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YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. The Pentagon will send Ukraine at least $275 million in new weapons, AP reported citing U.S. officials, as the Biden administration rushes to do as much as it can to help Kyiv fight back against Russia before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
The weapons in the new package of aid for Ukraine include an infusion of air defense, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, Javelin anti-armor munitions and other equipment and spare parts, U.S. officials told AP.
The U.S. officials spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because the aid package has not yet been made public.
The weapons will be provided through presidential drawdown authority, which allows the Pentagon quickly to pull supplies from its shelves to speed them to Ukraine’s front line.
Trump’s upcoming move to the White House has triggered a scramble by the Biden administration to ensure all the congressionally approved funding for Ukraine gets delivered and that Kyiv is in a strong position going into the winter, AP reported.
The Biden administration would have to rush $7.1 billion in weapons from the Pentagon’s stockpiles to spend all of those funds before Trump is sworn in.
That includes $4.3 billion from a foreign aid bill passed by Congress earlier this year and $2.8 billion still on the books in savings due to the Pentagon recalculating the value of systems sent.
Asked if the department can get that done before Jan. 20, when Trump takes office, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said officials are working to get Ukraine what it needs. She would not confirm the latest drawdown totals.
“We are committed to using that full authority that Congress has allotted to us,” Singh said. “The only way we can do that also is to make sure that our shelves are fully backfilled and stocked. So as our shelves continue to get stocked with equipment and capabilities that are needed, we draw down from those and send those to Ukraine.”
In addition to the weapons in the Pentagon drawdown, the State Department said Tuesday that it had authorized the sale to Ukraine of $100 million in unspecified defense equipment and services, including vehicle refurbishment, technical assistance, training and “other related elements of logistics and program support.” In contrast to the drawdown, the government of Ukraine will pay for these.
As part of the wider effort to boost Ukraine, the administration also is on track to disperse its portion of a $50 billion loan to Ukraine, backed by frozen Russian assets, before Biden leaves the White House, according to two senior administration officials.
The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly, said the U.S. and Ukraine are now in “advanced stages” in discussing terms of the loan and are looking to complete the process for the $20 billion portion of the mammoth loan that the U.S. is backing.
Meanwhile, citing U.S. officials, the Washington Post reported that President Joe Biden has approved providing anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine.
Earlier this week U.S. President Joe Biden gave Ukraine the authority to fire longer-range missiles deeper into Russia.