UCCA Welcomes US and Canadian Export Licenses for Ukraine

New York, NY – Beginning on December 13, Ukraine has been cleared to buy certain light weapons and small arms from US manufacturers according to a statement made by US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert. This news follows on Ukraine being added by the Canadian government to that country’s Automatic Firearms Country Control List (AFCCL), a special register of countries to which Canada can export weapons.

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the largest representative body of Americans of Ukrainian descent, has issued a statement welcoming the decisions by the United States and Canadian governments on December 13, to allow exporters to apply for permits for the commercial export of certain firearms, weapons, and devices from U.S. and Canadian manufacturers. In the statement, the UCCA also renewed its call for the United States to provide lethal defensive assistance to Ukraine, citing U.S. special envoy, Ambassador Kurt Volker, who recently remarked that 2017 was the deadliest year in Ukraine since Russia invaded three years ago. According to UCCA, the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, signed into law in 2014, specifically states the United States would “assist the government of Ukraine in restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to deter the government of the Russian Federation from further destabilizing and invading Ukraine and other independent countries.”

Also commenting on the development was Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who reiterated that “this decision was supported by Congress in legislation that became law three years ago and reflects our country’s longstanding commitment to Ukraine in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.” 

Co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said that “this decision--while long overdue--will reverse the Obama administration's de facto arms embargo against Ukraine and will finally allow Ukraine to access the tools it needs to defend itself.”

U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-09) also referred to this decision this decision as “long overdue.” "With news reports of increased aggression by Russian backed forces in Ukraine, I know our ally in Ukraine will see this as a welcomed first step. However, I hope it is not the last.”

More than 10,300 people have been killed, and more than 1 million displaced, since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2014. Since the beginning of 2017, there have been over 2,000 recorded attacks by Russian forces across the 'ceasefire' line in Ukraine, with dozens of civilians killed this year alone. Since January 2017, Russian forces have also resumed firing heavy artillery onto Ukrainian positions and deployed portable rocket launchers among its invading forces.

The full statement is available here. 

Established in 1940, UCCA unites and advocates in the name of over 20 fraternal, educational, religious, cultural, veterans and humanitarian organizations in the Ukrainian American community. UCCA maintains local all-volunteer chapters across the United States, with a national office in New York City, as well as a Washington, D.C. bureau, the Ukrainian National Information Service. UCCA is also a founding member of the Ukrainian World Congress (ukrainianworldcongress.org), the international assembly of Ukrainian public organizations representing over 20 million people, as well as a founding member of the Central and East European Coalition (ceecoalition.us), which coordinates the efforts of national ethnic organizations representing 20 million Americans.

Source: The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America