US President Donald Trump will send the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine. The EU will foot the bill, he says.
Trump said on Sunday that the United States would supply Ukraine with Patriot systems. But he declined to say how many units of the system were in question, saying it was a few.
Trump has become increasingly skeptical of Russian President Vladimir Putin because the Russian leader opposes Trump's attempts to negotiate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
– We're going to send them Patriots, which they desperately need, because Putin really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice and then he bombs everyone at night. But there's a little problem with this. I don't like it, Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Sunday.
The US will have the costs covered by the EU, Trump insisted.
"In effect, we're going to send them various types of very sophisticated military equipment. They're going to pay us 100 percent for it, and that's how we want it," Trump said, the day before he meets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the United States. There, Rutte is scheduled to discuss Ukraine and other issues with the president today.
Russia announcement
On Thursday, Trump told NBC that he will make a Russia announcement on Monday, after he said earlier last week that he was considering new sanctions against the country.
– I think I will make a big and important statement about Russia on Monday, he said, without elaborating.
He made it clear that he is not happy with Russia.
– I am disappointed with Russia, but we will see what happens in the next few weeks, said Trump, who also described what he calls a new agreement between the United States, NATO and Ukraine, which deals with arms deliveries.
"We're sending weapons to NATO, and NATO pays for these weapons 100 percent. So what we're doing is sending the weapons to NATO, which is then going to pass them on to Ukraine," Trump said.
Axios: Offensive weapons
It is unclear whether this agreement is the same one he mentioned on Sunday when he said the EU would pay for shipments to Ukraine.
Ahead of Monday's meeting between Rutte and Trump, the website Axios reports, citing two sources familiar with the matter, that Trump's announcement on Monday may involve a new plan to arm Ukraine with offensive weapons. If so, it would mark a new direction from the past.
The White House had not responded to questions from Reuters about the matter as of Monday night Norwegian time.
Concern in Ukraine
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the United States had resumed arms deliveries to the country. The statement came a week after the Pentagon announced that arms deliveries would be held back, citing concerns that the United States' own stockpile is low.
Ukrainian authorities then claimed that they had not been notified of the shutdown. The announcement from Washington caused great concern in Ukraine, because the country badly needs the Patriot system to defend itself against Russian missiles.
Zelensky and Trump subsequently spoke on the phone, a conversation that Zelensky has described as the best they have had so far.
Trump also spoke with Putin earlier this month, but Trump didn't seem particularly pleased. He instead stated that the conversation didn't lead to any progress.
