WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Monday that 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, or USAI.
According to the Department of Defense, the weapons include:
Munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS); HAWK air defense munitions; Stinger missiles; Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (c-UAS) munitions; Ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition; Air-to-ground munitions; High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs); Unmanned Aerials Systems (UAS); Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems; Tube-launched, Optically guided, Wire-tracked (TOW) missiles; Small arms and ammunition and grenades; Demolitions equipment and munitions; Secure communications equipment; Commercial satellite imagery services; Medical equipment; Clothing and individual equipment; and Spare parts, maintenance and sustainment support, ancillary equipment, services, training, and transportation.
Biden said all longer-term USAI funds have now been spent and pledged to 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.”
The new aid comes as Russia has launched a barrage of attacks against Ukraine’s power facilities in recent days, although Ukraine has said it intercepted a significant number of the missiles and drones. Russian and Ukrainian forces are also still in a bitter battle around the Russian border region of Kursk, where Moscow has sent thousands of North Korean troops to help reclaim territory taken by Ukraine.
The Biden administration is pushing to get weapons into Ukraine to give Kyiv the strongest negotiating position possible before Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20. Trump has talked about getting some type of negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia and has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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 that he won’t provide Ukraine with all the weapons funding approved by Congress.
Including Monday's announcement, the U.S. has provided more than $65 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022.