.S. and U.N. sanctions and through interdictions.
Iran’s support for armed groups threatens international and regional security, our forces, diplomatic personnel, and citizens in the region, as well as those of our partners.
"We will continue to do whatever we can to shed light on and stop Iran’s destabilizing activities," U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
Civilians continue to pay a horrendous price in the war in Ukraine, with nearly 10,000 dead and tens of thousands injured since conflict began in February 2022, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country said in a report published on Wednesday.
It reveals the deadly toll of Russia’s full-scale invasion on Ukrainian civilians, with almost six people killed and 20 wounded on average every single day between February and July of this year.
“In just six months covered by this report more than one thousand civilians died and nearly four thousand were injured,” said Danielle Bell, the Mission’s head.