Biden seeks to quickly disburse $6 billion in aid to Ukraine

(Dan Tri) - The administration of US President Joe Biden plans to disburse all military aid funds to Ukraine before the end of his term early next year.

US President Joe Biden (Photo: Reuters).

Politico quoted White House officials on November 6 as saying that the administration of US President Joe Biden currently has $4.3 billion to use to provide weapons from the military reserve and another $2.1 billion to buy weapons under contracts with US defense companies.

The White House is pushing to deploy the money as quickly as possible to ensure Ukraine has enough weapons in its conflict with Russia even if the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump refuses to continue providing aid to Kiev.

However, Politico sources point out that it “typically takes months” to send US-allocated weapons to Ukraine, so any aid package announced in the coming weeks is unlikely to be fully delivered before the end of January 2025, at which point Mr Trump could suspend the aid.

Another problem is the lack of weapons in the US military's stockpile. It will take Washington a long time to fill the stockpile.

Former President Donald Trump won the election against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris on November 5. Mr. Trump will almost certainly become the 47th president of the United States and take office at the end of January 2025 - the time when Mr. Biden's term ends.

While the Biden administration has been actively supporting Ukraine, Trump has repeatedly warned of cutting aid to Ukraine or providing aid in the form of loans if re-elected.

That is why Mr Biden appears to have sought to boost US support for Ukraine even before the election.

In June, he signed a 10-year security guarantee for military aid to Kiev.

Biden is said to be trying to stack the political deck in Ukraine's favor before leaving the White House.

The US leader also wants to leave a legacy. He has spent his entire career striving to become president, and a last-minute achievement on Ukraine would be a memorable final victory for his entire term. Mr. Biden is taking a two-pronged approach to Ukraine.

First, he made a strong and public statement that the United States would stand with Ukraine, a statement that was anchored by a high-level meeting at the White House last week between Biden, Harris and the Ukrainian leader.

Mr Biden is trying to demonstrate that Ukraine remains a “top priority” for the US, while at the same time creating expectations for future US support in a way that Mr Trump cannot erase.

Second, Mr. Biden’s public stance is backed up by aid. He recently announced an $8 billion “surge in security assistance” to Ukraine.

The aid would be aimed at providing new weapons to increase Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities. This also shows that Mr. Biden is starting to allow Ukraine to adopt an offensive strategy towards Russia, rather than a purely defensive one as before, although Washington currently does not allow Ukraine to fire US long-range missiles at Russian territory.

The package also includes the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, a program that allows the U.S. government to purchase weapons for Ukraine from outside companies without having to draw them from the national stockpile.

Biden also directed the Department of Defense to spend all funds allocated to Ukraine through the end of his presidency. In other words, he is ensuring that the money actually goes to Ukraine, in case his successor tries to change the allocation or divert it.

In fact, after the election, Mr. Biden still has some time left in office before the new president takes office in January 2025. During this two-month period, presidents can sometimes still push for approval of important policy decisions.

Mr Biden may succeed with existing policies, such as providing aid, but he will not be able to offer any radical solution to the current crisis. And a radical solution is what is needed in Ukraine.

Biden’s foreign policy efforts have been welcomed by Ukraine, but they have never been enough to bring about a permanent solution. Ukraine has been positive about Biden’s new aid pledge, but this will not be a “firewall” against the ills of Trump’s presidency.

Mr Trump is an unpredictable foreign policy leader and it is difficult to say exactly what he will do with Ukraine after his re-election.

However, the current signs are not good for Ukraine despite the seemingly smooth meeting between Mr. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in September.

US and EU officials have expressed concern that Mr Trump will withhold aid to Ukraine and even force Mr Zelensky to accept a ceasefire and make territorial concessions to Russia.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/ong-biden-tim-cach-giai-ngan-nhanh-6-ty-usd-vien-tro-cho-ukraine-20241107085843532.htm