Biden races to finalize $6 billion Ukraine aid before Trump era

Although delivering weapons and ammunition to Ukraine previously took months, this time, the delivery of the aid package is to be expedited. Joe Biden's administration, however, notes that not everything approved as part of the new support package for Kyiv may reach the front lines before the president-elect's administration takes office in the White House, Politico wrote.

We sent everything we could, but the problem is that you can't send something until it's produced, said a former budget official in the US Department of Defense, now an expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

Biden's administration could tap into stockpiles and thereby send equipment faster, but he added that it's unclear if the Pentagon would agree to this as it would affect its combat readiness.

During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's last visit to Washington in September, Biden decided that the Pentagon should allocate the remainder of the aid package to Ukraine before the end of his term. In April, the US Congress approved an aid package worth $61 billion for Ukraine.

Politico described the remaining funds from this aid package as $4.3 billion to be allocated for weapons in stockpiles and $2.1 billion for contracts with American arms companies.

There are enough Republicans in the Senate who support continuing aid to Ukraine. Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who is likely to take over the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Biden last month urging the acceleration of equipment deliveries to Ukraine. Furthermore, Wicker demanded the acceleration of weapons production to arm Ukraine before the end of the current president's term.

Although some Republicans support Ukraine, former senior NATO official during Barack Obama's presidency Jim Townsend said that "the first thing he will do is to roll back aid to Ukraine. I would expect him to make a big show of it."