The Biden administration is accelerating the delivery of weapons to Ukraine in a final push before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in January, a senior administration official confirmed to CNN.
This surge in military aid contrasts sharply with Trump’s stated opposition to Ukraine’s use of US-provided weapons to strike inside Russia, which escalates the conflict drastically, nearing NATO’s direct confrontation with Russia, as Moscow has warned.
The administration announced a new $500 million aid package on Thursday, drawing equipment from US military stockpiles. The senior official described a massiveeffort to deliver “hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets, hundreds of armored vehicles, and other critical capabilities” to Ukraine within the next five weeks.
This initiative, led by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, involves significant sealifts and airlifts coordinated with the Pentagon. While the weapons continue to be transported through Europe, the source familiar with the matter said this surge involves a significant increase in the number of flights and sea vessels.
This increased military support comes as Trump has expressed strong disapproval of the Biden administration’s policy allowing Ukraine to use US weapons for strikes within Russia. In a Time magazine interview (conducted in late November but published Thursday), Trump said his “vehement” disagreement with this policy, stressing it escalates the conflict. He characterized the provision of missiles and other weaponry as a “very big mistake.”
Trump’s incoming National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, is reportedly considering various proposals to end the war, including one from Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg (Trump’s announced special envoy to Ukraine and Russia) that would condition US aid on Ukraine’s participation in peace talks. Another proposal under consideration would allow Russia to retain territories in exchange for Ukraine’s NATO membership.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, who recently met with Trump in Paris, expressed optimism that a Trump presidency would lead to a faster resolution of the conflict.
