The Biden administration on Saturday introduced a $988 million assist bundle to Ukraine to make sure it “has the tools it needs to prevail in its fight against Russian aggression.”
“This administration has made its choice. And so has a bipartisan coalition in Congress. The next administration must make its own choice,” Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin stated Saturday on the Reagan Nationwide Protection Discussion board in California. “But, from this library, from this podium, I am confident that President Reagan would have stood on the side of Ukraine, American security and human freedom.”
The help bundle is supplied via the Ukraine Safety Help Initiative and “will provide Ukraine with munitions for rocket systems and unmanned aerial systems,” a launch from the administration stated. “This package also includes support for maintenance and repair programs to help Ukraine reconstitute its forces and build and sustain combat power.”
The announcement got here as President-elect Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy whereas at a ceremony commemorating the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday after a devastating fireplace there in 2019.
ZELENSKYY FEARS DANGER IF UKRAINE LOSES UNITY, DEFEAT IF US CUTS FUNDS, 1,000 DAYS AFTER WAR BEGAN
The Biden administration on Saturday introduced a $988 million assist bundle to Ukraine to make sure it “has the tools it needs to prevail in its fight against Russian aggression.” (Andrew Cabalero-Reynolds/AFP by way of Getty Photographs)
Throughout the marketing campaign, Trump and working mate JD Vance closely criticized the Biden administration’s assist for Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion, and Trump stated he would finish the conflict earlier than even getting into workplace with out providing additional particulars.
Vance additionally steered earlier this 12 months that the easiest way to finish the conflict was for Ukraine to cede the land Russia has seized and for a demilitarized zone to be established, a proposal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flatly rejected.
FLORIDA REP CALLS OUT DEMOCRATS FOR ‘ESCALATING’ CONFLICT IN UKRAINE
French President Emmanuel Macron, heart, poses with President-elect Donald Trump, left, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the Élysée Palace in Paris Saturday. (AP Picture/Aurelien Morissard)
Just lately, Zelenskyy has stated he’s extra open to negotiations within the conflict and has referred to as for Ukraine to be allowed to hitch NATO.
The Biden administration has dedicated to giving Ukraine as a lot assist as potential earlier than Trump takes workplace in January.
“In September, the president announced a surge in security assistance for Ukraine to put Ukrainian forces in the strongest possible position before he leaves office,” Nationwide Safety Advisor Jake Sullivan stated in an announcement Monday whereas saying $725 million in assist to Ukraine.
Secretary Lloyd Austin (Alex Wong/Getty Photographs)
“Between now and mid-January, we will deliver hundreds of thousands of additional artillery rounds, thousands of additional rockets and other critical capabilities to help Ukraine defend its freedom and independence.”
Final month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated, “President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and Jan. 20.”
Saturday’s announcement marks the administration’s twenty second assist bundle via the Ukraine Safety Help Initiative.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
This week, Home Speaker Mike Johnson rejected a request by the administration for Congress to authorize $24 billion in further funding.
“It is not the place of Joe Biden to make that decision now,” Johnson stated. “We have a newly elected president, and we’re going to wait and take the new commander in chief’s direction on all that. So, I don’t expect any Ukraine funding to come up now.”
