
Trump Signals Potential Increase in U.S. Patriot Missile Support for Ukraine
The president’s remarks come after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the head of NATO claims that the organisation is “totally committed” to defending Ukraine. We know as of day 1,219
Donald Trump has stated that Russian leader Vladimir Putin “really has to end that war” and said he will think about giving Ukraine more Patriot missiles to protect it against escalating Russian attacks. Following a 50-minute discussion with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the fringes of a NATO conference in The Hague on Wednesday, the US president made these comments. In a struggle that Trump defined as “more difficult than other wars,” both leaders characterised it as a positive step. The Patriots are “very hard to get,” but “we are going to see if we can make some of them available,” Trump said at a press conference.
Additionally, the US president does not rule out giving Kyiv additional military assistance. When asked whether Washington would increase its defence budget for Ukraine this year, Trump responded, “As far as money going, we’ll see what happens.” Prior to Wednesday’s discussion, Zelenskyy stated that if the United States refused to donate Patriots, Ukraine would be prepared to purchase additional of them. The US president said the meeting “couldn’t have been nicer,” while he described the private discussions with Trump as “long and substantive.”
According to the secretary general of the alliance, the United States and the rest of NATO are “totally committed” to supporting Ukraine in the struggle against Russia’s invasion. Mark Rutte told Reuters that all members of the alliance “have more or less the same assessment” of Moscow and that no one in NATO was naive about Russia. “Every member of NATO, including the United States, is fully committed to keeping Ukraine in the conflict and ensuring that, should a peace agreement be reached, the ceasefire will be long-lasting and resilient.” At the conclusion of the NATO conference, Rutte told the news agency. Additionally, he stated that while the US will continue to be “very much involved with intelligence-sharing, with also practical military support,” including maybe air defence systems, the clear trend was for Europeans to bear a greater portion of Ukraine’s military assistance. “I believe that the United States will continue to play a major role.”
As he called for a trial for Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that tight relations between the US and Europe under Donald Trump were essential to Kyiv’s victory over the Russian invasion. During his first visit to the France-based rights organisation since the conflict began, the Ukrainian leader inked an agreement with the Council of Europe to establish a special tribunal to try key officials over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyy also made a passionate plea for tight relations between Europe and the US president following the meeting with Trump earlier Wednesday. “We must have a close relationship with him [Trump],” Zelenskyy told the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly. He stated, “We need unity in Europe first and foremost. We will prevail if we can unite Europe and the United States.”