In a final push before the impending Trump administration, Biden White House He is scheduled to announce additional military aid to Ukraine worth $1.25 billion.
The large aid package includes a large number of munitions, including advanced national surface-to-air missile systems and the HAWK air defense system. The package will also include Stinger missiles and 155mm and 105mm artillery shells.
Officials are expected to make the announcement on Monday, the Associated Press reported.
President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands after signing a security agreement on the sidelines of the G7 summit on June 13 in Saveltre, Italy. (AP/Alex Brandon)
The latest funding came after Biden earlier this month announced a $988 million aid package To Ukraine To ensure it has “the tools it needs to win its fight against Russian aggression.”
“This administration has made its choice. So has the bipartisan coalition in Congress. The next administration must make its choice,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier during a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. “But, from this library, from this platform, I am confident of it President Reagan “He would stand with Ukraine, American security, and human freedom.”
French President Emmanuel Macron (center), US President-elect Donald Trump (left) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stand before a meeting at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris on December 7, 2024. Trump is making his first international trip since his election victory. Prepare for a day of intense diplomacy before attending the reopening ceremony of Notre Dame Cathedral, which was restored after the 2019 fire. (Sarah Messonnier/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
The Biden administration has committed to providing as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump takes office in January.
During the election campaign, President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance He strongly criticized the Biden administration's support for Ukraine after the 2022 Russian invasion.
Florida lawmaker calls on Democrats to “escalate” the conflict in Ukraine
Trump also said he would end the war even before he took office without providing further details. Vance suggested earlier this year that the best way to end the war was for Ukraine to cede territory seized by Russia and create a demilitarized zone, a proposal that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky flatly rejected.
Since the Trump campaign impeachment He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky During a ceremony commemorating the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday after a devastating fire there in 2019.
Ukrainian soldiers from the 24th Brigade are seen carrying small arms during training in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on December 15. (Wolfgang Schwan/Anatolia via Getty Images)
This latest announcement marks the 22nd aid package the administration is providing through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
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Earlier in December, House Speaker Mike Johnson It rejected a request from the administration for Congress to approve $24 billion in additional funding.
Johnson said earlier: “Joe Biden has no right to make this decision now.” “We have a newly elected president, and we will wait and take direction from the new commander-in-chief on all of this. So, I don't expect any funding to come to Ukraine now,” he added.
