2.5 billion in weapons, and 3.4 billion to basically pay government salaries. Just like that another 6 billion will be handed to the corrupt government of Ukraine.
Biden pledges more aid to Ukraine
Nearly $2.5B package includes existing U.S. stock, longer-term weapons deals
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Monday the United States will send nearly $2.5 billion more in weapons to Ukraine as his administration works quickly to spend all the money it has available to help Kyiv fight off Russia before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
The package includes $1.25 billion in presidential drawdown authority, which allows the military to pull existing stock from its shelves and gets weapons to the battlefield faster. It also has $1.22 billion in longer-term weapons packages to be put on contract through the separate Ukraine Security Assistance
Initiative. Biden said all longer-term USAI funds have now been spent and he seeks to fully use all the remaining drawdown money before leaving office.
“I’ve directed my administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible,” Biden said in a statement. “At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office.”
In addition to the weapons support, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Monday the U.S. is providing $3.4 billion in economic assistance to Ukraine to help pay for critical government services during its fight against Russia. The money will pay salaries for civilian government and school employees, health care workers and first responders.
The Biden administration is pushing to get weapons into Ukraine to give Kyiv the strongest negotiating position possible before Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20. Trump has talked about negotiating some type of settlement between Ukraine and Russia.
Many U.S. and European leaders are concerned that Trump’s talk of a settlement might result in a poor deal for Ukraine, and they worry he won’t provide Ukraine with all the weapons funding approved by Congress.
Biden: Working to quickly bolster Ukraine’s negotiation leverage against Russia.
