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President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States will send nearly $2.5 billion more in weapons Ukraine as his administration moves quickly to spend all the money it has available to help Kiev fight Russia before the president is elected Donald Trump takes office.
The package includes $1.25 billion in the president’s appropriations, which will allow the military to pull existing stock off its shelves and get weapons onto the battlefield faster. It also has $1.22 billion in longer-term arms packages to be put under contract through the separate Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, or USAI.
Biden said all USAI longer-term funds have now been spent and he is trying to fully use all remaining withdrawal money before he leaves office.
“I have directed my administration to continue as quickly as possible as much assistance as possible to Ukraine,” Biden said in a statement. “At my direction, the United States will continue to work to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office.”
In addition to the arms support, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Monday that the US is also providing $3.4 billion in economic assistance to Ukraine to help pay for critical government services during its ongoing fight against Russia. The money will pay salaries for civilian government and school employees, health workers and first responders.
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The new military aid comes as Russia has launched a barrage of attacks against Ukraine’s power facilities in recent days, although Ukraine has said it intercepted a significant number of the missiles and drones. Russian and Ukrainian forces are also still in a bitter battle over the Russian border region of Kursk, where Moscow has sent thousands of North Korean troops to help retake the territory taken by Ukraine.
The Biden administration is pushing to get weapons into Ukraine to give Kiev the strongest negotiating position possible before Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Trump has talked about getting some sort of negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia and has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Many US and European leaders are concerned that Trump’s talk of a settlement could result in a bad deal for Ukraine, and they worry that he will not provide Ukraine with all the arms funding approved by Congress.
The weapon systems to be removed from existing stockpiles by this latest weapons package include container unmanned aerial system ammunition, air defense ammunition, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, air-to-ground ammunition, anti. -armor systems, tube-launched missiles, fragmentation grenades, and other items and spare parts.
Including Monday’s announcement, the US has provided more than $65 billion in security aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
