- The Biden administration has billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine remaining.
- The clock is ticking on getting Ukraine that support before Trump takes office.
- Trump’s return to the White House could threaten US support for Ukraine.
President-elect Donald Trump will be returning to the White House, and that means the clock is now ticking on getting billions of dollars in US aid to Ukraine.
Ahead of Trump’s inauguration in January, the Biden administration will be rushing to get that assistance to Ukraine, a Pentagon spokesperson told Business Insider.
There is currently just over $6 billion in US assistance to Ukraine left from April’s foreign aid package, with more than $4 billion of that dedicated to pulling from existing US weapons stockpiles and over $2 billion for funding contracts with US defense companies.
Biden administration officials told Politico Wednesday that the White House is now in a hurry to get that security assistance out the door before Trump again takes office. That’s no easy task, though, as doing so requires expediting slower processes to prepare shipments, and then there are also concerns that some shipments might not leave for Ukraine until after Trump’s inauguration, leaving them vulnerable to external influence.
A Pentagon spokesperson told Business Insider it’s on track to get the Ukraine aid out before mid-January, but it’ll be a heavy lift.
It is unclear how long the available US aid might sustain Ukraine, as that will largely be decided by the tempo of Russian combat operations, George Barros, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, told BI.
Russian forces have been conducting grinding offensives in multiple sectors of the front line, with territory in the east falling to Russia. The fighting could slow down in the coming months, though, as both sides grapple with winter conditions and the strain of intense combat on their armies.
Biden’s race to get Ukraine the last of its approved aid comes amid concerns that once Trump takes office, the tap will be shut off. During his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly criticized US assistance to Ukraine, at one point calling Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy “one of the greatest salesmen I’ve ever seen” and suggested he’d cut off future US aid or make Ukraine pay it back if support for the war-torn country continues.
During his acceptance speech Tuesday night, Trump vowed to end wars, referring to Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East, such as Israel’s war in Gaza.
After Trump’s election win this week, Zelenskyy was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate him, posting on X that he is “interested in developing mutually beneficial political and economic cooperation that will benefit both of our nations.” It was one of several such posts, a later one on Wednesday confirming that Zelenskyy had a “productive” phone call with Trump.
Beyond rushing US aid, there are other options for Biden to support Ukraine in his last few months as president, including lifting the long-standing restrictions on using US-provided weapons for deep strikes in Russia. Kyiv has repeatedly asked the Biden administration to do so, but the White House has maintained the position that such action would be escalatory. Analysts say it’s necessary for Ukraine to fight most effectively.
Barros said that the restrictions have given Russia a sanctuary that it uses as a shield to stage attacks on Ukraine at scale. “Biden’s last act as president could help shift the tides in favor of Ukraine by depriving Moscow of this shielded area,” he said.
On the ground in Ukraine, there is “anxiety and uncertainty” following Trump’s reelection, soldiers told BI, although some remain hopeful that Trump could see supporting Ukraine as a winning effort and ultimately opt to push aid forward.
Trump is unpredictable. How he proceeds with regard to Ukraine could be anything from a continuation of aid to nothing. He has also signaled he wants to negotiate an end, but it’s unclear what that may mean for Ukraine.
After Trump’s election win, NATO’s chief Mark Rutte wrote in an opinion article that the military alliance can’t afford to stop supporting Ukraine. Earlier this summer, NATO unveiled plans to assume more control over Western efforts to train and equip Ukraine’s military, a move seen as an attempt to shield support for Ukraine from political uncertainty in the US.
Read the full article here
