US may not be able to send remaining $5.6bn in military aid to Ukraine before Trump takes office, NYT reports
The U.S. may run out of time to deliver the remaining $5.6bn in military aid allocated to Ukraine before Donald Trump takes office next month, The New York Times (NYT) reported on Dec. 17.
"We will continue to do drawdown packages for the remainder of this administration," a U.S. official told the NYT.
"But $5.6 billion is a substantial amount of authority, so I would certainly anticipate that there could be remaining authority that would transition and be available for the next administration to use," they added.
Although the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden plans to allocate some funds from the presidential drawdown authority, it is unlikely to spend the whole amount.
The presidential drawdown authority is a scheme that allows any U.S. President to transfer weapons from the Pentagon’s own stockpile instead of ordering it from manufacturers that would take precious time.
The U.S. gave more than $60 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine during the Biden administration.
Trump’s support for Ukraine hangs in the air as analysts and politicians try to gauge his plans to bring peace to Ukraine, as he promised to end the war within "24 hours" after reelection without revealing details.
There are concerns that Trump's victory might lead to the U.S. withdrawing its military support for Ukraine, leaving it up to European allies to help Kyiv resist Russia’s war.
