The Biden administration has given its final injection of military support to Ukraine, unveiling a $500m weapons package just days before Donald Trump’s return to the White House threatens to upend western backing for Kyiv.
The aid bundle – including air defense missiles and F-16 fighter jet equipment – was announced on Thursday by outgoing US defense secretary Lloyd Austin during a summit at Germany’s Ramstein air base.
“Here is the fundamental truth: Ukraine’s fight matters to all of us,” Austin said. “Putin’s war is a challenge to free people everywhere.”
The announcement came as the White House scrambles to impose 11th-hour sanctions on Russia reportedly by week’s end, with Trump’s incoming Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, already promising a swift resolution to the conflict within his first 100 days in office.
The package forms part of a broader White House strategy, revealed last month, to shore up Ukraine’s position before the presidential transition. That plan, which includes training for new Ukrainian troops outside the country’s borders and a proposed $20bn loan backed by frozen Russian assets, represents a final push to strengthen Kyiv’s hand.
With only days remaining before Trump’s inauguration on 20 January, the latest package taps into $3.8bn of remaining Pentagon funds. The incoming president has repeatedly criticized America’s world-leading $65bn support for Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
A final face-to-face meeting between Biden and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, planned for Friday in Rome, collapsed after the White House cited California’s disastrous wildfires – leaving the two leaders without a chance to confer before the handover of power in Washington.
Behind closed doors, US officials acknowledge that Ukraine faces severe manpower shortages, even as they publicly tout the crippling impact of western sanctions on Russia’s economy.
The aid announcement was made at what could be the last meeting of the 57-nation Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the western coalition that has channeled more than $125bn in military support to Kyiv. The group has established eight “capability coalitions” led by 14 countries and Ukraine, with roadmaps extending to 2027 – plans that now face an uncertain future.
US officials have said the administration’s goal has been to strengthen Ukraine’s position ahead of potential negotiations with Moscow expected in early 2025.
