Egypt refused to supply ammunition to Russia and started producing for Ukraine – Washington Post

Last month, after talks with senior US officials, Egypt suspended a plan to secretly supply rockets to Russia and instead decided to produce artillery ammunition for Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda; The Washington Post (WP), referring to five US intelligence documents leaked earlier this month

Details: Last week, another document was reported exposing a secret scheme proposed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in February to provide Russia with up to 40,000 122 mm Sakr-45 rockets that can be used for Russian multiple-launch rocket systems. Sisi allegedly instructed his subordinates to keep the project secret "to avoid problems with the West".

However, new documents that WP obtained from the array of materials show that Sisi abandoned plans to supply Moscow in early March. Despite long-standing diplomatic and military relations with Russia, Egypt has been America's main ally in the Middle East for decades. It receives more than US$1 billion annually in military aid from the United States.

According to the documents, Egypt postponed the Moscow Agreement and approved the sale of 152 mm and 155 mm artillery shells to the United States for transfer to Ukraine.

Washington was trying to secure new supporters – and much-needed ammunition – for Kyiv's fight against Russian troops. The document says that Egypt intended to use its weapons production capabilities for Ukraine as a "lever" to obtain advanced American military products.

Background: Last week, Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old US National Guard Air Force soldier, was accused of leaking top-secret military intelligence data. Charges were brought for the illegal copying and transferring of classified materials.

In recent weeks, many US intelligence documents have been published on social networks. The US Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the leak, which could last several months.

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