BREAKING: Biden announces an additional $2.5 BILLION in security assistance for Ukraine

With the end of the year and the end of his presidency looming, President Biden on Monday announced an additional nearly $2.5 billion in security assistance for Ukraine.

The aid includes a $1.25 billion drawdown package for the Ukrainian military and a $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) package. Biden said that this aid will "provide Ukraine with both an immediate influx of capabilities that it continues to use to great effect on the battlefield and longer-term supplies of air defense, artillery, and other critical weapons systems."

The drawdown package includes munitions for the HAWK air defense system and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, as well as Stinger missiles and artillery rounds, officials familiar with the matter told the Associated Press. The USAI package is used to pay for weapons contracts that would not be delivered to the country for a year or more.

Biden said that all remaining USAI funds appropriated by Congress have been allocated by the Department of Defense, "and my Administration is fully utilizing the funding appropriated by Congress to support the drawdown of US equipment for Ukraine."

"I’ve directed my Administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible—including drawing down older US equipment for Ukraine, rapidly delivering it to the battlefield, and then revitalizing the US defense industrial base to modernize and replenish our stockpiles with new weapons. The Department of Defense is in the process of delivering hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets, and hundreds of armored vehicles which will strengthen Ukraine’s hand as it heads into the winter. At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office," Biden concluded.

This comes as the administration has been racing to get out as much aid to Ukraine as possible before Trump’s inauguration. Trump has vowed to end the Eastern European conflict - which is nearing its third year - quickly upon reentering office.

Senior defense officials had acknowledged earlier in December that the Department of Defense may not be able to send all of the remaining $5.6 billion in Pentagon weapons and equipment allocated by Congress to Ukraine before Trump takes office next month. The latest package reduces this total to around $4.35 billion.

The US has provided over $64 billion in security assistance alone to Ukraine since the Russian invasion that took place in February of 2022.