US President Donald Trump announced that the US will supply Ukraine with air defense systems. "We will send them "Patriots", which they urgently need," he told reporters at Andrews Air Force Base. However, Trump did not specify how much.
Will the weapons be financed by the EU?
Trump stressed that the people of Ukraine need the protection of the "Patriot" systems. But according to him, the European Union will pay for it. "We are not paying anything," Trump said. It was a business deal, he stressed.
In view of the upcoming meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump stressed that the defense alliance will buy American military technology. "We will send them various pieces of sophisticated military equipment, and they will pay us 100 percent for it." Trump will meet with Rutte this week to discuss the war in Ukraine and other issues.
Ukraine urgently needs these missiles
Ukraine has asked the United States to sell it more Patriot missiles and systems, which are extremely important for protecting against Russian air strikes. Since the beginning of the month, Russia has intensified its attacks even more - especially against cities in Ukraine. We are talking about waves of intensive attacks with hundreds of drones.
With the "Patriot" It could be the systems that were already being discussed last Thursday at the Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine held in Rome. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz then publicly stated for the first time that Germany would purchase Patriot air defense systems from the United States to send to Ukraine, most likely two systems. And Norway will purchase another one. So far, Ukraine has received three Patriot systems from Germany from the Bundeswehr reserves.
Trump had initially stopped arms supplies to Ukraine, but then backed down again. On Monday last week, he announced additional arms supplies to Kiev, but did not give any details.
A long way from election promises
Since the beginning of the war, which began in February 2022, the United States has been one of Ukraine's biggest supporters. At that time, Democrat Joe Biden was in the White House. But even under his successor, Trump, Washington remained the most important supplier of weapons to Kiev.
However, since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, the United States has moved closer to Russia, including by initiating direct negotiations with representatives of both countries. In recent months, Trump has changed his position on Russia and Ukraine several times. According to experts, at times he has largely adopted the Russian point of view.
During the election campaign, Trump promised to end the war immediately after taking office. However, he has been president for almost half a year, but the war continues to rage with unabated force.