Paul Adams
BBC Diplomatic Correspondent
Reuters
Additional Patriot missile batteries give Kiev the opportunity to expand protection against Russian attacks (File Photo)
For the first time since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has pledged to make new weapons available to Ukraine.
Under the new contract, the US will sell weapons to NATO members and supply Kiev in combating Russian invasions.
The president didn’t give too many details about what he said was “billions of dollars of military equipment.” But when asked if the deal included Patriot air defense batteries and interceptor missiles, he replied, “That’s all.”
One European country has 17 Patriot systems, with “most” on its way to Ukraine soon, Trump said.
For Ukraine, a huge country that currently runs a few batteries, it probably operates eight batteries, but this is a major step forward and gives Kiev the opportunity to expand its protection against Russian ballistics and cruise missiles.
Sitting by the president, NATO Executive Director Mark Latte hinted at a bigger package.
“It’s wider than a patriot,” he said.
“This means that Ukraine can get a huge amount of military equipment for not only air defense, but missiles, ammunition…”
This is an important moment.
Less than two weeks later, there was fear in Kiev over the news that the Pentagon had halted military shipments to Ukraine, including patriots.
The decisions surrounding the announcement remain unknown, but on Monday, Trump tried to create another light by saying that it was made with the knowledge that if it leaned back, the deal would be hit.
“I was sure this was going to happen so I paused a bit,” the president said.
Well, thanks to some winding negotiations, many of them include lattes, allowing Washington to continue flowing without picking up the tabs.
“We’re paying a lot,” the president said.
The deal is a personal victory for the “Trump Whisperer” Latte, who praised and encouraged the president by ensuring the NATO commitment of all members to spend 5% of his GDP on defense.
As they sat side by side in an oval office, Latte kept the Trumps flat, calling the latest deal “really big,” and saying it was “completely logical” for NATO European members to pay for it.
Reuters
Many countries line up to participate, he said, including the UK, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands.
“And this is just the first wave,” he said. “There’s more.”
In another rather distinctive development, Trump threatened Moscow with a new deadline. If Vladimir Putin does not agree to a ceasefire agreement in the next 50 days, Russia and its trading partners will be hit with 100% secondary tariffs.
This is a novel approach that Kiev and members of the US Congress have been urging for some time. It puts pressure on Russia by targeting countries like China and India that continue to buy Russian oil and gas.
Trump’s move comes as the US Senate continues to tackle a bill that imposes much more harder sanctions.
The president added that the Senate bill, which assumes a 500% secondary tariff, could be “very good,” but “it’s not a problem at any given time, so it’s pointless after a while.”
As always, the exact details of the president’s threat remain somewhat vague.
But no matter what happens in the coming weeks and months, Monday felt like a turning point. The US president is finally leaving his bewildered faith in Vladimir Putin, giving Russian leaders time to come to the negotiation table.
It’s definitely not a return to Joe Biden’s pledge to support Ukraine “as long as it is necessary,” but it’s not a neutral stance that infuriated Ukraine and its Western allies either.
Trump appears to have ensured that the very important US weapons pipeline to Ukraine remains open for now.
But 50 days will feel like a very long time for Ukrainians on the receivers of close range drones and missile artillery fires.
It appears Trump has nothing to do.
