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Biden Announces $2.5 Billion in Fresh Military Aid to Ukraine

US President Joe Biden speaks at the Company House Hotel, in Christiansted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, December 29, 2024. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno
US President Joe Biden speaks at the Company House Hotel, in Christiansted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, December 29, 2024. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno
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Biden Announces $2.5 Billion in Fresh Military Aid to Ukraine

US President Joe Biden speaks at the Company House Hotel, in Christiansted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, December 29, 2024. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno
US President Joe Biden speaks at the Company House Hotel, in Christiansted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, December 29, 2024. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

US President Joe Biden announced $2.5 billion in additional security assistance for Ukraine on Monday as he uses his final weeks in office to surge military aid to Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes power.
"At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office," Reuters quoted Biden as saying in a statement.
Biden's announcement includes $1.25 billion in military aid drawn from US stockpiles and a $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) package, the final USAI package of Biden's time in office.
Under USAI, military equipment is procured from the defense industry or partners, rather than drawn from American stocks, meaning it can take months or years to arrive on the battlefield.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is approaching the three-year mark and recently the Russians have used North Korean troops to bolster their fighting position.
North Korean forces are experiencing mass casualties on the front lines of Russia's war against Ukraine, with 1,000 of their troops killed or wounded in the last week alone in Russia's Kursk region, White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday.
In a statement, Biden said the new assistance will provide Ukraine with "an immediate influx of capabilities that it continues to use to great effect on the battlefield and longer-term supplies of air defense, artillery, and other critical weapons systems."
Nearly three years into the war, Washington has committed $175 billion in total aid for Ukraine, but it is uncertain if the aid will continue at that pace under Trump, who replaces Biden on Jan. 20. Trump has said he wants to bring the war to a swift end. During the presidential election campaign, Trump questioned the level of US involvement in the conflict, suggesting European allies should bear more of the financial burden.
Some of his fellow Republicans - who will control both the House of Representatives and Senate starting next month - have also cooled on sending more aid to Kyiv.
Biden said the Defense Department is in the process of delivering hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets, and hundreds of armored vehicles "which will strengthen Ukraine’s hand as it heads into the winter."

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World

Russia Releases Video Footage to Challenge Kyiv Over Alleged Attack

A Russian service member stands next to the remains of a drone, which, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, was downed during the repelling of an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod Region, in an unknown location in Russia, in this still image from a video released December 31, 2025. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
A Russian service member stands next to the remains of a drone, which, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, was downed during the repelling of an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod Region, in an unknown location in Russia, in this still image from a video released December 31, 2025. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
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Russia Releases Video Footage to Challenge Kyiv Over Alleged Attack

A Russian service member stands next to the remains of a drone, which, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, was downed during the repelling of an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod Region, in an unknown location in Russia, in this still image from a video released December 31, 2025. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
A Russian service member stands next to the remains of a drone, which, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, was downed during the repelling of an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod Region, in an unknown location in Russia, in this still image from a video released December 31, 2025. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)

Russia's defense ministry released video footage on Wednesday of what it said was a downed drone at a briefing intended to show Ukraine tried this week to attack a presidential residence and challenge Kyiv's denials that such an attack took place. 

Kyiv says Moscow has produced no evidence to support its allegations and that Russia invented the alleged attack to block progress at talks on ‌ending the war ‌in Ukraine. Officials in several ‌Western ⁠countries have ‌cast doubt on Russia's version of events and questioned whether there was any attack. 

Video footage released by Russia's defense ministry showed a senior officer, Major-General Alexander Romanenkov, setting out details of how Moscow says it believes Ukraine attacked one of President Vladimir Putin's residences in ⁠the Novgorod region. 

Romanenkov said 91 drones had been launched from Ukraine's Sumy ‌and Chernihiv regions in a "thoroughly ‍planned" attack that he said ‍was thwarted by Russian air defenses, caused ‍no damage and injured no one. 

The video released by the ministry included footage of a Russian serviceman standing next to fragments of a device which he said was a downed Ukrainian Chaklun-V drone carrying a 6-kg explosive device which had not detonated. 

The ministry did ⁠not explain how it knew what the device's target was. 

Speaking to Reuters, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said the footage was "laughable" and that Kyiv was "absolutely confident that no such attack took place". 

