Trump made the announcement during a meeting with NATO
Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office Monday morning.
It
marks a potential turning point for a president who had wanted to
pull US support from Ukraine and has repeatedly demonstrated favorable
treatment to Putin despite Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.
“We’re very, very unhappy with Russia, and we’re going to be
doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in about 50 days,” Trump
said, after teasing a major announcement.
Trump and Rutte also officially announced a weapons
deal in which NATO countries would foot the bill for US arms shipments to
Ukraine, though details on the provisions remain vague.
“It’s everything. It’s Patriots. It’s all of them. It’s a
full complement with the batteries,” Trump said, adding that the batteries
could arrive in Ukraine within days.
Ukraine is desperate for increased air defenses as
Putin has ramped up aerial attacks on its cities in recent months.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky met with
Trump's envoy retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg earlier in the day and said
he spoke with Trump and Rutte later on.
"Agreed to call more often and coordinate our steps
further. Thank you, Mr. President! Thank you America!" Zelensky wrote on
Facebook.
There's
no sign that Trump is seeking to send offensive weapons that would allow
Ukraine to strike further into Russia, which Ukraine hawks say may be necessary
to move Putin off his maximalist war demands.
Former NATO chief and retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis told
CNN on Monday he would like to see Ukraine given harpoon missiles, surface-to-surface
weapons and F-16 aircraft.
"I think that is what could move Putin to the
negotiating table, which is what we want on our side,” he said.
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