Biden rushes to bolster Ukraine with final $275M aid package
The Joe Biden administration is trying to utilize all the funds allocated by the US Congress to support Ukraine before the new president is inaugurated. According to the AP news agency, the Pentagon is expected to announce another military assistance package worth at least $275 million.
6:31 AM EST, November 20, 2024
Sources cited by the Associated Press indicate that the new package will include, among other items, new missiles for the HIMARS air defense systems, 6-inch and 4-inch artillery ammunition, and Javelin anti-tank missiles.
This will be yet another package announced soon, as the US administration works to utilize all the remaining funds allocated by the US Congress for supporting Ukraine before the new president takes office. According to AP, President Biden still has the authority to provide Ukraine with equipment from the American arsenal worth $7.1 billion.
Representatives of the administration have already announced their aim to finalize a $20 billion loan to Ukraine by the end of the year. The loan will be repaid from profits generated by the frozen assets of the Russian central bank.
Although the US administration has not officially confirmed allowing Ukraine to use ATACMS ballistic missiles inside Russia, an anonymous Pentagon official told AP that the Ukrainian military did use eight of these missiles on Tuesday to strike a weapons depot in the Bryansk region.
According to the cited official, Russia managed to shoot down two out of the eight missiles, contrary to the Russian Ministry of Defense's claim that five out of six were intercepted.
