The US Department of Defense announced new military aid to Ukraine on Saturday estimated at $988 millionas the Biden administration strives to accelerate its efforts towards kyiv before Donald Trump arrives at the White House on January 20.
The new aid includes drones, rocket launcher missiles and increased support for critical equipment maintenancethe Pentagon said in a statement.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned on Saturday that failure to continue to oppose Russian actions could have disastrous consequences.
“We can continue to oppose the Kremlin. Or we can let Putin do as he pleases and condemn our children and grandchildren to live in a world of chaos and conflict” Austin said at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California.
What position will the Trump administration take on Ukraine?
“The current administration has made its choice. So has a bipartisan coalition in Congress. The next administration will have to make its own choice,” he added.
Donald Trump’s November presidential victory has cast doubt on the future of US support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, with just weeks left to provide billions of dollars aid already budgeted before the Republican’s inauguration.
Donald Trump met Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron this Saturday in Paris, during a trip for the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral. Donald Trump was seen wearing a blue suit and yellow tie, a possible nod to the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
Over the past few months, Donald Trump, however, was very critical of the billions of dollars released by the United States for Ukraine. The president-elect promised to resolve the war between kyiv and Moscow even before taking the oath of office in January, without ever explaining how. Ukraine’s European allies fear a disengagement of the United States in this conflict or even American pressure for an agreement to the detriment of kyiv.
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