The United States Is Shipping Shoulder-Fired Missiles To Ukraine

According to a senior US defense official, Washington is providing extremely sensitive things to Kyiv, such as portable air defense systems.

The US and NATO are rushing weapons into Ukraine, including extremely sensitive equipment like shoulder-fired missiles known as man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS), which can bring down planes.

The Western arms deliveries, one of which is due to arrive in the next few hours, have been critical in allowing Ukrainians to battle invading Russian forces far more effectively and furiously than US intelligence had predicted.

However, deploying such enormous amounts of armament into Europe's largest fight since World War II runs the risk of some falling into the wrong hands - a risk the West has considered.

When asked about the possibility, a senior US defense official stated, "Frankly, we believe that risk is worth taking right now because the Ukrainians are fighting so skillfully with the instruments at their disposal and they're employing them so creatively."

Highly portable missiles, such as the Stinger surface-to-air missile (a form of MANPAD), can assist win conflicts, but they have also been lost, sold, or ended up in the arsenals of armed groups in the past.

Hundreds of US Stingers, for example, were viewed as crucial in helping mujahideen rebels drive Soviet forces out of Afghanistan during the 1980s and 1990s fighting.

However, the US spent years attempting to collect unused MANPADS from that country as well as other battle zones across the world.