In an official notification sent to Congress, President Joe Biden has announced Tuesday his intention to provide Ukraine with $60 million in military aid only a day ahead his meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, The Hill reports.
Biden claimed in his announcement that military assistance package is aimed to help Ukraine defend itself from increasing Russian aggression by increasing critical border security and self-defense needs.
The notification added that the significant shortfalls in the Ukrainian military’s ability to defend against potential Russian incursion were highlighted in the wake of the Russia’s buildup along the Ukrainian border and Russia-Belarus military exercise scheduled in mid-September, and pointed those capability gaps must be urgently addressed.
The White House issued the first memo announcing the military package – consisting of anti-armor missile systems Javelin, small arms and ammunition counter-unmanned aerial systems as well as counter-mortar radars- on Friday along with Biden’s notification to Congress
Though US military assistance to Ukraine is considered a vital aspect of its efforts to counter Russian aggression with emphasis on the Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country, it became political firestorm center during the Trump administration when Trump was accused of allegedly pressuring Ukraine to launch an investigation into Biden and his son Hunter’s business dealings.
Trump went through impeachment process in 2019 in connection to that case, but was acquitted in a Senate trial while the$400 million military assistance package was eventually delivered to Ukraine ahead of its expiration deadline.
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