WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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SOURCE: VOA – AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he has asked the Defense Department to continue large arms shipments to Ukraine, after condemning Russia’s Christmas Day attack on Ukraine’s energy system and some of its cities.
Russia attacked Ukraine on Wednesday with cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as drones, Ukraine said. The attacks wounded at least six people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and killed one in the Dnipropetrovsk region, governors there said.
It is uncertain whether US aid will continue at the same pace under Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who will succeed Biden on January 20. Trump has said he wants the war to end quickly.
“The purpose of this outrageous attack was to cut off the Ukrainian people’s access to heat and electricity during the winter and to compromise the security of the grid,” Biden, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Keith Kellogg, Trump’s pick for special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, also criticized Wednesday’s attack.
“Christmas should be a time of peace, but Ukraine was brutally attacked on Christmas Day,” Kellogg said. “The United States is more determined than ever to bring peace to the region.”
During the presidential campaign, Trump questioned the level of American involvement in the conflict, suggesting that European allies should shoulder more of the financial burden. Some of his fellow Republicans — who will control both the House and Senate next month — have also cooled on sending more aid to Kiev.
That stance — despite previous strong support in the U.S. Congress for continued or expanded support for Ukraine — has raised concerns among Ukrainian supporters about the future of American aid under Trump.
