The United States has announced an additional $2.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine, aiming to bolster its defense against ongoing Russian aggression. Lloyd Austin, the US Defense Secretary, announced the additional funding following his meeting with Rustem Umerov, the Ukrainian Defense Minister.
Austin confirmed the government’s stance on Ukraine, saying, “Make no mistake, Ukraine is not alone, and the United States will never waver in our support…Alongside some 50 allies and partners, we’ll continue to provide critical capabilities that Ukraine needs to push back Russian aggression today and to deter Russian aggression tomorrow.”
The NATO summit is set to be held in Washington, DC, in a mere few days, making the announcement all the more timely. Austin commented further on the US support for Ukraine, saying, “We’ll take steps to build a bridge to NATO membership for Ukraine.”
The move to bring Ukraine into NATO is what many Democrats are calling a “Trump Proof” plan to support the country long term.
Ivo Daalder, a former US-NATO ambassador, explained, “A big reason for the change is to Trump-proof the assistance effort to Ukraine…Rather than having Washington in charge of managing the training and assistance, NATO will be in charge. So even if the US reduces or withdraws support for the effort, it won’t be eliminated.”
Democrats’ fear of Biden losing in November is fueling the necessity for contingency plans that would limit Trump’s abilities as president if elected.
