The Biden administration announced a new $500 million military aid package to Ukraine Thursday, weeks before President-elect Trump takes office.
"The United States is providing another significant package of urgently needed weapons and equipment to our Ukrainian partners as they defend against Russia's ongoing attacks," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The package announced Thursday includes drones; High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) artillery and ammunition; armored vehicles; nuclear, chemical and radiological protective equipment; and other equipment.
Trump's election victory has raised questions about whether he will continue to aid Ukraine with billions in assistance.
Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance criticized the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine, and the former president said on the campaign trial he would bring an end to the war before even entering office.
Vance made headlines this year after he suggested the best way to end the war was for Ukraine to cede the land Russia has seized and for a demilitarized zone to be established, a proposal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flatly rejected.
During his visit to Paris last weekend, Trump met with Zelenskyy, where the pair were expected to discuss the ongoing conflict.
Fox News Digital's Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
The Biden administration on Saturday announced a $988 million aid package to Ukraine to ensure it "has the tools it needs to prevail in its fight against Russian aggression."
"This administration has made its choice. And so has a bipartisan coalition in Congress. The next administration must make its own choice," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California. "But, from this library, from this podium, I am confident that President Reagan would have stood on the side of Ukraine, American security and human freedom."
The aid package is provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and "will provide Ukraine with munitions for rocket systems and unmanned aerial systems," a release from the administration said. "This package also includes support for maintenance and repair programs to help Ukraine reconstitute its forces and build and sustain combat power."
The announcement came as President-elect Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while at a ceremony commemorating the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday after a devastating fire there in 2019.
During the campaign, Trump and running mate JD Vance heavily criticized the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion, and Trump said he would end the war before even entering office without offering further details.
Vance also suggested earlier this year that the best way to end the war was for Ukraine to cede the land Russia has seized and for a demilitarized zone to be established, a proposal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flatly rejected.
Recently, Zelenskyy has said he is more open to negotiations in the war and has called for Ukraine to be allowed to join NATO.
The Biden administration has committed to giving Ukraine as much aid as possible before Trump takes office in January.
"In September, the president announced a surge in security assistance for Ukraine to put Ukrainian forces in the strongest possible position before he leaves office," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement Monday while announcing $725 million in aid to Ukraine.
"Between now and mid-January, we will deliver hundreds of thousands of additional artillery rounds, thousands of additional rockets and other critical capabilities to help Ukraine defend its freedom and independence."
Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and Jan. 20."
Saturday’s announcement marks the administration’s 22nd aid package through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
This week, House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected a request by the administration for Congress to authorize $24 billion in additional funding.
"It is not the place of Joe Biden to make that decision now," Johnson said. "We have a newly elected president, and we’re going to wait and take the new commander in chief’s direction on all that. So, I don’t expect any Ukraine funding to come up now."
In the waning days of the Biden administration, President-elect Trump is bucking his predecessor's "don't" doctrine as a deterrent to foreign adversaries, instead issuing tough warnings before even taking office.
"If the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity," Trump warned Hamas on his Truth Social account Monday.
"Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East – But it’s all talk, and no action!" Trump added.
War broke out in the Middle East on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. Terrorists killed more than 1,100 people and kidnapped more than 200, with Hamas still holding 101 hostages, including seven Americans, in Gaza more than a year after the war began.
The White House and Israeli government have worked for months to secure a hostage release deal, but have been unsuccessful.
Trump's tough language against Hamas, which included warning those responsible for holding the hostages that they "will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America," stands in stark contrast to President Biden's "don't" doctrine regarding the war in Israel.
"And my message to any state or any other hostile actor thinking about attacking Israel remains the same as it was a week ago: Don’t. Don’t. Don’t," he said.
War continued despite the warning, including from Iranian proxies against Israel.
This year, Biden doubled down on his warning of "don't" aimed at Iran. When asked by reporters about Iran's expectation to attack Israel in April, he said his message to Tehran is: "Don't."
"We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed," he added.
Again in August, Biden warned Iran against attacking Israel with the one-word threat.
Biden's common response to deter foreign adversaries from attacking Israel is viewed as a failed policy, with conservative security experts and others slamming the message as weak.
"The Administration keeps saying 'don't' to Iran – but then does nothing to impose costs. This weakness means the risk from Iran continues to grow," former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted in August.
