Biden races to send final $6bn aid package to Ukraine

Although delivering weapons and ammunition to Ukraine previously took months, this time, the delivery of the aid package is to be expedited. Nevertheless, according to Politico, Joe Biden's administration 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.

"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 Center 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.

According to Politico, the remaining funds from this aid package are divided into $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 are supportive of Ukraine, former senior NATO official during Barack Obama's presidency, Jim Townsend, stated that "the first thing he will do is to roll back aid to Ukraine".