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The Biden administration is expected to announce "massive" military aid to Ukraine

2025-01-07 20:55:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Biden administration is expected to announce "massive" military

President Joe Biden's administration is expected to announce a massive military aid package, the administration's latest for Ukraine.

The aid will be announced as part of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's visit to Germany on Thursday, during which he will meet with about 50 partner countries that have helped defend Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale offensive three years ago. , two defense officials told the Associated Press news agency.

Officials did not elaborate on the exact amount of aid, but said the package is expected to be "substantial" even though it will not include all of the roughly $4 billion left over from the fund that Congress has authorized for Ukraine.

There is likely to be "more than $2 billion left" for the new administration's defense team to send to Ukraine if the administration chooses to do so, an official said Tuesday during a call with reporters who are following Mr. Austin's visit.

Ukraine is launching a second offensive in Russia's Kursk region and is facing continued long-range missile attacks and ground advances from Russia, as each side tries to be in the best possible conditions for negotiated, before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.

Defense officials in President Biden's administration working on Ukraine-related issues have been in communication with President-elect Trump's transition team to discuss "all topics that we believe are important," one of the officials said. During Secretary Austin's stay at Ramstein Air Force Base, his final meeting will be held with the group he organized to defend Ukraine after the full-scale attack by Russia.

Together, the countries of this group have provided aid of more than 126 billion dollars: for armaments, military training and other assistance. Aid packages have included millions of rounds of ammunition, advanced fighter jets, air defense systems, and even tanks.

The United States has provided $66 billion of total aid.

The aid package to be announced on Thursday will be provided from existing stockpiles, with the aim of delivering most of the weapons promised to Ukraine by the time Mr Trump is sworn in, one of the defense officials said.

On December 30, the administration announced another $1.25 billion aid package, part of a series of aid announcements as it rushed to provide as much military support as possible to Ukraine before President Joe Biden left office. Officials said that approximately 80 to 90 percent of all promised weapons have already been delivered to Ukraine./Voa