White House preparing $725 million military aid package for Ukraine, Reuters reports
U.S. President Joe Biden is preparing a new weapons package for Ukraine worth $725 million, Reuters reported on Nov. 27, citing two unnamed U.S. officials.
The Biden administration has pledged to ship as much aid to Ukraine as possible in the coming weeks, before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
The new aid package would include landmines, drones, Stinger missiles, and ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), an official familiar with the plan told Reuters.
The package will also likely contain cluster munitions, according to a notification seen by Reuters. Congress is expected to receive the formal notification as early as Dec. 2.
The exact contents of the aid shipment may change in the coming days before Biden signs off on the delivery.
Biden will exercise the Presidential Drawdawn Authority (PDA) to pull the weapons from U.S. stocks. The $725 million marks an increase from recent PDA packages, which are typically well under $5 million.
Congress has already allocated between $4-5 billion in remaining PDA funds for Ukraine. Biden has promised to deliver the full amount to Kyiv before Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20 despite logistical hurdles.
The Wall Street Journal on Nov. 27 reported that Biden is unlikely to deliver the full amount before the end of his term.
As the White House works to speed up weapons deliveries to Ukraine, Biden has also asked Congress to greenlight additional aid funding, Politico reported on Nov. 26. Documents obtained by the outlet show that the administration is requesting $24 billion in military assistance.
The rush to fund Ukraine is a direct response to Trump's avowed skepticism of ongoing U.S. military support for Ukraine. Trump has constistenly said he would seek to get the U.S. "out" of the war and bring Kyiv and Moscow to the negotiating table. While the details of his plan remain unclear, some reports indicate it might entail Ukraine ceding territory and at least temporarily foregoing its NATO aspirations.
Martin Fornusek