"Well, he said, ‘Don’t’ multiple times, and ‘Don’t’ isn’t a national security policy," Pompeo added later in a comment to Fox News. "It’s not even a deterrent.
"So much for President Biden telling bad guys ‘Don’t’ actually being an effective deterrent. Every time he says 'Don’t,' they do," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., wrote in a post in April, after Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel.
"Biden's approach with Iran and the Middle East is backwards," Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., wrote on X. "Now as we risk entering WWIII, the US must stand by Israel's commitment to democracy. The president must stand firm, and stop coddling Iran immediately."
"I guess Biden's speechwriters have him down to one word now. At least he can remember it. Worse when referring to the hospital carnage he calls Hamas the other team," Fox News' Greg Gutfeld quipped after the war in Israel broke out last year, mocking Biden's use of the word "don't."
Trump had campaigned on ending the wars in both Ukraine and Israel, both of which began under the Biden administration, and claimed that neither war would have been launched if he had been president.
"The Ukraine situation is so horrible, the Israeli situation is so horrible. We are going to get them solved very fast," Trump said on the campaign trail in January.
Israeli officials celebrated Trump's tough stance against terrorists in the Middle East and his demand for hostages to be released by next month.
"Thank you and bless you Mr. President-elect," President Isaac Herzog of Israel said in a post on social media. "We all pray for the moment we see our sisters and brothers back home!"
The nation's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, added, "How refreshing it is to hear clear and morally sound statements that do not create a false equivalence or call for addressing ‘both sides.’ This is the way to bring back the hostages: by increasing the pressure and the costs for Hamas and its supporters, and defeating them, rather than giving in to their absurd demands."
"President Trump is working towards international peace. In anticipation of the incoming Trump administration, Iran has called off its reprisal attack on Israel and negotiations to end the war in Gaza and Russia's war in Ukraine have accelerated. One former NATO Supreme Allied Commander says America's enemies are 'concerned, they're nervous – [and] they ought to be,'" the Trump War Room said in an email this week titled "Promises Kept – And President Trump Hasn't Even Been Inaugurated Yet."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is urging NATO leaders to invite Ukraine to join the Western military alliance during a meeting in Brussels next week, according to a letter sent to alliance leaders—reflecting the country's frenzied push to gain membership in the alliance in the final days of Biden's presidency.
The letter, first reviewed by Reuters, comes as Ukraine has re-upped its request for NATO membership to help put an end to Russia's war, including a recent uptick in attacks on its energy infrastructure. It also comes as the Biden administration has granted Ukraine new permissions to fight back against Russia in their final months in office.
In the letter, Ukraine's foreign minister acknowledged his country's ongoing war with Russia prohibits Kyiv from joining NATO right now. But he argued that an invitation for membership in Brussels would be a powerful show of force—and a major symbolic blow—to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long opposed the idea of their membership in NATO.
"We believe that the invitation should be extended at this stage," Sybiha said in the letter. "It will become the Allies' adequate response to Russia's constant escalation of the war it has unleashed, the latest demonstration of which is the involvement of tens of thousands of North Korean troops and the use of Ukraine as a testing ground for new weapons," he added.
Also on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used an interview on Sky News to up the public pressure for NATO leaders to extend his country a membership offer.
Speaking Friday to Sky News's Stuart Ramsay, the Ukrainian president suggested that NATO could extend membership to the territory of Ukraine still under its control to help accelerate the NATO memberhsip process and wind down Russia's war as quickly as possible.
"If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control," he told Ramsay. NATO should "immediately" cover parts of the country that are under Ukrainian authority, he said, stressing that it it something Ukraine needs "very much otherwise he will come back," in apparent reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine would face many hurdles in attempting to join NATO, despite assurances from the alliance that it is on an "irreversible path" to membership.
That's because Ukraine lacks two key requirements for NATO membership: territorial integrity and the absence of ongoing conflict. Currently, Russia controls roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory, Rebekah Koffler, a strategic military intelligence analyst and author of "Putin's Playbook," told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday.
Any country hoping to gain membership "cannot have ongoing conflict because of Article 5," Koffler said.
For Russia,"it is a red line for Ukraine to be part of NATO," Koffler added, since Russian President Vladimir Putin considers Ukraine part of Russia's strategic security perimeter.
