Trump weapons bet marks a major step forward for Ukraine

For the first time since his return to the White House, Donald Trump has promised to make new weapons available to Ukraine.

In a new deal, the United States will sell weapons to NATO members who will then deliver them to Kiev while fighting Russia invasion.

The president did not give too many specifics about what he said was “billions of dollars of military equipment.” But when they asked him if the deal included the air defense batteries of a patriot and intercept rockets, he replied “That’s all.”

A European country has 17 patriotic systems and “big part” will soon be on the way to Ukraine, Trump said.

For Ukraine, a huge country that currently operates a handful of batteries – maybe only eight – this is a major step forward, which gives Kiev a chance to expand the protection against Russian ballistic and cruise missiles.

He sat next to the President, NATO Secretary General Mark Ruth, hinted at a bigger package.

“It’s wider than the Patriots,” he said.

“This will mean that Ukraine can handle a really huge number of military equipment, both for air defense and for rockets, ammunition …”

This is an important point.

Less than two weeks ago, there was horror in Kiev that the Pentagon had stopped military shipments to Ukraine, including Patriots.

Deciding this message remains unclear, but on Monday, Trump tried to make light again if he did, saying that it was done with the knowledge that this transaction would be achieved.

“We were almost sure that this would happen, so we paused,” the president said.

Now, thanks to some excruciating negotiations, many of them, including the splays, can continue to run without Washington lifting the tab.

“We’re for a lot of money,” the president said, “and we just don’t want to do it anymore.”

The deal is a personal triumph for the route, the Trump whispered, which has flattered and encouraged the president, partly by helping to secure the insurance NATO’s commitment for the whole member to spend 5% of GDP on defenseS

As they sat side by side in the oval office, Rute continued to flatter Trump, calling the last transaction “really big” and said it was “completely logically” the European members of NATO pay for it.

A number of countries, he said, have been arranged to participate, including the UK, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands.

“And that’s just the first wave,” he said. “There will be more.”

In separate and more characteristic development, Trump threatened Moscow with a new term: if Vladimir Putin did not agree to a transaction to end the fire over the next 50 days, Russia and its trading partners would be affected by 100% secondary tariffs.

This is a new approach that Kiev and the members of the US Congress have for some time summoned: pressure Russia by targeting countries that continue to buy Russian oil and gas, such as China and India.

Trump’s move comes when the US Senate continues to work on a bill that would necessitate much more rigorous sanctions.

The president said the Senate bill, which provides 500% secondary tariffs, could be “very good”, but added that after a while it was “somehow meaningless because at some point it doesn’t matter.”

As always, the exact details of the president’s threat remain a little unclear.

But whatever happened in the coming weeks and months, Monday felt like something like a turning point. The US president finally moves away from his disturbing faith in Vladimir Putin, still giving the Russian leader time to come to the negotiating table.

It is definitely not a return to Joe Biden’s promises to support Ukraine “as long as it takes,” but neither is the neutral position that angered Ukraine and its Western allies.

Trump seems to have guaranteed that the most important weapon pipeline in the United States to Ukraine will remain open so far-according to the condition that others are paying for it.

But 50 days will feel like a very long time for Ukrainians who are at the receiving end of almost at night a drone and rocket bombing.

Nothing Trump has done will probably stop this.