President Joe Biden is funnelling funds to Ukraine before Donald Trump takes the reins on America’s response to the international conflict.
The departing leader announced $6 billion in additional military and budget assistance to Ukraine on Monday. Approximately $1.25 billion in military aid stems from U.S. stockpiles, with another $1.22 billion coming from the final Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package from Biden’s term, reported Reuters. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also said that the U.S. has made available $3.4 billion in additional budget aid to Ukraine amid its ongoing conflict with Russia.
“The Department of Defense is in the process of delivering hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets, and hundreds of armored vehicles which will strengthen Ukraine’s hand as it heads into the winter,” Biden said in a statement. “At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office.”
The funds will be used for critical resources and longer-term supplies of air defense, artillery, and other weapons systems, according to Biden.
More than 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia invaded the Eastern European nation in February 2022. Cities have been leveled, and 370,000 injuries have been reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said earlier this month. But Biden’s exit from the White House could mark the end of the U.S. commitment to aiding the war-torn nation.
One of Trump’s biggest and boldest campaign promises was that he would immediately end the Russian invasion of Ukraine—though his philosophy on how to achieve that was suspiciously scant of details and, at times, veered toward solutions that would invariably aid Russia.
In June, details dished by some of Trump’s advisers suggested that Trump would be open to an increase in U.S. weapons aid to Ukraine so long as it shows up for peace talks with Russia. The advisers envisioned that the peace talks would also quietly include Ukraine ceding part of the country that is currently occupied by Russian forces.
And some of Trump’s domestic decisions are reportedly “thrilling” Russian mouthpieces. Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT, claimed earlier this month that some of Trump’s most unqualified choices for his cabinet—such as DOGE co-chair nominee Vivek Ramaswamy and director of national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard—are friendly faces that bring the Kremlin “lots of joy.”
Meanwhile, NATO (which Trump has long threatened to withdraw the U.S. from) is preparing for escalations on the Russian front. In early December, NATO chief Mark Rutte warned members that the international alliance must shift to a “wartime mindset”, predicting years of conflict with Russia as the superpower batters down Ukrainian forces.
“Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation, with Ukraine and with us,” Rutte said during a speech in Brussels in which he highlighted the short distance to where “Russian bombs are falling… Iranian drones are flying,” and “North Korean soldiers are fighting.”
“We are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years,” the secretary general continued. “It is time to shift to a wartime mindset, and turbocharge our defense production and defense spending.”
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