The Biden administration is to unveil a significant weapons package for Ukraine valued at $725 million. It is meant to bolster the country’s defenses against Russian aggression. The package is coming at a time when President Biden’s term is about to end in January, and officials are seeking to leave a significant mark on Ukraine’s war effort.
Key Components of the $725 Million Package
The package will include several anti-tank weapons drawn from U.S. stocks, which are intended to help check Russia’s advancing forces. According to a U.S. official familiar with the plan, these weapons include land mines, drones, Stinger missiles, and ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). The package will also contain cluster munitions, which are typically found in Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rockets fired by HIMARS launchers.
Formal notice to Congress that the package will be expected this early as Monday, despite the package size and its contents which may still alter in the days leading to Biden’s expected signature.
Biden’s Presidential Drawdown Authority: A Huge Increase
This represents a much bigger package size compared to recent use by the Biden administration of Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA). PDA allows the U.S. to draw from its weapons stockpile to support allies in emergency conditions. Recent packages under PDA have been between $125 million to $250 million, thus this is a major escalation at $725 million.
Biden still has an estimated $4 billion to $5 billion in PDA authority available, which he is expected to use before the Republican president-elect, Donald Trump, takes office on January 20.
Controversial Inclusion of Land Mines
One of the most controversial elements of the package is land mines, a weapon that the U.S. hasn’t exported in decades for fear of causing civilian casualties. Land mines are outlawed by a treaty signed by more than 160 countries, but Ukraine has repeatedly asked for them since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, citing the fact that Russian forces have been using them on the front lines.
“Although more than 160 countries have signed a treaty banning their use, Kyiv has been asking for them since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in early 2022 and Russian forces have used them on the front lines.”
While land mines are part of the package, the US has made conditions that those will be used only on Ukrainian territory, not among civilian populations.
Advancements on the Ground by the Russians
In the past weeks, Russia has reportedly made the biggest advances of its invasion at the rate of the very early stages of 2022. Experts and war bloggers have confirmed that Russia had taken a territory equivalent in size to half of London in a month.
Trump Appoints Special Envoy for Ukraine Conflict
The former US President Donald Trump is in the news, as usual, regarding the Ukraine war. On Wednesday, Trump appointed retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg as special envoy for Ukraine. Kellogg, who presented Trump with a plan to end the war in Ukraine, will play a key role in Trump’s efforts to quickly wind down the conflict, a central promise of his presidential campaign. However, Trump has remained tight-lipped on the specifics of how he intends to achieve this goal.
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