Egypt planned to secretly supply Russia with 40,000 missiles

The President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, ordered the production of up to 40,000 missiles for secret shipment to Russia. The Washington Post writes about this with reference to leaked documents of the American intelligence.

The document marked “top secret”, dated February 17, 2023, summarizes conversations between al-Sisi and high-ranking military personnel. It talks about plans to supply Russia with artillery shells and gunpowder. In the document, al-Sisi instructs officials to keep the production and supply of missiles secret in order to “avoid problems with the West.” The document also quotes the Minister of Arms Production of Egypt, Salah al-Din. He said that Russian officials had informed him that they were ready to “buy anything”.

The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Ahmed Abu Zeid, told journalists that “Egypt’s position from the very beginning is based on non-interference in this crisis and the obligation to maintain an equal distance with both sides.”

An American official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the publication that the White House was not aware of such arms deliveries. As noted by The Washington Post, providing weapons to the Russian government may lead to US sanctions against Egypt. In 1987, the country had the status of a “major non-NATO ally” for Washington.

On Monday, The Washington Post, also citing leaked documents, reported on Washington’s concerns about the war in Ukraine. American intelligence believes that Ukraine’s problems with the concentration of troops, as well as the lack of ammunition and equipment, may lead to the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will not meet Kiev’s expectations regarding the counteroffensive. The document states that the Ukrainian offensive will probably lead only to “modest territorial acquisitions.” As noted by The Washington Post, this differs from the official statements of the administration of the President of the United States.

• Secret documents of the USA and NATO, which concern, in particular, the Ukrainian counteroffensive, the supply of weapons, the number of troops, as well as the Middle East and China, appeared online in March. As Politico writes, the leak led to a crisis in US relations with its allies. Sources told the publication that high-ranking representatives of American intelligence, the State Department and the Pentagon contacted their colleagues in other countries to dispel concerns about the publication of intelligence data.