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Join Telegram ChannelThe Biden administration announced a $988 million aid package to Ukraine on Saturday to ensure it “has the tools it needs to prevail in its fight against Russian aggression.”
“This administration has made its choice. Just like a bipartisan coalition in Congress. The next administration must make its own choice,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California. “But, from this library, from this podium, I am convinced that President Reagan would have stood with Ukraine, with American security and with human freedom.”
The aid is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and “will provide Ukraine with munitions for its rocket systems and unmanned aerial systems,” a statement from the Ukraine said. administration. “This package also includes support for maintenance and repair programs to help Ukraine replenish its forces and build and maintain its combat power.”
The announcement comes as President-elect Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a ceremony commemorating the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday after a devastating fire in 2019.
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The Biden administration announced a $988 million aid package to Ukraine on Saturday to ensure it “has the tools it needs to prevail in its fight against Russian aggression.” (Andrew Cabalero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
During the campaign, Trump and his running mate JD Vance sharply criticized the Biden administration's support for Ukraine after the 2022 Russian invasion, and Trump said he would end the war even before take office, without giving further details.
Vance also suggested earlier this year that the best way to end the war was for Ukraine to cede land that Russia had seized and for a demilitarized zone to be established, a proposal that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky categorically rejected.
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French President Emmanuel Macron, center, poses with President-elect Donald Trump, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Élysée Palace in Paris on Saturday. (AP Photo/Aurélien Morissard)
Recently, Zelensky said he was more open to war negotiations and called for Ukraine to be allowed to join NATO.
The Biden administration has pledged to provide as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump takes office in January.
“In September, the president announced an increase in security assistance to Ukraine to put Ukrainian forces in the strongest possible position before he leaves office,” the adviser said Monday. national security Jake Sullivan in a statement announcing $725 million in aid to Ukraine.
Secretary Lloyd Austin (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“By mid-January, we will deliver hundreds of thousands of additional artillery shells, thousands of additional rockets and other critical capabilities to help Ukraine defend its freedom and independence.”
Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “President Biden is committed to ensuring that every dollar we have is out the door by January 20th. »
Saturday's announcement marks the administration's 22nd aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
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This week, House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected an administration request for Congress to authorize $24 billion in additional funding.
“It’s not up to Joe Biden to make that decision now,” Johnson said. “We have a newly elected president, and we're going to wait and take direction from the new commander in chief on all of this. So, I don't expect any funding from Ukraine to come through now.”