President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States will impose “very severe tariffs” on Russia in 50 days if there is no deal to stop the war in Ukraine.
Sitting side-by-side with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that he is disappointed in Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump also said the United States will send top-of-the-line weapons to NATO to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.
“We’re going to make top-of-the-line weapons, and they’ll be sent to NATO,” Trump said. Trump said NATO members, not American taxpayers, would cover the cost of the weapons.
Trump said the weapons the US would send to NATO to support Ukraine would include Patriot missile systems and batteries.
“It’s a full complement with the batteries,” Trump said when asked whether he would send Patriot missiles specifically.
“We’re going to have some come very soon, within days... a couple of the countries that have Patriots are going to swap over and will replace the Patriots with the ones they have.”
Rutte said Ukraine will get a huge supply of weapons to boost its war effort against Russia under a new arms supply deal struck with the United States.
“It will mean that Ukraine gets its hands on really massive numbers of military equipment, both for air defense, but also missiles, ammunition,” he told reporters at the White House.