America is a few short weeks away from seeing Trump inaugurated and entering the White House for the second time. Trump has been promising to rapidly negotiate a peace settlement in Ukraine, but lame-duck Biden has simultaneously pledged to rush as much defense aid to the Zelensky government as possible before leaving the White House.
President Biden has unveiled billions more for Kiev on Monday: "The United States on Monday 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."
This includes $2.5 billion in defense assistance and an additional $3.4 billion in budget aid, amid ongoing Russian aerial attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and especially the energy grid.
"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," Biden said in his statement announcing the aid.
According to details via Reuters:
Biden's announcement includes $1.25 billion in military aid drawn from U.S. stockpiles and a $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) package, the final USAI package of Biden's time in office.
Under USAI, military equipment is procured from the defense industry or partners, rather than drawn from American stocks, meaning it can take months or years to arrive on the battlefield.
President-elect Trump has indicated he doesn't plan to immediately cut the aid to Ukraine, which is perhaps a negotiating tactic in preparation for future talks with Moscow over ending the war.
Last week saw sustained major Russian strikes involving drone and missile barrages targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure. This followed a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian residential building in Kazan, which is far away from the front lines.
After this, by last week's end, Biden had previewed, "In recent months, the United States has provided Ukraine with hundreds of air defense missiles, and more are on the way."
He stressed: "I have directed the Department of Defense to continue its surge of weapons deliveries to Ukraine, and the United States will continue to work tirelessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in its defense against Russian forces."
Ukraine's main problem along the front lines, where by all accounts its forces are being steadily beaten back, remains a severe manpower shortage.
