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US President Donald Trump has taken his most significant step yet towards supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia, announcing that NATO allies will fund the purchase of air defense systems and other weapons for Ukraine.
Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office today during his two-day visit to Washington. The latter called the president's decision"really important." They discussed European payments for U.S.-made weapons that will be shipped to Ukraine in the coming days. Vice President J. D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also attended the meeting.
Trump said about them on Sunday that European countries"will pay for them 100 percent. It will be a business for us." This was confirmed today when Trump and Rutte agreed that NATO would buy billions of dollars worth of military equipment from the United States.
"This is a very big deal that we have made. It's billions of dollars worth of military equipment that will be purchased from the United States, going to NATO, etc., and will be distributed quickly to the battlefield. Ukraine will take it over."
The distribution of weapons to Ukraine will be coordinated by NATO: "We will produce top-notch weapons and send them to NATO," says the US president. According to Trump, NATO will then send them where they are needed.
2Trump: Patriots will arrive soon
The equipment is to be distributed immediately — the Patriot batteries will be shipped within days, Trump says. “We’ll have them soon. In a few days, actually,” he said, later adding, “They’ll start coming in this afternoon.”
Trump also claims that the Ukraine deal should have been done by now:"I felt like we had a deal about four times. And we're still just talking about it," the US president said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is standing in the way of this deal.
Trump has threatened Putin, with whom he had until recently seemingly gotten along well, with 100 percent tariffs if a deal with Ukraine is not reached within 50 days. “If we don’t make a deal in 50 days, we will be imposing very heavy tariffs,” Trump said. He called these tariffs secondary tariffs and said they could be imposed on Russia without the involvement of the House or Senate.
What are secondary duties?
The secondary tariffs would apply to any country that continues to trade with Russia, and would mean that country would face a high tax on sales of its products to the US, reports the BBC. This gives as an example that if, for example, India continues to buy oil from Russia (which it has been doing since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022), American companies buying goods from India would have to pay a 100% import duty to the United States.
This will make the goods so expensive that American companies will choose to buy them cheaper elsewhere – and India will lose profits. This will in turn slow down the Russian economy. If it is unable to generate funds by selling oil to other countries, it will have less money to finance the war in Ukraine.
When asked about calls for 500 percent tariffs on Russia, which he had spoken about in the past, Trump said that the number no longer matters after a certain point and that 100 percent tariffs would serve the purpose.
Angry at Putin
The news website Axios reported on Monday morning that US President Donald Trump is set to announce a new plan to arm Ukraine, which is expected to include offensive weapons. Trump told reporters on Sunday evening that the weapons he will send to Ukraine via European countries will include"various pieces of very sophisticated military (equipment)," including Patriot air defense batteries.
This is particularly important because until recently, Trump insisted that providing non-defensive weapons would only escalate the conflict. Offensive weapons from the Americans could at least partially turn the tide of the war.
The Ukrainians will now have access to long-range missiles capable of hitting targets deep inside Russian territory. Ukraine has only recently won support in this regard from Germany and other European countries that have been hesitant to hand over long-range weapons.
"Trump is really angry with Putin. His announcement will be very aggressive," South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Axios.
Trump has been"very disappointed" and frustrated with Putin's reluctance to move closer to a ceasefire, according to people close to him, over the past two weeks. The presidents spoke on the phone on July 3, and their conversation revealed that the Russian leader was planning to escalate the war. This has been reflected, among other things, in frequent attacks on Kiev.
"I'm very disappointed in President Putin. I thought he was someone who meant what he said," Trump said, referring to Putin's words about trying to reach a ceasefire."I talk to him a lot about how to get it done. And I always hang up the phone and I'm like, well, that was a nice call. And then they fire missiles at Kiev or some other city and I'm like, weird," Trump said.
"And after it happens three or four times, you say to yourself, his words don't mean anything," Trump described Putin, who, according to the American president,"has fooled a lot of people," including past presidents.
Their phone call earlier this month revealed that Putin plans to occupy territory claimed by Russia, up to its administrative borders, within the next 60 days. “He wants to take it all,” Trump told French President Emmanuel Macron shortly after his phone call with Putin.
He agreed with Zelensky
Donald Trump was originally supposed to have agreed on the latest developments with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a NATO summit two weeks ago, a meeting that American and Ukrainian officials said was their best yet.
“Zelensky came in like a normal person, not crazy, and he was dressed like someone who should be in NATO,” a US official said, according to Axios. Zelensky wore a suit to the summit for the first time since 2022. “He had a group of people with him who also didn’t seem crazy. So they had a good conversation,” he added.
