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December 31, 2024 | 01:46 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - US President Joe Biden announced $2.5 billion in additional security assistance for Ukraine on Monday, December 30, 2024.
The announcement, made in his final weeks in office, aims to boost military aid to Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes office after his inauguration on January 20, 2025.
"At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine's position in this war for the remainder of my term," Biden said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.
Biden's announcement includes $1.25 billion in military aid drawn from the US stockpile and a $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) package -- the last USAI package of Biden's term.
Under USAI, military equipment is acquired from defense industry or partners rather than from American stocks. That means it can take months or years to arrive on the battlefield.
Biden said the Defense Department is in the process of delivering hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, thousands of rockets and hundreds of armored vehicles that will strengthen Ukraine’s position as it prepares for winter.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is nearing its three-year mark, and Russia has recently used North Korean troops to bolster its own fighting positions.
On Friday, White House spokesman John Kirby said North Korean forces were suffering heavy casualties on the front lines of Russia’s war against Ukraine, with 1,000 of its troops killed or wounded in the past week alone in the Kursk region of Russia.
In a statement, Biden said the new aid would give Ukraine the ability to make a big impact on the battlefield and provide critical long-term supplies of air defenses, artillery and other weapons systems.
Nearly three years into the war, Washington has committed $175 billion in total aid to Ukraine, but it is uncertain whether that aid will continue at that pace under Trump, who will succeed Biden on Jan. 20. Trump has said he wants to end the war quickly.
During his presidential campaign, Trump questioned the extent of U.S. involvement in the conflict, suggesting European allies should shoulder more of the financial burden.
Some of his fellow Republicans -- who will control both the House and Senate starting next month -- have also cooled their resolve to send more aid to Kyiv.
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