Biden rushes to bolster Ukraine aid before term ends
The Joe Biden administration strives to utilize all the funds allocated by the U.S. Congress to support Ukraine before the new president is inaugurated. According to the Associated Press, the Pentagon is expected to announce soon another military assistance package worth at least CAD 380 million.
The AP cites sources that indicate the new package will include, among other things, new missiles for the HIMARS air defence systems, 155 mm and 105 mm artillery ammunition, and Javelin anti-tank missiles.
This will be yet another package announced briefly, when the U.S. administration is working to utilize all remaining funds allocated by Congress to support Ukraine before the new president takes office. According to the AP, President Biden still has the authority to provide Ukraine with equipment from the American arsenal worth CAD 9.9 billion.
Officials from the administration have already announced their aim to finalize the granting of a CAD 27.8 billion loan to Ukraine by the end of the year, to be repaid from the profits generated by the frozen assets of the Russian central bank.
Although the U.S. administration has not officially confirmed allowing Ukraine to use ATACMS ballistic missiles inside Russia, an anonymous Pentagon official told the AP that the Ukrainian military used eight of these missiles on Tuesday to target a weapons depot in the Bryansk region.
According to the official cited, Russia managed to intercept two out of the eight missiles, contrary to the Russian Ministry of Defence's claim that five out of six were shot down.