Reuters could not confirm the location and the date of the footage showing fragments of a destroyed device. The model of the destroyed device could not be immediately verified. 

Other footage featured a man, identified as Igor Bolshakov from a ‌village in the Novgorod region, saying he had heard air defense rockets in action. 

World

China Slams Countries That Criticized Taiwan Drills as 'Irresponsible'

A screen broadcasting news about military drills conducted by China around Taiwan is seen on a street in Beijing, China, 30 December 2025. (EPA)
A screen broadcasting news about military drills conducted by China around Taiwan is seen on a street in Beijing, China, 30 December 2025. (EPA)
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China Slams Countries That Criticized Taiwan Drills as 'Irresponsible'

A screen broadcasting news about military drills conducted by China around Taiwan is seen on a street in Beijing, China, 30 December 2025. (EPA)
A screen broadcasting news about military drills conducted by China around Taiwan is seen on a street in Beijing, China, 30 December 2025. (EPA)

Beijing slammed on Wednesday countries including Japan and Australia for their "irresponsible" criticism of China's military drills in waters around Taiwan.

China launched missiles and deployed dozens of fighter jets, navy ships and coastguard vessels around the island on Monday and Tuesday in live-fire drills.

There has been a chorus of international criticism of China's drills, including from Japan, Australia and European countries.

Japan said Wednesday that China's exercises "increase tensions" across the Taiwan Strait, while Australia's foreign ministry condemned the "destabilizing" military drills.

The European Union on Tuesday said the military activity "endangers international peace and stability".

Beijing on Wednesday hit back at the remarks.

"These countries and institutions are turning a blind eye to the separatist forces in Taiwan attempting to achieve independence through military means," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters at a news briefing.

"Yet, they are making irresponsible criticisms of China's necessary and just actions to defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, distorting facts and confusing right and wrong, which is utterly hypocritical."

Lin said Beijing appreciated countries such as Russia, Pakistan and Venezuela expressing their support for China.

"We want to reiterate China's unwavering resolve for safeguarding national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity," he added.

"Any egregious provocative act that crosses the line on the Taiwan issue will be met with a firm counter from China."

World

Iran Appoints New Central Bank Governor After Record Currency Fall and Mass Protests

A person walks past a sign at a currency exchange, as the value of the Iranian rial drops, in Tehran, Iran, December 30, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A person walks past a sign at a currency exchange, as the value of the Iranian rial drops, in Tehran, Iran, December 30, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Iran Appoints New Central Bank Governor After Record Currency Fall and Mass Protests

A person walks past a sign at a currency exchange, as the value of the Iranian rial drops, in Tehran, Iran, December 30, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A person walks past a sign at a currency exchange, as the value of the Iranian rial drops, in Tehran, Iran, December 30, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran on Wednesday appointed a new governor to the central bank after the former one resigned following a record currency fall against the US dollar that sparked large protests.

The plummeting of the rial, Iran's currency, sparked the largest protests in the country in three years, with rallies that began Sunday and continued until Tuesday.

A report by the official IRNA news agency said President Masoud Pezeshkian’s Cabinet appointed Abdolnasser Hemmati, a former economics minister, as new governor of the Central Bank of Iran. He replaces Mohammad Reza Farzin, who resigned on Monday.

Experts say a 40% inflation rate led to public discontent. The US dollar traded at 1.38 million rials on Wednesday, compared to 430,000 when Farzin took office in 2022.

Many traders and shopkeepers closed their businesses and took to the streets of Tehran and other cities to protest.

The new governor's agenda will included a focus on controlling inflation and strengthening the currency, as well as addressing the mismanagement of banks, the government’s spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani wrote on X.

Hemmati, 68, previously served as minister of economic and financial affairs under Pezeshkian.

In March parliament dismissed Hemmati for alleged mismanagement and accusations his policies hurt the strength of Iran’s rial against hard currencies.

A combination of the currency's rapid depreciation and inflationary pressure has pushed up the prices of food and other daily necessities, adding to strain on household budgets already under pressure due to Western sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

Inflation is expected to worsen with a gasoline price change introduced in recent weeks.

Iran’s currency was trading at 32,000 rials to the dollar at the time of the 2015 nuclear accord that lifted international sanctions in exchange for tight controls on Iran’s nuclear program. That deal unraveled after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from it in 2018, during his first term.