- Donald Trump is speaking at the White House during meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte. Overnight, Russian attacks continued, with at least five dead and a dozen injured
Donald Trump has said he has made a deal to sell weapons to NATO to help Ukraine.
The US president said he was going to be sending “top of the line weapons” to NATO, which will then be able to send them on to Ukraine.
“We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them,” he said.
Trump said NATO members, not American taxpayers, would cover the cost of the weapons.
The war has “got to stop”, he added. “This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment which is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.”
He said Patriot missile batteries will be sent “within days” and “will start arriving soon.”
Trump also threatened Russia with new tariffs if it doesn’t strike a deal to end the Ukraine war within 50 days.
Speaking at the White House alongside NATO secretary general Mark Rutte, he said he was “very unhappy” with Moscow.
Trump threatened “severe tariffs” of “about 100%”, which he called “secondary tariffs”, if there isn’t a deal within 50 days.
Military Watch Magazine, citing an anonymous source, said “the missiles would equip the Ukrainian Air Force’s growing fleet of F-16 fighters, which although comprised of obsolete Cold War era variants, could serve as effective launch platforms for the missiles while flying deep behind friendly lines.”
The JASSM is a weapon with a range of about 370 kilometers. The JASSM-ER modification has a range of 1,000 kilometers.
Earlier, Axios reported that, later on Monday, Trump intends to announce a new plan to arm Ukraine that will include sending offensive weapons to Kiev.
Sources told the news portal that the plan will likely “include long-range missiles that could reach targets deep inside Russian territory, including Moscow.” However, the sources are unaware of any final decision regarding this.
Previously, at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, the American leader told reporters that the US will send additional weapons to Ukraine, including Patriot air defense systems paid for by the European Union.
Written with agency reports
