Trump Promises More Weapons For Ukraine, Paid For By Europe
Trump said the US was sending “top-of-the-line weapons” during a Monday meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, later clarifying that they would include Patriot missile batteries.
(Photo: Donald Trump/X)
US President Donald Trump said the US will send more weapons to Ukraine and threatened 100% “secondary tariffs” unless Russia agrees to a ceasefire in 50 days, signaling his growing impatience with Moscow’s stepped-up military campaign.
Trump said the US was sending “top-of-the-line weapons” during a Monday meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, later clarifying that they would include Patriot missile batteries. The president said that NATO nations will pay for the weapons to be sent to Ukraine.
“We’re not buying it, but we will manufacture it, and they’re going to be paying for it,” Trump said.
He also said the US would impose 100% “secondary” tariffs if Moscow fails to agree to a peace deal with Kyiv by early September. While he didn’t give details, the threats echo punishment spelled out in a bipartisan bill in Congress that would impose 500% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil and gas.
Trump hailed the move as a major shift in course as he looks to push Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the hostilities. But the details of the decision also reflect Trump’s priorities: it won’t cost the US anything and Trump is not dedicating any new US funding to Ukraine, at least for now.
“I’m disappointed in President Putin because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn’t seem to get there,” Trump said.
The White House didn’t immediately explain how Trump envisioned the secondary tariff program working, though the US president has previously suggested the levies would hit countries buying Russian oil. Oil futures fell to session lows, down more than 1%, after Trump made the threat.
The president’s remarks in recent weeks make clear that his patience is running out with Putin. Trump directed most of his ire at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during the first several months of his term but has grown increasingly frustrated that Putin is still refusing his demands for a ceasefire.
Rutte said NATO would coordinate with allies to fulfill Ukraine’s weapons needs including air defense equipment, missiles and ammunition. Germany will play a major part, alongside Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands and Canada, according to Rutte.
He added that the deal will allow allies to send weapons to Ukraine more quickly, with the US later backfilling the allies’ supplies. Rutte said the agreement would be “just the first wave” and that more was to come.
“This is again Europeans stepping up,” Rutte said, adding that Putin should “take negotiations about Ukraine more seriously.”
