KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Biden administration is determined in its final months to help ensure that Ukraine can continue to fight The full-scale invasion of Russia next year by sending it as much aid as possible so it can keep Russian forces at bay and have a strong hand in eventual peace negotiations, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.

“President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar that we have is going out the door between now and Jan. 20,” when President-elect Donald Trump is set to take the oath of office, Blinken said.

NATO countries must focus their efforts on “ensuring that Ukraine has the money, ammunition and forces mobilized to fight effectively in 2025 or to be able to negotiate a peace from a position of strength,” Blinken said during a visit to Brussels.

The US will “adapt and adjust” with the newest equipment it sends, Blinken said, without elaborating.

The nearly three-year war showed no signs of slowing down.

In this photo provided by the Emergency Service of Ukraine on Nov. 13, 2024, rescue workers put out a fire at a building that was destroyed by a Russian strike in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital Kiev on Wednesday with a sophisticated combination of missiles and drones for the first time in 73 days. That came a day after the Pentagon said as much North Korean troops sent to help Moscow’s War Effort is fighting to expel the Ukrainian army from Russian territory Kursk border region.

Ukraine is also trying to abstain for a month Russian assault in eastern Donetsk region.

Political uncertainty about how a US administration under Trump will change Washington’s policy on war is a new key factor in the conflict. US military aid is vital to Ukraine, but Trump has signaled that he does not want to continue giving Kiev tens of billions of dollars.

Air raid warnings sounded for hours as Russia targeted eight regions of Ukraine on Wednesday, firing six ballistic and cruise missiles and 90 drones, the Ukrainian air force said.

Air defenses shot down four missiles and 37 drones, and another 47 drones were stopped by electronic jamming, the statement said. The damage was being assessed.

The airstrike came as most of the more than 10,000 North Korean troops sent by Pyongyang to aid Moscow in the war are engaged in combat in Russia’s Kursk border region, according to the Pentagon. A Ukrainian military incursion into Kursk three months ago managed to hold a large swath of land and embarrassed the Kremlin.

Russia’s military has been training North Korean soldiers in artillery, drone skills and basic infantry operations, including trench cleaning, Pentagon deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said at a briefing on Tuesday. According to the Pentagon, the cooperation faces challenges, including how to achieve military interoperability and overcoming the language barrier.

Officials in Kiev say Russia has deployed about 50,000 troops to Kursk in an attempt to push the Ukrainians out.

In recent months, Russia has been massing forces for a counteroffensive at Kursk, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank, although the timeframe for the operation is not known.

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Lorne Cook reported from Brussels.

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