Biden lifts ban on U.S. military contractors in Ukraine, but not for combat

President Biden has “lifted a de facto ban on American military contractors deploying to Ukraine to help the country’s military maintain and repair U.S.-provided weapons systems,” according to CNN. The White House reportedly approved the new policy before Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, lost her election bid against Donald Trump.

The American contractors now permitted to operate in Ukraine “will be located far from the front lines and they will not be fighting Russian forces” an unnamed U.S. defense official told CNN.

Private companies bidding for American contracts will need to submit “robust risk mitigation plans to reduce threats to their employees,” says CNN, whose source added that “a wide array of American companies” are already working for the Ukrainian government, “so this will not lead to a substantial increase of employees of U.S. companies working on the ground in Ukraine.”