Ukraine Eyes $6 Billion Parting Gift From Joe Biden

Ukraine will receive $6 billion in military aid from the Biden administration before the commencement of President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said during a press briefing on Thursday.

Ukraine will receive $4 billion under the previously committed Presidential Dropdown Authority (PDA), and $2 billion from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) before Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025.

The provision of the additional military aid to Ukraine follows concerns that the former president would halt support to Ukraine once he returns to the White House, according to Reuters.

Newsweek reached out to the White House deputy press secretary and the Trump campaign for comment via email outside of business hours.

The $4 billion in military aid from the PDA includes pulling weapons from U.S. stocks. When asked if the U.S. has enough weapons to do so, Singh said that the Biden administration has prepared for this by “constantly stocking and backfilling shelves” and is “confident in getting those commitments to Ukraine.”

When asked what the administration would do to aid Ukraine in the 73 days before the start of the new administration, Singh said, “We’re always looking at the capabilities that Ukraine needs on the battlefield that that Ukrainian fighters are going to be able to have an impact with and that are going to make the biggest difference.”

She said, “We’re going to continue to work every single day. You’re going to see us continue to do briefings. You’re going to see the secretary travel. He’ll likely have more travel in the coming month or months. And there’s still a lot of work to be done and every single day we have our military stationed all around the world engaging in various operations, we’re going to continue to support Ukraine. We’re going to continue to engage and work to find a way to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East. And of course, we’re always keeping an eye on the Indo-Pacific.”

Trump has previously said that he would end the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours,” and appears to have indicated that he would do this rather than continue providing aid to Ukraine, as the Biden administration has done.

Voters who supported Trump appear to agree with the newly reelected president, as 26 percent of his likely voters said they wanted to stop support for Ukraine, and 40 percent said that Washington should “reconsider” its level of support in polling conducted for Newsweek prior to the election.

The Biden administration’s further provision of aid to Ukraine follows the $425 million military aid package for Ukraine announced on November 1, which includes “air defense interceptors; munitions for rocket systems and artillery; armored vehicles; and anti-tank weapons.”

The announcement of this additional aid package earlier this month followed the news that approximately 8,000 to 12,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to the front lines in Russia.