CNN has learned of accelerated U.S. arms shipments to Kiev ahead of Trump's arrival

TheUSA plans to transfer more military aid to Ukraine before the end of the presidential term of incumbent head of state Joe Biden. This was reported by CNN on December 13, citing sources.

"The Department of Defense is making a historic attempt to move a huge amount of weapons to Ukraine over the next five weeks," a senior US administration official shared.

According to the source, it is planned to deliver hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, thousands of missiles, hundreds of armored vehicles and other weapons to the territory of Ukraine until mid-January.

The material specifies that this contradicts the position of US President-elect Donald Trump. In an interview with Time magazine, he criticized the supply of arms to Ukraine, calling the measure an aggravation of the conflict, as the Ukrainian army strikes deep into Russia with stockpiled weapons.

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The Russian Embassy in Tokyo warned that the transfer of such weapons through any channels would be regarded as a hostile act

The day before, John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council, said that Biden had approved a new aid package to Ukraine for $988 million. According to him, the United States will provide Kiev with additional military support until the end of the term of the current administration.

Before that, on December 10, the US Treasury Department said that Washington had allocated a $20bn loan to Kiev, which is expected to be repaid with the proceeds from frozen Russian assets. The head of the ministry, Janet Yellen, recalled that this tranche was part of the $50bn loan that the G7 countries were going to give to Ukraine. She said that the USA should tighten anti-Russian sanctions.

Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said on December 7 that the total amount of military support to Ukraine from allies since the start of the special military operation exceeded $119 billion, which also includes $62 billion in U.S. aid.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 24 February 2022 after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.