Simi Valley (US), Dec 7: The United States will provide nearly USD 1 billion more in longer-term weapons support to Ukraine, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday as the Biden administration rushes to spend all the congressionally approved money it has left to bolster Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.
The latest package will include more drones and munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, that the US has provided. While these weapons are critically needed now, they will be funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for longer-term systems to be put on contract.
The weapon systems purchased are often intended to support Ukraine’s future military capabilities, not make an immediate difference on the battlefield.
The USD 988 million package is on top of an additional USD 725 million in US military assistance, including counter-drone systems and HIMARS munitions, announced Monday that would be drawn from the Pentagon’s stockpiles to more quickly get to the front lines.
The US has provided Ukraine with more than USD 62 billion in military aid since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Ukraine is facing an intensified onslaught by Russia, which is now using thousands of North Korean troops to augment its fight to take back the Kursk region. Moscow also has launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile and regularly strikes Kyiv’s civilian infrastructure.
With questions about whether Trump will maintain military support to Ukraine, the Biden administration has been trying to spend every dollar remaining from a massive foreign aid bill passed earlier this year to put Ukraine in the strongest position possible.
Trump, a longtime admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has criticised US aid for Ukraine and called for bringing a quick end to the war, raising concerns in Ukraine about what terms may be laid out for any future negotiations. (AP)
