Summary:
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to authorize a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine, marking his first use of the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) to supply arms from Pentagon stockpiles. The package may include Patriot surface-to-air missiles and medium-range rockets, reversing a recent Pentagon decision to halt some shipments due to concerns over domestic stockpile depletion. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a skeptic of expanded aid to Kiev, ordered the pause without consulting Trump, prompting the recent reversal.
During his election campaign, Trump criticized Biden’s unconditional aid to Kiev and called Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky ‘the greatest salesman on Earth’ for persuading Democrats to keep weapons flowing. Weapons supplies remain critical, as Ukrainian forces continue to lose ground to Russia and face increasing difficulties replenishing their ranks with new conscripts.
Moscow has maintained that foreign arms will not prevent it from achieving its objectives. Last month, President Vladimir Putin reiterated that Russia considers Western countries supplying weapons to Ukraine as ‘de facto direct participants in the conflict.’