US announces $5.9bn in military, other aid to Ukraine

Washington — The US on Monday announced nearly $6bn in additional military and budget assistance for Ukraine as President Joe Biden uses his final weeks in office to surge aid to Kyiv before president-elect Donald Trump takes power.

Biden announced $2.5bn in additional security assistance for Ukraine. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US has made available $3.4bn in additional budget aid to Ukraine, giving the war-torn country critical resources amid intensifying Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure.

“At my direction, the US will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office,” Biden said in a statement.

Biden’s announcement includes $1.25bn in military aid drawn from US stockpiles and a $1.22bn Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) package, the final USAI package of Biden’s time in office.

Under USAI, military equipment is procured from the defence industry or partners, rather than drawn from American stocks, meaning it can take months or years to arrive on the battlefield.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is approaching the three-year mark and recently the Russians have used North Korean troops to bolster their fighting position.

North Korean forces are experiencing mass casualties on the front lines of Russia’s war against Ukraine, with 1,000 of their troops killed or wounded in the last week alone in Russia’s Kursk region, White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Friday.

Biden said the new assistance will provide Ukraine with “an immediate influx of capabilities that it continues to use to great effect on the battlefield and longer-term supplies of air defence, artillery, and other critical weapons systems.”

Nearly three years into the war, Washington has committed billions in aid for Ukraine, but it is uncertain if the aid will continue at that pace under Trump, who replaces Biden on January 20. Trump has said he wants to bring the war to a swift end.

During the presidential campaign, Trump questioned the level of US involvement in the conflict, suggesting European allies should bear more of the financial burden.

Some of his fellow Republicans — who will control both the House of Representatives and Senate starting next month — have also cooled on sending more aid to Kyiv.

Yellen said in a statement the direct budget assistance, provided in co-ordination with the US Agency for International Development and the State Department, marked the final disbursement under the 2024 Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act.

A US official said the funding brings the total in US budget aid to Ukraine to just over $30bn since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Most of those funds are used to keep Ukraine’s government running by paying salaries to teachers and other state employees.

Washington has separately provided about $61.4bn in security assistance to Kyiv since the start of the war, according to the Pentagon.

Biden said the defense department is in the process of delivering hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets, and hundreds of armoured vehicles “which will strengthen Ukraine’s hand as it heads into the winter.”

Yellen said continued economic aid for Ukraine was crucial to allow it to maintain government services and continue to defend its sovereignty, warning against moves to cut funding.

“Ukraine’s success is in America’s core national interest,” she said, vowing to continue to pressure Moscow with sanctions and to help position Ukraine to achieve a just peace.

“We must not retreat in this effort.”

Reuters