NATO members are also split over the idea of accepting Ukraine. "Those who are against it are concerned about Article 5 obligations: admitting Ukraine into NATO would automatically place the United States and the entire NATO alliance at war with Russia because of the collective defense clause," Koffler said.
The State Department said Friday that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken by phone to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha to discuss battlefield updates and incoming U.S. security assistance in wake of recent Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. On the call, officials said, Blinken "briefed the Foreign Minister on U.S. goals for sustainable support for Ukraine, to be discussed at upcoming diplomatic engagements with NATO and through the Ukraine Defense Contact Group."
The press release stopped short of detailing any further overtures to Ukraine.
Still, Ukraine's push for membership comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his administration brace for the many unknowns of a second Trump presidency. Trump has long expressed skepticism of NATO, and suggested as recently as this year that he could end the war between Russian and Ukraine "in a day."
While Ukraine's push for NATO membership is not new, the timeline for leaders to approve their bid has taken on new urgency, as the war nears its third year and as President-elect Trump prepares to take office again.
NATO membership was included as one of the first— and most important—steps in Zelenskyy's multi-part "victory plan" to help win the war against Russia.
The outline, which his administration published in October, suggested that Ukraine could put an end to the war with Russia as early as 2025, if the country's requests are granted for more weapons and the continued ability to carry out military operations on Russian soil.
Any country hoping to gain membership "cannot have ongoing conflict because of Article 5," Koffler said.
For Russia,"it is a red line for Ukraine to be part of NATO," Koffler added, since Russian President Vladimir Putin considers Ukraine part of Russia's strategic security perimeter.
President Joe Biden, for his part, has used his final weeks in office to authorize new permissions for Ukraine in the ongoing war with Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration granted Ukraine new permission to use U.S.-supplied long-range weapons to strike targets inside Russian teritory. Later, they also signed off on the transfer of anti-personnel mines to bolster Ukrainian army defenses in the east.
President-elect Trump has nominated a Vietnam War veteran and retired general for a potential new post focused on ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
Trump has created the position of special envoy for the Ukraine conflict, according to Reuters, and picked Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg for the post.
Kellogg served as former Vice President Mike Pence’s national security adviser and was spotted at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago club on Tuesday, according to the New York Post.
""I am very pleased to nominate General Keith Kellogg to serve as Assistant to the President and Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "Keith has led a distinguished Military and Business career, including serving in highly sensitive National Security roles in my first Administration. He was with me right from the beginning! Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!"
Three sources familiar told Reuters that Kellogg presented Trump with a plan to end the conflict, and in April co-authored a research document that presented the idea of using weapons supplied to Ukraine as leverage for armistice negotiations with Russia.
Kellogg is currently the co-chair of the Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), which is led by several now-nominees within the new Trump administration.
AFPI’s chairwoman-of-the-board is Education Secretary-designate Linda McMahon and its president is Agriculture Secretary-designate Brooke Rollins.
A Ukranian boxing champion is at odds with Joe Rogan's claim that the Biden administration could "potentially start World War III" regarding Ukraine's conflict with Russia.
Rogan recently ripped the Biden administration for its handling of the Russia-Ukraine conflict — the podcaster said that the administration's call for Ukraine to use American missiles to strike Russia is a sign that they are "about to start World War III."
Wladimir Klitschko, whose brother Vitali is the mayor of Kyiv, replied with a video on X that he captioned, simply, "@joerogan, I disagree."
"You talk about these American weapons being sent to Ukraine, which you believe will lead to the Third World War, so let me tell you that you’re repeating Russian propaganda," Klitschko said. "Putin’s Russia is in trouble, so they want to scare you and people like you. His war was supposed to last three days. It has lasted three years thanks to the heroism and sacrifice of us Ukrainians. So you’re using the only weapon that Putin really intends to use, propaganda, and this weapon really weakens our democracies."
It appeared that Klitschko then mistook a fan account for Rogan, as the fan account wrote, "Does this make sense to anyone or just an attempt to get on the podcast?" Klitschko reposted that, challenging Rogan to get him on the podcast, although the message wasn't publicly sent to Rogan.
