(Bloomberg) -- In the waning days of his administration, President Joe Biden is pushing to strengthen Ukraine’s position against Russia before the return of Donald Trump to the White House.
That’s because the president-elect has pledged to promptly end the grinding war started by Russia’s Vladimir Putin almost three years ago. That likely means a negotiated settlement, and Biden is trying to give Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy the strongest possible hand.
Biden’s recent steps include, most notably, allowing Kyiv to hit military targets deeper inside Russia, a move that was immediately seen by Moscow and the Trump camp as a needless escalation.
Also in quick succession this week, the White House approved sending anti-personnel land mines, forgave nearly $5 billion in debt, and sanctioned a major Russian bank that handles payments for natural gas sales.
Those steps, among others still under consideration, are part of Biden’s plan to do as much as possible to reinforce Ukraine before Trump takes office, according to a person familiar with the US stance, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
The strategy is intended to help Zelenskiy by showing that Ukraine has the potential to retaliate against Russia if it continues hostilities, the person said.
Putin has responded swiftly. He approved a new nuclear doctrine that lowered the threshold for launching tactical atomic weapons, then fired a new hypersonic ballistic missile at Ukraine capable of carrying such warheads.
That doesn’t mean that Biden’s recent moves will be totally unwelcome by Trump, who could use a stronger Ukraine as a bargaining chip toward a settlement he’d be able to frame as a victory.
“Some of the decisions Biden is making now could help Trump, by likely putting Trump in a stronger place to end the war, with Ukraine in a stronger position for any negotiations,” said Shelby Magid, deputy director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met Trump on Friday in Palm Beach, Florida, where they discussed “the range of global security issues” facing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance, according to a NATO statement. Rutte also met Representative Michael Waltz, chosen to be Trump’s national security adviser.
Trump, some of his cabinet picks and surrogates have questioned the tens of billions of US dollars pledged for financial and military support.
Waltz criticized the decision to allow Kyiv to fire US-made ATACMS deeper into Russia this week.
“It’s another step up the escalation ladder, and nobody knows where this is going,” he said in an interview on Fox & Friends, calling the step a “tactical” development.
Trump, by comparison, “is talking grand strategy here. How do we get both sides the table to end this war? What’s the framework for a deal, and who’s sitting at that table?” he said.
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The White House and Pentagon are also rushing to use up the last of the funds appropriated by Congress for Ukraine’s defense, which stand roughly at $9 billion. The US has so far provided more than $64 billion to Ukraine in military aid, according to the State Department.
“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. 20th,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at NATO headquarters earlier this month, referring to the date of Trump’s inauguration.
“We’re making sure that Ukraine has the air defenses it needs, that has the artillery it needs, that has the armored vehicles it needs,” he said.
There are limits to Biden’s ability to enhance weapon supplies to Ukraine, as most of the remaining money can only be used for weapons already in Pentagon stockpiles. Drawing it down too far would leave the US’s own defense at risk.
The Biden administration had also considered publicly calling for an official invitation to join NATO, but decided against it given the slim likelihood of success in the short term. Putin has also framed membership, which the allies said in July was inevitable, as a casus belli.
Instead, a series of bilateral security arrangements would be cobbled together to provide Ukraine with assurances.
--With assistance from Nick Wadhams.
(Updates with Trump-Rutte meeting in 10th paragraph.)
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