US approves giant helicopter gunship sale to Poland
The United States has approved a whopping $12-billion sale of Apache helicopter gunships to Poland.
Poland would receive 96 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters from their manufacturer Boeing, the State Department said on Monday in a notification to Congress of the sale's green light.
Congress has the right to review and block the helicopter deal, but objections are not expected.
The sale "will improve Poland's capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force that is capable of deterring adversaries and participating in [the Western military alliance of] NATO’s operations," a State Department statement said.
Poland has doubled its military expenditure since last February when Russia started a war in neighboring Ukraine.
Back in January, it announced that it planned to inject four percent of its gross domestic product into its military -- well above the NATO target of two percent.
On Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu warned that Warsaw was turning into a main tool for Washington's anti-Moscow policy.
Russia's defense chief added that Poland had said it wanted to achieve its declared goal of building "the most powerful army" in Europe and to achieve this end, it started large-scale arms purchases from the US, the United Kingdom, and South Korea.
Warsaw has also been siding closely with Washington against Moscow since the onset of the conflict in Ukraine.
The US and its allies have been arming Ukraine with billions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art weapons since the beginning of the war, with a large portion of the arms crossing the border through Poland.
The Russian defense chief also accused Poland of trying to ultimately occupy western Ukraine under the pretext of establishing a joint military unit with the ex-Soviet republic.
Russia launches 'ICBM' for first time against Ukraine: Kiev
Occupied US bases in eastern Syria hit by rocket fire
White House split over Biden’s 'horrific' Israel policy: Report
VIDEO | Paris march in support of Palestine women
VIDEO | ICC issues arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister, ousted regime war minister
120 Palestinians perish as Israeli war machine keeps ravaging Gaza
VIDEO | Struggles of Palestinian women amidst war, displacement
VIDEO | Hezbollah rains attack drones down on elite Israeli brigade
VIDEO | US biased mediation fails
Leader: All captains of criminal, Zionist, terrorist gang must be prosecuted
Iran further raises its oil prices for Chinese buyers: Report
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
