Trump says U.S. to send weapons for Ukraine under NATO deal; threatens Russia with tariffs if war isn't resolved
Mr. Trump made the announcement during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
'We're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days," the Republican President said. He said they would be 'secondary tariffs,' meaning they would target Russia's trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy.
'I use trade for a lot of things,' Mr. Trump added. 'But it's great for settling wars.'
Besides the tariff threat, Mr. Trump and Mr. Rutte discussed a rejuvenated pipeline for U.S. weapons. European allies plan to buy military equipment and then transfer them to Ukraine. Mr. Trump said there would be 'billions and billions' of dollars purchased.
Mr. Rutte said Germany, Finland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Denmark would be among the buyers to supply Ukraine. He said 'speed is of the essence here,' and he said the shipments should make Mr. Putin 'reconsider' peace negotiations.
Mr. Trump has long boasted of his friendly relationship with Mr. Putin, and after taking office in January repeatedly said that Russia was more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal. At the same time, Mr. Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of prolonging the war and called him a 'dictator without elections.'
But Russia's relentless onslaught against civilian areas of Ukraine wore down Mr. Trump's patience. In April, Mr. Trump urged Mr. Putin to 'STOP!' launching deadly barrages on Kyiv, and the following month said in a social media post that the Russian leader 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!' as the bombardments continued.
'It just keeps going on and on and on," Mr. Trump said on Monday. "Every night, people are dying.'
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, met with Mr. Zelensky in Kyiv on Monday.
Mr. Zelensky said he had 'a productive conversation' with Mr. Kellogg about strengthening Ukrainian air defences, joint arms production and purchasing U.S. weapons in conjunction with European countries, as well as the possibility of tighter international sanctions on the Kremlin.
'We hope for the leadership of the United States, because it is clear that Moscow will not stop unless its ... ambitions are stopped by force,' Mr. Zelensky said on Telegram.
Russia has pounded Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, with hundreds of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles that Ukraine's air defences are struggling to counter. June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded, the U.N. human rights mission in Ukraine said. Russia launched 10 times more drones and missiles in June than in the same month last year, it said.
At the same time, Russia's bigger Army is making a new effort to drive back Ukrainian defenders on parts of the 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front line.
U.S. to send Patriot air defence missiles for Ukraine
Mr. Trump confirmed the U.S. is sending Ukraine more badly needed Patriot air defence missiles and that the European Union will pay the U.S. for the 'various pieces of very sophisticated' weaponry.
While the EU is not allowed under its treaties to buy weapons, individual EU member countries can and are, just as NATO member countries are buying and sending weapons.
Germany has offered to finance two Patriot systems, government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said Monday in Berlin. As far as other European countries financing more systems is concerned, that would have to be seen in talks, he said.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius was travelling to Washington on Monday to meet with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Germany has already given three of its own Patriot systems to Ukraine, and Pistorius was quoted as saying in an interview with the Financial Times that it now has only six.
A top ally of Mr. Trump, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said Sunday that the conflict is nearing an inflection point as Mr. Trump shows growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back against Russia's full-scale invasion. It's a cause that Trump had previously dismissed as being a waste of U.S. taxpayer money.
'In the coming days, you'll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves,' Mr. Graham said on CBS' 'Face the Nation.' He added: 'One of the biggest miscalculations Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there's going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table.'
Kirill Dmitriev, Mr. Putin's envoy for international investment who took part in talks with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia in February, dismissed what he said were efforts to drive a wedge between Moscow and Washington.
'Constructive dialogue between Russia and the United States is more effective than doomed-to-fail attempts at pressure,' Mr. Dmitriev said in a post on Telegram. 'This dialogue will continue, despite titanic efforts to disrupt it by all possible means.'
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