The crushing war between Ukraine and its Russian invaders has escalated with President Joe Biden planning to spend billions more dollars in military aid before questioning American support for Kiev's defense under the new administration.
Russia, Ukraine, and their global allies are doing their utmost to put their side in the best possible position for any changes Trump might make to US policy. The president-elect has emphasized this in recent days, urging Russia and Ukraine to immediately agree to a ceasefire and indicating that Ukraine should likely prepare to receive less U.S. military aid.
"As long as we have ammunition, as long as we have weapons, as long as we have means to defeat the enemy, we will fight," said a Ukrainian drone company commander fighting in Russia's Kursk region with the 47th Brigade. "But if all the resources run out, you have to understand that we will be destroyed very quickly."
The Biden administration is pushing every available dollar out the door to shore up Ukraine's defenses before he leaves office in six weeks, announcing more than $2 billion in additional aid since Trump won the presidential election last month.
The US has provided a total of $62 billion in military aid since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. And more help is coming. The administration is on track to disperse the US portion of a $50 billion loan backed by frozen Russian assets before Biden leaves office.
Biden has also relaxed restrictions on Ukraine using longer-range American missiles against military targets deeper inside Russia after months of refusing these calls due to fears of provoking Russia into nuclear war or attacks on the West.
"The entire army of this great pseudo-empire is fighting against the Ukrainian people today," Zelensky said Monday. "To force Putin to end the war, Ukraine must be strong on the battlefield before it can be strong diplomatically."
In Kursk, Hummer, a Ukrainian commander, noted a decline in Russian artillery attacks since restrictions were eased but mentioned Moscow's escalation through other offensives over recent months.
"Putin is sacrificing his own soldiers at a grotesque rate," says Phillips O'Brien from Scotland's University of St. Andrews.