Ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office, Ukraine’s future course is shrouded in uncertainty as it loses ground to Russia’s far larger military.

President Joe Biden’s administration is preparing to announce Wednesday the final $500 million dollars in US military assistance it will provide to Ukraine, according to people familiar with the plans.

The Biden administration has announced the final tranche of military aid it will send to Ukraine, amounting to about $500 million.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin used their final meeting Thursday to press the incoming Trump administration not to give up on Kyiv’s fight, with Austin warning that to cease military support now “will only invite more aggression,

President-elect Trump said late Thursday that a meeting is in the works with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. Why it matters: Trump said on the campaign trail that he would swiftly end the nearly three-year-old war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan June 28, 2019. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.