"Fear Factor = Offering a public opinion about a nation, but not able to discuss your opinion and facts with another public figure of the nation you had the opinion about. We would only meet in the podcast ring not in the boxing ring. Let’s do it! What are you waiting for?" Klitschko wrote.
Biden's decision was spurred by the Russian decision to invite 10,000 North Korean soldiers into the fight against Ukraine in Kursk. A second official told Fox News that it is unclear if Biden plans to approve the use of the missiles outside the Kursk region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said the U.S.'s approval of such missile strikes would constitute an act of war.
Fox News' Anders Hagstrom, Andrea Margolis, and Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
Richard "Ric" Grenell, the former acting director of National Intelligence in President-elect Trump's first administration, is reportedly under consideration to be special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Currently, there is no special envoy responsible for bringing an end to the war in Eastern Europe. Trump is strongly considering whether to create the role, Reuters reported, citing four sources familiar with the president's deliberations.
If he does create the new position, Grenell is said to be a leading candidate, though Trump may select someone else, the sources told Reuters. There is also no guarantee that Grenell would accept the position if it were offered to him, the sources reportedly said.
Fox News Digital was previously told Grenell was under consideration to be U.S. Secretary of State. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was instead named to lead the State Department.
Neither Grenell nor the Trump transition team responded to requests for comment.
Trump repeatedly made campaign promises to quickly resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, if elected, although he has never laid out a specific plan to end the war.
Grenell, an outspoken Trump loyalist, has made statements in the past that may be of concern to Ukrainian leadership.
During a Bloomberg round table in July, he advocated for the creation of "autonomous zones" as a means of settling the conflict, which began after Russia invaded Ukrainian sovereign territory. He also suggested he would not be in favor of Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the immediate future, a position he shares with many Trump allies.
Grenell's supporters note he has had a long diplomatic career and has a deep knowledge of European affairs. In addition to serving as ambassador to Germany, Grenell was also a special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations.
Prior to working for the first Trump administration, Grenell was a U.S. State Department spokesman to the United Nations under President George W. Bush. He has advised various Republican candidates and was a foreign policy spokesman for Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential campaign.
The Biden administration told Congress it plans to cancel $4.65 billion in debt owed by Ukraine, approximately half of an economic loan offered earlier this year.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller confirmed the plans in a briefing on Wednesday. "So we have taken the step that was outlined in the law to cancel those loans, provide that economic assistance to Ukraine," he said.
In April, Congress passed a supplemental funding package that earmarked $60 billion worth of aid for Ukraine, including $9 billion structured as a loan, with a provision that allowed the administration to forgive it, according to Miller.
Miller added that Congress could pass a resolution of disapproval to overturn the cancellation. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced such a resolution on Wednesday night. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., immediately said he would introduce a resolution to block the measure.
Such a resolution is unlikely to pass a Democratic-controlled Senate, and President Joe Biden could veto it. The supplemental funding package gave the administration the power to forgive 50% of the loan, and the remaining 50% could be forgiven after January 2026.
"On his way out, Joe Biden is trying to forgive $4.65 billion of debt Ukraine owes America's taxpayers. I just introduced H.J. Res 224 to stop this "America Last" policy from taking effect," he posted to X, formerly Twitter.
Congress has appropriated more than $175 billion for Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022.
Biden has gone into overdrive to assist Ukraine in the weeks since President-elect Donald Trump won the election.
After months of hesitation, he authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-provided long-range missiles to strike into Russia this week. Shortly thereafter, he allowed them to use anti-personnel land mines, which drew the ire of human rights groups.
The Biden administration said the decision was made after Russia brought in 10,000 troops from North Korea to fight in the war in Ukraine.
Biden has also vowed to commit the remaining $7 billion from the supplemental package to Ukraine before Biden leaves office. On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced $275 million for Ukraine that would include more drones, artillery ammunition and mortars.
Trump allies have accused Biden of "escalating" the war on his way out the door "for politics."
Other hawkish lawmakers say it’s a long overdue step.
Earlier this month, Biden also approved U.S. military contractors going to Ukraine to help the country maintain and repair U.S.-made weapons systems.
It's unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump will keep such policies in place when he takes office, though he has suggested that he believes he could end the war "in 24 hours" at the negotiating table with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
President Biden approved sending anti-personnel mines to Ukraine late Tuesday, a reversal of policy and yet another escalation in the conflict with Russia ahead of President-elect Trump's inauguration.
