Just three weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, among whose government team there are members opposed to helping Ukraine such as the future Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, the Democratic Administration seems to have embarked on a race against time to shield Kiev’s attack and defense capabilities as possible, as the third anniversary of the Russian invasion approaches. The president, Joe Biden, has committed this Monday to the delivery of almost 6,000 million dollars (almost 5,800 million euros) for Ukraine.
In addition to $3.4 billion in direct budget support announced by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to maintain government services, Biden has announced another $2.5 billion in additional security aid to militarily bolster Kiev before Trump takes office. . “Under my leadership, the United States will continue to work tirelessly on this war for the remainder of my term,” Biden said in a statement. The Republicans will assume control of both Houses of Congress at the beginning of January, which theoretically leaves little room for new shipments.
Biden’s announcement includes $1.25 billion in military aid from US reserves and a $1.22 billion package from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), the latest package of this fund from Biden’s mandate, with which the Department of Defense has already allocated all the USAI remnants contemplated by Congress in the $61 billion supplement approved in April, after more than nine months of blockade by the Republicans.
The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, thanked the US for its support in a message on North Korean soldiers. “Every act of solidarity from our partners saves lives, strengthens our independence and reinforces our resilience. It also shows that democracies are stronger than autocratic aggressors. “We express our gratitude to President Biden, to the leaders and members of both parties in Congress, and to all the American people for their unwavering support for Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky also announced this Monday the return of 189 Ukrainians who remained captive in Russia, 187 military personnel and two civilians, as part of an exchange with Russia mediated by the United Arab Emirates. For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense has reported the return to the country of 150 prisoners of war.
The item announced by Biden is part of the nearly $6 billion that remained to be allocated from the funds approved in April. Under USAI provisions, military materiel is purchased from the national defense industry or from allied countries, not from US Army stocks, so it can take months or even years to reach the battlefield. But the urgency of the Democratic Administration has speeded up delivery, according to the statement. “[El paquete de ayuda] “It will provide Ukraine with both an immediate influx of battlefield capabilities and longer-term supplies of air defense, artillery and other crucial weapons systems,” the statement added.
The Department of Defense, Biden has stressed, is in the process of delivering “hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, thousands of rockets and armored vehicles that will reinforce Ukraine’s position facing the winter.” In addition, there will be the removal of old US equipment and the renewal of the US defense industrial base to modernize and replenish Ukrainian arsenals with new weapons.
In coordination with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department, the $3.4 billion in aid announced by Yellen also represents “the final disbursement of funds allocated under the bipartisan law. of Supplementary Appropriations for Security in Ukraine, 2024″. “Our direct budget support remains conditional on reforms related to strengthening law enforcement, improving the transparency and efficiency of government institutions, and strengthening anti-corruption rules and procedures,” Yellen said in a statement. .
Since November, Washington has taken steps that kyiv had been requesting for months, such as authorization for the use of anti-personnel mines to hinder Russian advance or, one step further, in a turn of great military and political significance, permission to attack Russian territory. with ATCMS missiles, supplied by the US. The increase in the pace of aid in the last three months of Biden’s term has left a bittersweet taste in kyiv, where some wonder why it could not have been provided at this level and speed sooner , to beginning of the year, when the situation on the front, practically blocked, required reinforcements.
Returns on Russian assets
In addition to the amounts announced by Biden and Yellen, the United States will also provide Ukraine with another $15 billion from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets thanks to an agreement signed between the World Bank and the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance, this has announced. Monday Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in a message on Telegram. “We thank the United States and the World Bank for implementing and supporting the initiative that makes Russia pay for its aggression against Ukraine,” he wrote.
Shymhal had announced on December 20 that his country had begun to receive US funds under the G-7 loan program worth $50 billion and with the same origin: the benefits of frozen Russian assets. Four days later, kyiv received a first batch of $1 billion, according to Shmyhal.
The funds are part of the Public Expenditure Project for the Maintenance of Administrative Capacity (Peace) in Ukraine and are intended to support the payment of pensions, subsidies to internally displaced people and salaries of teachers, first responders and emergency services personnel. The approved item now represents a portion of the US contribution of $20 billion under the agreement reached last June between the leaders of the G-7 (Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and the United States) and the European Union to carry out these monetary transfers. The majority of frozen Russian assets are located in EU countries.
The United States remains Ukraine’s largest donor, so much so that Zelensky himself admits that without Washington’s help it will be difficult to maintain foreign assistance. Almost three years after the start of the war, Washington has committed a total of $175 billion in aid, but the question is whether support will continue at that rate under the Republican presidency. Trump, who has reiterated that he wants to end the war quickly, questioned during the election campaign the level of US involvement in the conflict, suggesting that European allies should assume a greater financial burden, in comments comparable to those he endorsed during his first mandate to NATO partners who did not dedicate 2% of their budget to the Alliance. With France and Germany in a period of turbulence, the disengagement of the Trump administration from Ukraine could have consequences beyond the battle line.
The reluctance of Trump or Marco Rubio, in a position as decisive as the Secretary of State, is echoed by numerous members of the Republican Party, who starting in January will control the House of Representatives and the Senate, and therefore will have the key to eventually open or close the help tap.
