President Donald Trump will be asked to approve a recommendation to both finance and sell American anti-tank missiles to the Ukrainian government, after the National Security Council decided earlier this week to allow presenting a $47 million grant package to that country, according to a State Department official.
The official, whose name was not reported, told ABC News Friday that the council recommended the move in hopes of deterring pro-Russian separatists' aggressions, and could include the sale of FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles.
The sale must be approved by Trump and Congress. The shoulder-mounted Javelin weapon comes with a steep price tag of about $126,000 for each launcher and $78,000 per missile, reports Business Insider.
If Trump signs off on the deal, it could shift the party's platform once again. In the past, the platform was to support "lethal defensive arms" to Ukraine, reports ABC, but now it's a more vague plan to offer "appropriate assistance."
Trump said during his campaign that he'd heard the party had softened the platform, but denied that he was involved.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis have been involved in discussions on the sale since June and have recommended the decision to finance and sell the anti-tank missiles in order to help arm Ukraine against pro-Russian forces.
The National Security Council and State Department were non-committal about the plan, with a State spokesperson telling ABC that the United States "has neither provided defensive weapons nor ruled out the option of doing so."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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