Topline
The Biden administration is preparing a $2 billion aid package to Ukraine, multiple outlets reported Thursday, amid renewed warnings Russia could be planning another military offensive timed around the one-year mark of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
President Joe Biden will reportedly announce a new $2 billion aid package to Ukraine on Friday.
Key Facts
It is not clear what exactly will be included in the security package, though sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg it builds on previous packages to aid Ukraine’s defense.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had told reporters earlier on Thursday that the administration is planning to announce a new aid package as well as a new round of sanctions against entities—including banks and defense sectors—aiding Russia’s war effort.
Key Background
Ukrainian and U.S. officials have warned in recent weeks that Russia could be preparing a new offensive around the anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine. Russia has struggled for months to make major gains in eastern and southern Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces have taken back some territory after repelling an offensive on the capital of Kyiv earlier in the war. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would suspend participation in a U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty called New START and deploy ground-based nuclear weapons into combat duty. Russian forces, meanwhile, have continued air strikes against Ukrainian communities and infrastructure, primarily in the eastern and southern regions of the country.
Tangent
A new round of aid to Ukraine would also come days after Biden made a surprise trip to Kyiv before calling on Putin to end the war and condemning Russia’s military of committing “crimes against humanity” in a speech in Poland. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an unannounced visit to Washington late last year where he asked members of Congress for more military aid, saying: “Is it enough? Honestly, not really.” American aid to Ukraine has scaled up since the war began, with Ukraine receiving more powerful artillery equipment and longer-range rocket systems. In January, Biden also announced the U.S. will send 31 Abrams war tanks to Ukraine, an advanced tank that Ukrainian officials had been requesting. Putin, meanwhile, has attacked Western nations for sending aid to Ukraine, saying in his state of the union speech this week that “it was they who unleashed the war” and that Russia has been fighting to regain its “historical lands.”
News Peg
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution on Thursday calling on Putin to withdraw Russian forces from Ukraine and for lasting peace in the eastern European country. Several countries that have avoided sanctions on Russia, including India, Iran and China—which has reportedly sent aid to Russia’s military—abstained from the vote, which passed by a two-thirds majority.
Further Reading
Germany And U.S. Will Send Battle Tanks To Ukraine In Major Policy Reversal (Forbes)
US Readies New $2 Billion Aid Package for Ukraine (Bloomberg)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/02/23/biden-reportedly-plans-2-billion-ukraine-aid-package-ahead-of-feared-russian-offensive/