Kyiv after Russian airstrikes on July 4. Photo by Oleksii Filippov/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump said Monday the U.S. will send more weapons to Ukraine.
Trump’s pledge comes after the Pentagon last week paused some shipments of precision munitions to Ukraine that included air defense missiles amid concerns about declining U.S. stockpiles.
- Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a call last Friday that the U.S. wanted to help Kyiv with air defense due to escalating Russian attacks, per Axios’ Barak Ravid.
We’re going to send some more weapons, we have to,” Trump told reporters during a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- “They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now,” he added.
- “Defensive weapons, primarily, but they’re getting hit very, very hard. So many people are dying in that mess.”
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in an emailed statement soon after Trump’s remarks that at the president’s direction, “the Department of Defense is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops.”
- The department’s framework for Trump “to evaluate military shipments across the globe remains in effect and is integral to our America First defense priorities,” Parnell added. Trump disappointed with Putin
- In a call on Friday with Zekensky Trump said that the U.S. wants to help Ukraine with air defense, due to escalating Russian attacks, a Ukrainian official and a source with knowledge of the call said.
- The call came after the Pentagon paused a weapons shipment, including air defense interceptors and ammunition, to Ukraine’s army.
- The decision caught Ukraine and many Trump administration officials by surprise.
Zelensky wrote on X that he spoke to Trump about “opportunities in air defense” and that they “agreed that we will work together to strengthen protection of our skies.”
“We – in Ukraine – are grateful for all the support provided. It helps us protect lives, safeguard our freedom and independence. We have achieved a lot together with America and we support all efforts to stop the killings and restore just, lasting, and dignified peace. A noble agreement for peace is needed,” Zelensky wrote.
Trump spoke with Russian president Putin on Thursday about the war in Ukraine, but later stressed that no progress has been made.
Putin told Trump that Russia will not give up on its war objectives in Ukraine, signaling he isn’t interested in peace anytime soon.
After the call, Russia escalated its air strikes on Ukraine — launching hundreds of drones and a dozen ballistic missiles.
“I am very disappointed with the conversation I had with Putin because I don’t think he’s there. He’s not looking to stop. I wasn’t happy with the conversation,” Trump told reporters on Friday morning.
(Axios)