American President Donald Trump stated on Thursday that the United States will provide weapons to Ukraine through NATO and that he will make an „important statement” on Russia on Monday.
In recent days, Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin due to the lack of progress in ending the war triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022. Now, the White House leader seems to be leaning towards a tougher approach towards Moscow.
"I think on Monday I will make an important statement about Russia," Trump told NBC News, refusing to provide details, Reuters reports.
Trump also referred to what he called a new agreement between the US, NATO allies, and Ukraine regarding arms deliveries from the United States.
"We are sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying 100% for these weapons. So, what we are doing is that the weapons being sent (from the US) go to NATO, and then NATO will provide these weapons (to Ukraine), and NATO pays for these weapons," Trump said.
"We are sending weapons to NATO, and NATO will reimburse the full cost of these weapons," he insisted.
Trump's First
For the first time since returning to office, Trump will send weapons to Kyiv under a presidential prerogative frequently used by his predecessor, two sources familiar with this decision said on Thursday.
Trump's team will identify weapons from US stocks to be sent to Ukraine under the "Presidential Drawdown Authority," which allows the American president to use weapon stocks to assist allies in emergency situations, the sources said. One of them stated that the weaponry to be shipped could have a value of around $300 million.
Donald Trump stated on Tuesday that the US will send more weapons to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against escalated Russian attacks.
Which Weapons Ukraine Could Receive
The package could include defensive Patriot missiles and medium-range offensive missiles, but no decision has been made yet on the exact equipment, the sources said. One of them said that this was supposed to happen on Thursday during a meeting.
The Trump administration has so far only sent arms authorized by former President Joe Biden, who was a staunch supporter of Kyiv.
Donald Trump has pledged to quickly end the war in Ukraine, but, a few months after his return to the White House, little progress has been made in this regard.
The Republican president has sometimes criticized US spending on Ukraine's defense, spoken favorably about Russia, and publicly clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, at other times, he has expressed support for Kyiv and shown disappointment with Russia's leadership.