...
By Maya Mehrara
News Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
President Joe Biden has prepared a last-minute aid package to send to Ukraine before he leaves office, according to a briefing shared with The Guardian newspaper.
National Security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, on December 5 and detailed that the Biden administration will send additional ammunition, weapons and vehicles by mid-January.
The Biden administration will send artillery rounds, thousands of rockets, hundreds of armored vehicles, and provide other military aid to Ukraine in what is likely an attempt to provide the country with as much aid as possible before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Read More on World
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email and to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for comment via email outside of business hours.
...
In a statement to Newsweek, Trump-Vance Transition Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said: "President Trump has repeatedly stated that a top priority in his second term will be to quickly negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war. Also, President Trump believes European nations should meet their NATO defense spending obligations and step up their share of the burden for this conflict, as the U.S. has paid significantly more, which is not fair to our taxpayers. He will do what is necessary to restore peace and rebuild American strength and deterrence on the world stage."
Sullivan's briefing also revealed that the Biden administration has committed to providing Ukraine with a $20 billion loans package, which will be financed by profits from immobilized Russian sovereign assets.
The aid package also includes an offer to train Ukrainian troops outside of the country. Ukrainian troops are currently being trained by France and the U.K.
The Biden administration has further plans to aid Ukraine by placing additional sanctions on Moscow aimed at cutting off Russian President Vladimir Putin's ability to continue fighting the war with Ukraine and boost Kviv's negotiating power.
The U.S. placed sanctions on Russia's Gazprombank in November in an effort to "further diminish and degrade Russia's war machine," according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Up to that point Gazprombank had been the largest Russian bank to avoid sanctions.
Trump has previously said that he would end the war in Ukraine "within 24 hours" and would halt military aid to the country. This would be significant as the U.S. provides approximately half of the military aid Ukraine receives and has sent more than $60 billion since the start of the war.
Trump is currently pushing for a ceasefire and is working on elements of a peace plan.
His advisers are reportedly coming up with proposals to end the war that would result in Ukraine ceding large amounts of territory and putting the pursuit of NATO membership on hold, according to Reuters.
Despite Zelensky's previous rejection of Trump's peace ideas, Ukrainian officials, Yermak and Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova, have been meeting with Vice President-elect JD Vance, Russia-Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg, and others in Trump's transition team.
Earlier this week the Biden administration announced a $725 million aid package to Ukraine comprising ammunition for Ukrainian-operated High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, artillery shells, missiles for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and Stinger missiles.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines