The US government has announced the transfer of enough small arms to equip a brigade to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The weapons originate from the thousands of weapons and millions of rounds of ammunition that have been seized in recent years from Iranian shipments to the Houthis in Yemen.

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The transfer includes 5,000 AK-pattern rifles, RPG-7 rocket launchers and machine guns. This is not the first transfer of seized small arms to Ukraine with a previous transfer occurring in October 2023, when 1.1 million rounds of an unspecified 7.62mm ammunition were transferred. In terms of the types of rifles likely transferred, previously released images of the arms seized largely appear to be of Chinese (7.62x39mm Type 56 AKs) and Russian (VEPR AKS20U in 5.45x39mm) origin.

Most recently, in February 2023, the US Navy reported that “more than 5,000 weapons and 1.6 million rounds of ammunition” had been seized since the beginning of the year. In 2021, approximately 9,000 weapons were intercepted on their way to the Houthis.

Type 56 AKs seized in February 2023 (US Department of Defense)

Here’s US Central Command’s press release in full:

On Apr. 4, 2024, the U.S. government transferred over 5,000 AK-47s, machine guns, sniper rifles, RPG-7s and over 500,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces. This constitutes enough materiel to equip one UKR BDE with small arms rifles. These weapons will help Ukraine defend against Russia’s invasion.

The government obtained ownership of these munitions on December 1, 2023, through the Department of Justice’s civil forfeiture claims against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

These munitions were originally seized by U.S. Central Command and partner naval forces from four separate transiting stateless vessels between 22 May 2021 to 15 Feb 2023. The munitions were being transferred from the IRGC to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216. U.S. CENTCOM is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means including U.S. and U.N. sanctions and through interdictions.

Iran’s support for armed groups threatens international and regional security, our forces, diplomatic personnel, and citizens in the region, as well as those of our partners. We will continue to do whatever we can to shed light on and stop Iran’s destabilizing activities.