Biden orders up to $350M to be released for military aid for Ukraine

President Biden late Friday ordered the release of up to $350 million for military aid for Ukraine.

Biden ordered for the money to be allocated from the Foreign Assistance Act “in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, and to make the determinations required under such section to direct such a drawdown.”   

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Saturday that it represented the country’s third drawdown of money to Ukraine in the last year, totaling more than $1 billion.

“Ukraine is a sovereign, democratic, and peace-loving nation. The United States and Ukraine have been partners since Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union more than 30 years ago,” Blinken said.

“This package will include further lethal defensive assistance to help Ukraine address the armored, airborne, and other threats it is now facing,” he added. “It is another clear signal that the United States stands with the people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereign, courageous, and proud nation.”

The development comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in a video message on Saturday that Kyiv was still under Ukrainian control despite Russian troops entering the city yesterday, CNN reported.

“We have ruined their plans. They have no advantage over us,” he said, according to the network.

But the Ukrainian president is ramping up pressure for countries to kick Russia out of the SWIFT international banking system, saying his country had “almost full support of the members of the EU to exclude Russia from SWIFT,” according to CNN. 

Zelensky urged Germany and Hungary to also support the position; the United States, however, has not formally endorsed such a move.

The European Union, the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Canada have also announced sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.