The election of the elected president for Secretary of Defense on Wednesday came as a surprise to many. Pete Hegseth, weekend host of Fox News and a combat veteran, chose a fierce loyalist and a hawk against China.
Trump promised during the election campaign to quickly end the fighting in Ukraine but has been ambivalent in his support for Kiev. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged European leaders to focus on maintaining the supply of arms and not to undermine their position with talks of a ceasefire or concessions to Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Blinken also had harsh words about North Korea's troop deployment in Ukraine, describing it as "a profound and incredibly dangerous event." The Biden administration pledged to ensure that "every dollar we have at our disposal" is sent to Ukraine before Donald Trump takes office, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Blinken hurried to Brussels to assure NATO and European Union allies that the United States would intensify its efforts to send resources to Ukraine before Trump's inauguration, who has harshly criticized the scale of the U.S. effort to defend Kiev.
"The purpose of this visit is to focus our efforts on ensuring that Ukraine has the money, the ammunition, and the mobilized forces to fight effectively in 2025 or to be able to negotiate peace from a position of strength," he told reporters in Brussels.
The resources that the United States is still trying to get to Ukraine come mainly from a $61 billion package approved by the U.S. Congress earlier this year. "Any reductions we can make in our military equipment will be made effective. The allocation of funds will be effective," Blinken said, mentioning air defense, artillery, and armored vehicles.
Ukraine's European allies are concerned that Trump may stop supporting the troubled country and seek to shift the burden to Europe, although Trump's incoming team has not yet formally indicated a massive change in strategy.
The Biden administration's race against time to deliver the promised aid to Ukraine is gaining urgency as Trump's nominations for key positions emerge. While allies have unanimously condemned the arrival of these troops to Russia, they have yet to formulate a concrete response.