Ukrainian officials have reportedly promised to only deploy the mines in Ukrainian territory and away from major population centers. The U.S. had previously withheld anti-personnel mines because of their tendency to outlast conflicts once deployed and cause injury to innocents.
The U.S. has reportedly taken precautions to prevent such injuries, however. The mines being delivered to Ukraine operate on an electric fuse that relies on a battery. That battery typically runs out over the course of hours or even weeks, and it is then inoperative, according to CBS News.
The Biden administration's approval came the same day that Ukraine used American-made ATACMs in a strike on Russian soil. Biden had prohibited such uses until last week.
Allies of President-elect Trump have blasted the Biden administration for approving Ukraine's escalation of its conflict with Russia in the final months before Trump takes office.
"The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives," Donald Trump Jr. posted on social media after Biden's long-range missile approval. "Gotta lock in those $Trillions. Life be dammed!!! Imbeciles!"
According to a senior U.S. official, Biden's actions are spurred by the Russian decision to invite 10,000 North Korean soldiers into the fight against Ukraine in Kursk. A second official told Fox News that it is unclear if Biden plans to approve the use of the missiles outside the Kursk region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reacted by updating Russia's nuclear weapon use doctrines. The White House National Security Council downplayed that reaction.
"As we said earlier this month, we were not surprised by Russia’s announcement that it would update its nuclear doctrine; Russia had been signaling its intent to update its doctrine for several weeks. Observing no changes to Russia’s nuclear posture, we have not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture or doctrine in response to Russia’s statements today," an NSC spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
"This is more of the same irresponsible rhetoric from Russia, which we have seen for the past two years. As we said to Russia weeks ago, Russia’s use of DPRK soldiers in combat operations against Ukraine presents a significant escalation of its war of choice against Ukraine and we warned that the United States would respond," the statement continued.
The announcement came after Great Britain and France authorized Ukraine to launch SCALP/Storm Shadow missile strikes, according to French outlet Le Figaro.
Putin has previously said that giving Ukraine the green light on missile use would effectively mean that the U.S. and NATO are "in the war."
The Biden administration is expected to announce a $275 million weapons package for Ukraine this week, a U.S. official tells Fox News.
The package is from the presidential drawdown authority (PDA) money, meaning the weapons will come from U.S. stockpiles and will be delivered to Ukraine quicker than a Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) package.
The weapons package will include the High Mobility Artillery Rocket (HIMAR) system, but not HIMAR ammunition, and 155 mm artillery shells, drones and Javelin surface-to-air missiles, the official said.
Once the announcement on the weapons package is made, the U.S. will have a remaining $6.9 billion in PDA funding and $2.21 billion in USAI funding for Ukraine.
Last month, the U.S. provided Ukraine with an additional $425 million in supplies and weapons using PDA money to help Ukraine meet its most urgent needs at the time in terms of air defense, air-to-ground weapons, rocket systems, artillery munitions, armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons.
The latest package comes in a timely fashion as just two days ago President Biden approved Ukraine to use American long-range missiles on Russian soil. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously indicated that any such act would be considered an act of war.
On Tuesday, Moscow said Ukrainian forces took advantage of Biden’s green light and launched six U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile Systems, or simply ATACMS, into Russian territory.
Russia claims it shot down five of the missiles while damaging a sixth. It added that debris landed in the area of a Russian military facility and that there were no casualties or damage beyond a small fire.
Fox News received confirmation of the overnight strike from a U.S. official.
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters during a briefing on Tuesday that Russia escalated the war with Ukraine by bringing in more than 11,000 soldiers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), or North Korea, to fight alongside Russian soldiers in the Kursk region.
She also said the Biden administration has a commitment to continue arming Ukraine with what it needs on the battlefield.
"We don't see that as escalatory," Singh said. "We see that as a commitment that we set out from the very beginning of this administration."
When asked if the Department of Defense (DOD) has reason to believe that more North Korean troops are headed to Russia, she said the DOD thinks it could certainly see more moving into the area but that there are more than 11,000 DPRK soldiers already embedded with Russian forces.
"I mean, they’re moving into the … Kursk region for a very specific region, which is clearly to engage Ukrainian forces," Singh said.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
