Trump considers more Patriots for Ukraine, says Putin ‘really has to end' the war
US President Donald Trump indicated on Wednesday that he would consider providing more of the Patriot missiles that Ukraine needs to defend against mounting Russian strikes, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin 'really has to end that war'.
Advertisement
His remarks came after a 50-minute meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of a Nato summit in The Hague. Both leaders described it as a positive step in a conflict that Trump described as 'more difficult than other wars'.
During a press conference in which he celebrated his own diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, Trump said the Patriots were 'very hard to get' but that 'we are going to see if we can make some of them available'.
Zelensky mentioned air-defence systems but it was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to more missiles or complete batteries.
Trump also left open the possibility of providing more military aid to Kyiv, which has suffered grinding Russian advances on the battlefield in recent months.
Advertisement
He had previously shown no sign of resuming the donations of weaponry to Ukraine that his predecessor Joe Biden had instituted after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
2 hours ago
- RTHK
US Senate opens debate on Trump spending bill
US Senate opens debate on Trump spending bill The Senate opened debate on Trump's spending bill after Republican holdouts delayed what should have been a procedural vote. File photo: Reuters US senators debated into the early hours of Sunday Donald Trump's "big beautiful" spending bill, a hugely divisive proposal that would deliver key parts of the US president's domestic agenda while making massive cuts to social welfare programs. Trump is hoping to seal his legacy with the "One Big Beautiful Bill," which would extend his expiring first-term tax cuts at a cost of US$4.5 trillion and beef up border security. But Republicans eyeing 2026 midterm congressional elections are divided over the package, which would strip health care from millions of the poorest Americans and add more than US$3 trillion to the country's debt. The Senate formally opened debate on the bill late on Saturday, after Republican holdouts delayed what should have been a procedural vote -- drawing Trump's ire on social media. Senators narrowly passed the motion to begin debate, 51-49, hours after the vote was first called, with Vice President JD Vance joining negotiations with holdouts from his own party. Ultimately, two Republican senators joined 47 Democrats in voting "nay" on opening debate. Trump has pushed his party to get the bill passed and on his desk for him to sign into law by July 4, the United States' independence day. "Tonight we saw a GREAT VICTORY in the Senate," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after the vote to begin debate. "Republicans must remember that they are fighting against a very evil, corrupt and, in many ways, incompetent (Policywise!) group of people, who would rather see our Country 'go down in flames' than do the right thing," he said in an earlier post. Democrats are bitterly opposed to the legislation and Trump's agenda, and have vowed to hold up the debate. They began by insisting that the entirety of the bill be read aloud to the chamber before the debate commences. The bill is roughly 1,000 pages long and will take an estimated 15 hours to read. "Republicans won't tell America what's in the bill," said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. "So Democrats are forcing it to be read start to finish on the floor. We will be here all night if that's what it takes to read it." If passed in the Senate, the bill would go back to the House for approval, where Republicans can only afford to lose a handful of votes -- and are facing stiff opposition from within their own ranks. (AFP)
The Standard
2 hours ago
- The Standard
A Trump political dynasty? His son Eric says maybe
Eric Trump speaks to media at Trump Tower in New York City, U.S., June 16, 2025. (Reuters/File)
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Decoding Israel, Iran and China's collision of interests in the Middle East
After President Donald Trump boasted that last weekend's US strikes had 'obliterated' Iran 's nuclear capabilities, the uneasy ceasefire he later announced between Israel and its arch-rival revealed a region fundamentally altered. Both the Israeli and Iranian governments have proclaimed victory, signalling a shared – if wary – interest in maintaining the truce, though fresh reports of missile salvoes continue to cast doubt on its durability. In separate briefings, Iranian and Israeli officials offered sharply contrasting accounts of the week's bombardments, yet neither side showed any appetite for a return to all-out warfare. Israel has established uncontested air superiority across the region, maintaining an open aerial corridor from Damascus to Tehran and, in under a week, dismantling Iran's anti-air defences and decapitating the leadership of its military and nuclear programmes. 02:37 Iran threatens to shut Strait of Hormuz after US bombs key nuclear sites Iran threatens to shut Strait of Hormuz after US bombs key nuclear sites Yet sustaining simultaneous military pressure from Gaza through Lebanon and Syria into Iran would stretch Israel's capabilities and political will beyond feasible limits. Meanwhile, the longevity of Iran's theocratic regime depends less on its ability to respond militarily than on the absence of a unified alternative. Competing factions remain fractured by divergent long-term objectives and lack the critical mass to mount a credible challenge to the existing power structure. Even if the ceasefire holds, the region's security architecture has been irrevocably altered. Iran now finds itself more isolated than at any point in recent memory, with only cyberattacks and the threat to choke off the Strait of Hormuz remaining as deterrents – or, in a more audacious gambit, coordinating with its Yemeni Houthi proxies to disrupt traffic through both the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb on the Red Sea. Neither scenario seems imminent, but both remain potent instruments in Tehran's diminishing arsenal. Both Iran and the Houthi militants possess extensive and varied mine warfare capabilities, from Soviet-era buoyant contact mines to modern, Chinese-manufactured, moored rocket-propelled mines capable of crippling the world's busiest commercial shipping corridors. Given that maritime demining is a lengthy process, reopening these vital sea lanes could take months. A view of an Iranian oil facility on Khark Island in the Persian Gulf. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS
