U.S. President Joe Biden today announced an additional $2.5 billion in security aid for Ukraine as he uses his final weeks in office to increase military aid to Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump.
“At my direction, the United States will continue to work tirelessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war throughout the remainder of my time in office,” Biden said in a statement.
Biden’s announcement includes $1.25 billion in military aid from U.S. reserves and a $1.22 billion package from the Military Assistance Initiative for Ukraine (USAI), the last USAI package under Biden’s presidency.
Under USAI, military equipment is procured from the defense industry or partners rather than from US stockpiles, meaning it can take months or even years to reach the battlefield.
In his statement, Biden said the new aid would provide Ukraine with “an immediate flow of capabilities that it continues to use with great results on the battlefield and longer-term supplies of air defense, artillery, and other critical weapons systems.”
In the nearly three years of the war, Washington has provided a total of $175 billion in aid to Ukraine, but it is uncertain whether aid will continue at that pace under Donald Trump, who will replace Biden on January 20.
Biden said the Defense Department is in the process of delivering hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, thousands of rockets and hundreds of armored vehicles “that will enhance Ukraine’s capabilities as it enters winter.”
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