The Biden-Harris administration announced another$ 500 million in “additional security assistance support” for Ukraine on Thursday, just before the end of President Joe Biden’s term in office and President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
The U.S. Defense Department stated in a Thursday press release that” the President directed the Department of Defense ( DoD ) to provide additional security assistance to meet Ukraine’s crucial security and defense needs as part of the surge of security assistance the President directed to put Ukraine in the best possible position.” A package containing roughly$ 500 million Presidential Drawdown Authority ( PDA ) was included in the military assistance, according to the Defense Department.
According to the Defense Department, the further military support includes equipped bridge systems, communications equipment, little arms and ammunition, support equipment for F-16s, air-to-ground munitions, AIM-7, AIM-9M, and RIM-7 missiles, secondary equipment, free parts, services, training, and transportation. According to Fox News, recent U.S. stockpiles will be used to provide the weapons used in the military support.
According to a press release released on Thursday, the$ 500,000 in military aid for Ukraine represents the” seventy-fourth tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories” since August 2021.
READ MORE: Biden-Harris administration aims to accept$ 4.65 billion in Ukraine funding
The Biden-Harris administration’s announcement of more Ukraine aid came at a meeting between Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to Fox News, at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
During Thursday’s gathering at Ramstein Air Base, Austin warned,” If Putin swallows Ukraine, his stomach will simply grow”. He added,” If autocrats conclude that governments will lose their nerve, surrender their passions, and forget their principles, we will only see more land catches. If tyrants learn that hostility pays, we will just ask yet more aggression, panic, and battle”.
Zelensky likewise urged the incoming Trump presidency to continue supporting Ukraine’s Russian-led conflict.
It would be crazy to drop the game right now and not continue to build on the defense partnerships we’ve built, Zelenskyy said.” We’ve come so far,” he said. Anyone wants to feel assured that their nation won’t really be wiped off the map, no matter what is happening in the world.
