In a final initiative before leaving office early next year, President Joe Biden has announced to allocate $500 million in military support to Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed this critical package on Thursday, highlighting the inclusion of urgently needed weapons and equipment, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, ammunition, drones, and armoured vehicles.
The election of President-elect Donald Trump last month has sparked worries about possible major reductions in U.S. military support for Ukraine. To counter this, the current administration is racing to finalise billions in authorised aid before he takes over.
This new assistance package comes on the heel of a $988 million security aid announcement and a $725 million weapons deal made earlier this month. After the latest package is completed, President Biden will still have about $5.6 billion in Presidential Drawdown Authority at his disposal, allowing for the rapid deployment of weapons from U.S. reserves to the front lines without needing approval from Congress.
Trump’s remarks have raised concerns in Kyiv and across rope regarding the sustainability of US assistance, as well as Ukraine’s capacity to endure Russian offensives without additional American backing. The United States has taken the lead in rallying global support for Ukraine, swiftly assembling a coalition to assist Kyiv following Russia’s comprehensive invasion in 2022 and orchestrating aid from numerous nations. Since then, Ukraine’s international allies have delivered tens of billions of dollars in military supplies, training, and other security resources, which have been crucial in enabling Kyiv to fend off Russian aggression.
Recently, Ukraine’s military has reported that Russian troops have either destroyed or seized several Ukrainian positions close to the city. The potential fall of Pokrovsk, a vital logistics center for the Ukrainian forces, would constitute one of the most considerable military losses for Ukraine in recent months. At the same time, Ukraine’s air force revealed on Friday that Russia had conducted a large-scale missile and drone attack on its energy facilities during the morning rush hour, resulting in power outages for about half of the 3.5 million consumers served by the power company Yasno. This incident marks the 12th major assault on the power grid this year, occurring after the Kremlin issued threats of retaliation in response to a Ukrainian attack on a military airfield in the southern Rostov region, which utilized long-range Army Tactical Missile System missiles supplied by the United States.
