Biden signs off on more arms for Ukraine

The latest package is worth $500 million, the Pentagon has said

Outgoing US President Joe Biden has authorized a new $500 million weapons package for Ukraine, as his administration seeks to spend every dollar allocated by Congress before leaving office in January.

The package is the 72nd of its kind and includes additional air defense, artillery, drones, and armored vehicles, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby told the media during a regular briefing on Thursday.

The Pentagon estimated the value of the weapons being sent under the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) at $500 million. The tranche includes HIMARS rocket launchers, artillery munitions, anti-radar missiles, different types of military vehicles, and other hardware, the statement said.

Last week, the US announced a security package worth $988 million authorized through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), a separate military assistance mechanism.

The Biden administration has vowed to drain dry the reserves of Ukraine-related funding, after Donald Trump won the presidential election in early November. The Republican has said that he will end the Ukraine conflict, potentially cutting aid to Kiev to put pressure on it.

The outgoing US government has also authorized Ukrainian strikes with donated long-range missiles deep into Russia, crossing what Moscow perceived as a red line. The move has put the US and other NATO members in direct conflict with Russia, as opposed to their waging a proxy war against the country, according to officials in Moscow.

“I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that?” Trump said of the decision this week in an interview with Time magazine, which chose him as its person of the year for 2024. “I think that is a major escalation. I think it is a foolish decision,” the president-elect added.

Moscow has said that no amount of Western aid can alter the outcome of the conflict. Biden is working to leave behind “a difficult legacy” of ramped up tensions with Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has asserted.