The US on Monday announced almost $5.9 billion in military and economic aid for Ukraine, some of the last funds to be disbursed under President Joe Biden before an expected shift in support by incoming President-elect Donald Trump.
Biden says the military assistance includes $1.25 billion in so-called Presidential Drawdown Authority, which means pulling weapons and ammunition from the US stockpile, and that final $1.22 billion from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. The help includes air defence, artillery, and "other critical weapons systems," he says.
Separately, the Treasury Department said it was making the final $3.4 billion in direct budget support through last year's Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act.
“I’ve directed my Administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible — including drawing down older US equipment for Ukraine, rapidly delivering it to the battlefield, and then revitalizing the US defense industrial base to modernize and replenish our stockpiles with new weapons,” Biden said in the statement.
Trump has vowed to quickly end the war in Ukraine once he assumes office Jan. 20, saying he would be willing to both increase aid to Kyiv or end it completely to force both sides toward a settlement. Last week, Russia dismissed Trump's call for an immediate cease-fire, with the future of Ukraine's relationship with NATO as a major sticking point.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the economic assistance, coordinated with the US Agency for International Development and Department of State, will help maintain "critical government services" as Russia intensifies attacks on civilian and critical infrastructure.
Military equipment from Pentagon inventories provided through the drawdown authority includes air-defense missiles, anti-tank weapons, and munitions for rocket systems and artillery.
The Defense Department said in an email that Biden still has access to about $4.35 billion in drawdown authority, but officials have previously warned that withdrawing heavily from US stockpiles by the end of this term risks undermining US readiness. Whatever remains of the PDA after Biden leaves office will be available if Trump chooses to use it, it said.
Separate security assistance funds will be used by Ukraine for contracts on long-term weapons procurements from US firms. According to the Pentagon, the package announced Monday includes air defenses, air-to-ground munitions, and drones. More than $65 billion in military aid has been given to Ukraine since Russia began its invasion of the country in February 2022.
Ukraine's military is unable to hold off Russian advances in its east, and U.S. officials said last week that Kyiv's forces have lost about half the territory seized in Russia's Kursk region, and may lose the rest within a month or two.
Read also| Pakistan Joins UN Security Council in 2025, Gains Virtual Veto on Terrorist Designations
