*

White House aims to send $9 billion in military aid to

Ukraine

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Trump critical of Biden's Ukraine assistance, raising

concerns

about future support

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Analysts uncertain about continued U.S. support for

Ukraine

under Republican control

(Updates with new sourcing, details, comments throughout.)

By Patricia Zengerle and Mike Stone

Nov 6 (Reuters) - The White House plans to rush billions

of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine before President

Joe Biden leaves office in January, sources said on Wednesday,

hoping to shore up the government in Kyiv before President-elect

Donald Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration.

"The administration plans to push forward ... to put Ukraine

in the strongest position possible" a senior administration

official said on condition of anonymity, before its term ends in

January.

Trump has been critical of Biden's assistance for Ukraine,

fueling concern about the future of support for President

Volodomyr Zelenskiy's government under a Republican-controlled

White House, Senate and possibly the House of Representatives.

The House has been narrowly controlled by Republicans since

January 2023, and it was not clear by Wednesday afternoon

whether the party had won enough seats in Tuesday's elections to

keep Democrats from winning a slim majority.

The Republican-controlled House last approved aid for

Ukraine, including the authority for Biden to transfer billions

of dollars in weapons from U.S. stocks, in April -- eight months

after Biden first asked for additional aid, with the support of

more Democrats than Republicans.

Of the weapons transfer authority passed in April, $4.3

billion remains, in addition to $2.8 billion worth of transfers

lawmakers approved in previous spending measures and $2 billion

in funding for the purchase of new weapons from industry.

In total, that $9 billion in military assistance would be a

significant boost to Ukraine's stores.

Biden's plans for the transfers were first reported by

Politico. The White House did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.

The U.S. will continue to send munitions and anti-tank

weapons such as the Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) and RTX

Javelin to Ukraine in the coming months.

In order to help Ukraine retake its territory in its ground

war with Russia, more ground vehicles will be needed, as well as

155mm artillery made by General Dynamics Corp. ( GD ) Ukraine

should be receiving more GMLRS surface-to-surface rockets, which

have been under heavy use by the HIMARS multiple rocket launch

system.

Analysts say it is by no means certain Washington would back

any more Ukraine assistance once Republicans control the White

House and at least half of Congress, especially as Ukraine

experiences battlefield setbacks.

"That's going to be a problem when you go forward with

additional funding for Ukraine, which at some point is going to

be necessary," said Scott Anderson, a fellow in governance

studies at the Brookings Institution.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell declined to discuss

aid for Ukraine at a press conference on Wednesday, saying he

was there only to discuss election results.

As he ran for a second four-year term, Trump insisted

Russian President Vladimir Putin would never have invaded

Ukraine in 2022 had he been in office, adding that he "could

solve that in 24 hours."

Trump told Reuters last year that Kyiv might have to cede

territory to reach a peace agreement, something Ukraine has

rejected and Biden has never suggested.

The vice president-elect, U.S. Senator J.D. Vance, has been

a vocal critic of Ukraine assistance, arguing that government

funds would be better spent on domestic priorities.