Source: The Associated Press citing American officials
Details: The publication notes that the administration of current U.S. President Joe Biden is eager to do everything possible to assist Kyiv in resisting Russia before newly elected President Donald Trump takes office.
Quote from AP: "The latest tranche of weapons arrives amid growing concerns about the escalation of the conflict, as both sides seek any advantage they can utilize if Trump calls for a swift end to the war - as he has promised to do."
Details: According to American officials, the weapons in the new aid package for Ukraine include air defense systems, such as HIMARS artillery rocket systems, as well as 155mm and 105mm artillery shells, Javelin anti-tank munitions, and other equipment and spare parts.
The weapons will be provided under the presidential drawdown authority (PDA), which allows the Pentagon to quickly withdraw supplies from its stockpiles to expedite their delivery to the front lines in Ukraine.
The publication adds that the Biden administration will need to urgently allocate 7.1 billion dollars for weapons from Pentagon stockpiles to ensure that these funds are spent before Trump is sworn in.
In response to a question about whether the department will manage to do this before January 20, when Trump takes office, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh stated that officials are working to provide Ukraine with what it needs.
Additionally, the U.S. State Department announced on Tuesday that it has authorized the sale of unnamed defense equipment and services to Ukraine worth 100 million dollars, including vehicle repairs, technical assistance, training, and "other related logistics and program support elements." Unlike PDA assistance, the Ukrainian government will pay for this.
According to two senior administration officials, as part of broader efforts to support Ukraine, the administration also plans to allocate its share of a 50 billion dollar loan from frozen Russian assets before Biden leaves the White House.
Officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly, stated that the U.S. and Ukraine are currently at an "advanced stage" of discussing the terms of the loan and aim to finalize the process of allocating the 20 billion dollar portion of the loan supported by the U.S.