The US will send missiles to Ukraine for Patriot air defense systems, US President Trump said.
However, Trump refused to tell reporters at the US Andrews base in Maryland how many such missiles would be released, Reuters reports.
"We're going to send them Patriots, which they desperately need," Trump said."I haven't decided on the number yet, but they're going to get some because they need to be protected," he added, adding that it won't cost the US anything because the European Union will pay for them.
Trump reiterated that he was"disappointed" with Putin."Putin has really surprised a lot of people. He talks nicely and then he bombs everyone in the evening," he said.
The US president will meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte today. He wants to have a"fundamental statement" on his policy towards Russia later today, as he announced in an interview with NBC News on Thursday.
In it, he also announced that the United States would supply weapons to Ukraine through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization."We will send weapons to NATO, and NATO will pay for these weapons in full," the White House chief said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced last week at a video conference of the so-called Coalition of the Willing that Germany wants to buy Patriot air defense systems from the United States to provide to Ukraine. He did not say how many systems Berlin intends to buy, but media reports say it will be two batteries.
Zelensky said at a conference on Ukraine's reconstruction in Rome last week that Germany was ready to buy two Patriot batteries and deliver them to Kiev. He said Norway had promised to buy one battery from the United States for Ukraine.
The Patriot system is among the most advanced in the world. Depending on the missile used, it can hit targets at a distance of approximately 100 kilometers and at an altitude of up to 30 kilometers. A mobile launcher can hold up to 16 missiles, depending on the configuration. According to the American think tank CSIS, one of the most widely used PAC-3 missiles costs approximately four million dollars.
