US will send Ukraine at least $275 million in new weapons to strengthen kyiv before Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) The Pentagon will send Ukraine at least $275 million in new weapons, including an undisclosed number of antipersonnel landmines, as the Biden administration races to do everything it can to help kyiv retaliate against Russia before President-elect Donald. Trump takes office.

The latest tranche of weapons comes as concerns grow over an escalation of the conflict, with both sides scrambling to gain any advantage they can exploit if Trump demands a quick end to the war as he has pledged to do it.

We will continue to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to succeed on the battlefield and succeed in its defense against Russian aggression, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

This week, President Joe Biden gave Ukraine the authority to fire longer-range missiles deeper into Russia and said it would supply the landmines. Russian President Vladimir Putin also officially lowered the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.

U.S. officials say a change in nuclear doctrine by Russia was expected, but Moscow warns that Ukraine's new use of the Army's tactical missile system, known as ATACMS, in Russia on Tuesday could trigger a strong response.

A U.S. official said the United States saw no indication that Russia was preparing to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.

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Asked Tuesday whether a Ukrainian attack with longer-range U.S. missiles could potentially trigger the use of nuclear weapons, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said yes.

Another U.S. official said Ukraine fired about eight ATACMS missiles at Russia on Tuesday and only two were intercepted. The official said the United States was still assessing the damage, but that the missiles hit a munitions supply site in Karachev, Bryansk region.

The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence.

Weapons in the new Ukraine aid package include, for the first time, antipersonnel landmines that are non-persistent, meaning they are electrically fused and battery-powered. So once the battery runs out, they will no longer explode, unlike those used by Russia, which do not become inert and remain a threat to civilians for decades.

The new aid package will also include an injection of air defense, including munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as 155mm and 105mm artillery shells, Javelin anti-armor munitions , drones and other equipment and spare parts.

The weapons will be provided under the Presidential Withdrawal Authorization, which allows the Pentagon to quickly remove supplies from its shelves and move them quickly to the Ukrainian front line.

Trump's upcoming arrival at the White House has sparked a rush by the Biden administration to ensure that all funding approved by Congress for Ukraine is released and that kyiv is in a strong position to winter is approaching.

The Biden administration is expected to spend $7.1 billion on weapons from the Pentagon's stockpile to spend all of those funds before Trump is sworn in. This includes $4.3 billion from a foreign aid bill passed by Congress earlier this year and $2.8 billion still outstanding in 2017. savings due to the Pentagon's recalculation of the value of the systems sent.

Asked if the department could accomplish this before Jan. 20, when Trump takes office, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said officials were working to provide Ukraine with this which she needs.

We are determined to use all the authority Congress has given us, Singh said. The only way to do this is also to make sure our shelves are fully stocked and stocked. So, as our shelves continue to stock up with the necessary equipment and capabilities, we collect some and send them to Ukraine.

In addition to removing weapons from the Pentagon, the State Department said Tuesday it had authorized the sale to Ukraine of $100 million in unspecified defense equipment and services, including refurbishment vehicles, technical assistance, training and other related elements of logistics and program support. .

Unlike the withdrawal, the Ukrainian government will pay for these supplies.

As part of a broader effort to boost Ukraine, the administration is also set to distribute its share of a $50 billion loan to Ukraine, backed by frozen Russian assets, before before Biden leaves the White House, according to two senior administration officials.

The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly, said the United States and Ukraine were now in advanced stages of discussions over the terms of the loan and were seeking to complete the process for the $20 billion portion. dollars from the gigantic loan backed by the United States.

The goal is to achieve this before the end of the year, an official said. The remaining $30 billion will come from, among others, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan.

Trump criticized U.S. support for Ukraine and ridiculed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a salesman, while praising Putin and touting his good relationship with him. The president-elect said without explaining how he would end the war in Ukraine before his inauguration on January 20, saying he would resolve the problem very quickly.

Last week, when he addressed supporters from a gilded ballroom at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump walked back that pledge but again offered little information before changing course. subject.

We will work very hard on Russia and Ukraine. This has to stop. Russia and Ukraine must stop, he said.

He suggested that Ukraine give up at least some of its Russian-occupied territory to settle the war, telling a rally in late September that if they had made a bad deal it would have been much better. They would have given up a little and everyone would be alive and every building would be built and every tower would age for another 2,000 years.

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Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Michelle L. Price in New York and Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.

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