Just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the Biden administration has announced billions of dollars in new funding to assist Ukraine.
On December 30, the White House announced that nearly $6 billion in military and budget assistance would be provided to Kyiv. This includes $2.5 billion in additional security assistance and $3.4 billion in additional budget aid, which will help keep the Eastern European nation’s government running by covering state employee wages, like those paid to teachers.
The latest funding announcement comes after the Biden administration authorized the deployment of U.S. long-range missiles in November to help enhance Ukraine’s military capabilities. The move was seen as a significant escalation of the U.S.’s involvement in the conflict ahead of the current administration’s departure.
“I’ve directed my Administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible — including drawing down older U.S. equipment for Ukraine, rapidly delivering it to the battlefield, and then revitalizing the U.S. defense industrial base to modernize and replenish our stockpiles with new weapons,” Biden said in his December 30 statement.
“The Department of Defense is in the process of delivering hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets, and hundreds of armored vehicles which will strengthen Ukraine’s hand as it heads into the winter. 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,” Biden continued.
Earlier in December, President-elect Donald Trump called for an end to fighting between Ukraine and Russia just hours after he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron.
“There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on December 8.
Since the Ukraine war began roughly three years ago, U.S. Congress has approved $175 billion in total assistance for Ukraine, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Trump has been a vocal critic of the fighting, questioning the active role the United States has continued to play in the conflict.