The Biden administration is rushing military equipment to Ukraine in a last-ditch effort to shore up the country’s defenses against the Russian invasion before Donald Trump assumes the US presidency in January.
The newly announced $725m in assistance will include Stinger anti-air missiles, anti-drone weapons, artillery shells and long-range Himars rocket munitions, and anti-armour missiles, as well as spare parts and other assistance to repair damaged equipment from US stocks, the state department said.
The new shipments of weapons come as Ukraine is desperately seeking to stabilise its frontlines in both the east of the country, where Russia has made grinding progress toward the crucial logistics town of Pokrovsk, as well in the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukrainian forces are bracing themselves for an assault by Russian and North Korean troops.
Trump has threatened to cut off all aid to Ukraine after assuming the presidency next month, leading the White House to attempt to disburse a remaining $7bn approved by Congress before the end of Biden’s term. The aid announced this week comes under the Presidential drawdown authority from existing Pentagon stocks.
The White House has said the surge in security assistance is meant to “put Ukrainian forces in the strongest possible position before [Biden] leaves office”. Trump and his top surrogates have said that he wants to prepare peace talks soon after taking office, including by withholding military aid from Ukraine in order to force Kyiv to the table.
The package also includes anti-personnel mines that were recently approved for use by the Biden administration in what the White House called a “a limited exception to the administration’s continuing landmine policy” in order to “help Ukraine stabilize its lines in the east”.
“The president has directed the Department of Defense to deliver the materiel to Ukraine rapidly – to ensure that Ukraine has the equipment it needs to defend itself,” said Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, in a statement. “Between now and mid-January, we will deliver hundreds of thousands of additional artillery rounds, thousands of additional rockets, and other critical capabilities to help Ukraine defend its freedom and independence.”
Biden has also approved Atacms missile strikes into Russia and repealed a ban on US contractors traveling into Ukraine to repair F-16 fighter jets, tanks, armoured personnel carriers and other vehicles that have been provided to the Ukrainians for the country’s war effort.
