Biden announces new military aid for Ukraine
As Joe Biden’s days in the White House come to a close, he’s using whatever time he has left as President – and whatever discretionary powers he has left – to safeguard projects he holds dear, like supporting the democracy in Ukraine against the ongoing Russian invasion. That support comes in the form of more financial aid and military supplies for Ukraine, which Biden announced earlier today.
Reuters shared that the U.S., “announced nearly $6 billion in additional military and budget assistance for Ukraine as President Joe Biden uses his final weeks in office to surge aid to Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes power.”
During the presidential campaign, Trump questioned the level of U.S. involvement in the conflict, suggesting European allies should bear more of the financial burden.
Some of his fellow Republicans – who will control both the House of Representatives and Senate starting next month – have also cooled on sending more aid to Kyiv.
Washington has separately provided approximately $61.4 billion in security assistance to Kyiv since the start of the war, according to the Pentagon
According to ABC News, Biden said that the latest U.S. support for Ukraine will include both a $1.25 billion drawdown package for Ukraine’s military and a $1.22 billion package authorized through the U.S. Department of Defense’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. The department has now used all funds allocated by Congress under that initiative.
The U.S. Department of Defense will be delivering hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets and hundreds of armored vehicles to Ukraine, Biden said, “which will strengthen Ukraine’s hand as it heads into the winter.”
The White House shared the full ”Statement from President Joe Biden on U.S. Support for Ukraine’s Defense,” below:
Today, I am proud to announce nearly $2.5 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, as the Ukrainian people continue to defend their independence and freedom from Russian aggression.
Since Russia launched its further assault against Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has rallied the world to stand with the Ukrainian people, and it has been a top priority of mine to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to prevail. Today’s announcement—which includes an additional $1.25 billion drawdown package for the Ukrainian military and a $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) package—builds on this effort and will provide Ukraine with both an immediate influx of capabilities that it continues to use to great effect on the battlefield and longer-term supplies of air defense, artillery, and other critical weapons systems.
As I committed earlier this year, the Department of Defense has now allocated all remaining USAI funds appropriated by Congress in the supplemental that I signed in April, and my Administration is fully utilizing the funding appropriated by Congress to support the drawdown of U.S. equipment for Ukraine. I’ve directed my Administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible—including drawing down older U.S. equipment for Ukraine, rapidly delivering it to the battlefield, and then revitalizing the U.S. defense industrial base to modernize and replenish our stockpiles with new weapons. 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.
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.
For more on what is reportedly Biden’s “final” military aid package for Ukraine’s struggle against the invading Russian forces, see the video accompanying this article.
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(Cover photo of Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joe Biden, Image credit: X)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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