US to rush aid to Ukraine before Trump takes over, Blinken says
The Biden administration is committed to ensuring “every dollar we have at our disposal” is pushed out to Ukraine before Donald Trump takes office, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.
Blinken made a hastily arranged trip to Brussels to reassure NATO and European Union allies that the U.S. will intensify its efforts to send resources to Ukraine ahead of the inauguration of Trump, who has strongly criticized the scale of the U.S. effort to defend Kyiv.
“The purpose of this visit is to focus our efforts on ensuring that Ukraine has the money, the munitions, and the mobilized forces to fight effectively in 2025 or to be able to negotiate a peace from a position of strength,” he told reporters in Brussels.
The resources the U.S. is still trying to get to Ukraine mainly come from a $61 billion package passed by the U.S. Congress earlier this year.
“The drawdowns that we can do from our military equipment, they will go forward. Obligating funds, that will go forward,” Blinken said, mentioning air defense, artillery and armored vehicles.
Ukraine’s European allies have been concerned that Trump will pull the plug on the embattled country and seek to shift the burden to Europe, although a massive change of strategy hasn’t been formally signaled yet by the incoming Trump team.
The Biden administration’s race against the clock to deliver the aid it promised Ukraine is acquiring more urgency as Trump’s picks for key posts emerge. On Wednesday, the president-elect’s choice for defense secretary came as a surprise to many.
In Pete Hegseth, a weekend host on Fox News and an Army combat veteran, he selected a fierce loyalist and a China hawk.
Trump promised during the election campaign that he would quickly end the fighting in Ukraine, but has been ambivalent in his support for Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged European leaders to focus on maintaining the supply of weapons and not undermine his position with talk of a cease-fire or concessions to Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Blinken also had some harsh words about North Korea’s deployment of troops to Ukraine, describing it as “a profound and incredibly dangerous development.” While allies have unanimously condemned the arrival of these troops in Russia, they still have yet to forge a concrete response.
