Trump Confirms Missile Systems for Ukraine, Signals Policy Shift on Russia
In a major announcement, President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States will send Patriot missile systems for Ukraine. The move shows that the U.S. is backing Kyiv again as Russia keeps attacking. The announcement also suggests that Washington’s approach to the crisis between Russia and Ukraine will shift in a bigger way.
NATO to Cover Costs in New Military Deal
After the FIFA Club World Cup final, Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews that the air defence systems had been delivered. “We will send them Patriots, which they really need,” he said. “I haven’t agreed on the number yet, but they will get some because they need protection.”
Trump also revealed that NATO will pay for the military equipment. “We’re basically going to send them various pieces of very sophisticated military gear, and they’re going to pay us 100% for them. It’ll be business for us,” he added.
Trump’s announcement comes just before a number of important meetings on Monday. He will meet with Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO, in the White House. At the same time, the U.S. special envoy will go to Ukraine to talk about how to work together on military and diplomatic issues.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky recently confirmed that negotiations for new Patriot systems were nearing completion. He stressed that Ukraine urgently needs these weapons to counter Russian strikes.
Trump voiced growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Putin really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening,” Trump said.
Trump intimated that additional action could come when questioned about sanctions. He said, “We’re going to see what we will see tomorrow,” which was a reference to a planned announcement.
In a related move, U.S. lawmakers are pushing for a bipartisan sanctions bill. The bill would let Trump put tariffs of up to 500% on countries that help Russia’s economy. China, India, and Brazil are examples of countries that could be affected.
“This is truly a sledgehammer available to President Trump to end this war,” said Senator Lindsey Graham. President Zelensky praised the effort, calling it “real leverage” to bring peace.
