The Biden administration is planning to rush the last of over $6 billion remaining in Ukraine security assistance out the door by Inauguration Day, as the outgoing team prepares for the weapons flow to end once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Zelenskyy thanks Biden for $7.9B aid package SharePlay Video Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance have criticized the Biden administration for spending billions on military aid for Ukraine, with all of Europe collectively only managing to equal the amount Washington has made available.
It normally takes months for munitions and equipment to get to Ukraine after an aid package is announced, so anything rolled out in the coming weeks would likely not fully arrive until well into the Trump administration, and the next commander in chief could halt the shipments before they’re on the ground.
“The administration could dip into the stockpiles and send equipment more quickly, but it’s unclear the Pentagon would want to do that since it would affect its own readiness.” The Pentagon will remain “on track to continue to provide the authorized assistance to support Ukraine,” Pentagon spokesperson Lt.
Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the likely next chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Biden last month urging him to speed up shipments of equipment for Ukraine and accelerate American manufacturing before the end of his term in order to quickly bolster Ukraine for the fight ahead.
Trump surrogates have crisscrossed Europe and embassies in Washington for months to talk about plans presented to the candidate to either flood Ukraine with weapons or cut off all support if no peace deal is reached.
The plan, described by two administration officials who were granted anonymity to discuss internal matters, is the only option the White House has to keep sending equipment to Ukraine to fight off continued Russian offensives.
White House and Pentagon officials have said using long-range missiles inside Russia wouldn’t lead to any decisive advantage on the battlefield and expend weapons the Ukrainians should use against advancing Russian forces inside Ukraine.
Trump’s criticism of support for the Ukrainian war effort also led allies to finally seize about $48 billion in interest from frozen Russian assets to give to Ukraine as loans for reconstruction and buying weapons.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/06/biden-trump-ukraine-assistance-00187897
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