Trump is threatening the Kremlin with new tariffs and at the same time touting a plan to arm Ukraine with the help of NATO. On Monday, he announced a major new weapons deal paid for by Europe.
President Trump says he’s disappointed in Vladimir Putin and is tired of playing games. Trump announced he’s selling U.S. weapons to NATO to help defend Ukraine against Russia’s attacks.
The move signals a major shift in his Ukraine policy — one in which Europe will step up and pay.
“This is a very big deal we’ve made, this is billions of dollars of military equipment from the U.S. going to NATO and that’ll be quickly distributed to the battlefield,” Trump said.
The president says this goes beyond just sending Patriot Missile Defense Systems. It involves missiles, ammunition–a full battery of weapons.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte helped broker the agreement between the U.S. and European nations and says many countries are coming forward ready to pay big, to arm Ukraine.
“This is again Europeans stepping up, I’ve been in contact with many countries. I can tell you at this moment: Germany, massively, but also Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, the Netherlands, Canada, they all want to be part of this and this is only the first wave,” Rutte said.
Ukraine will receive much of the weaponry it needs almost immediately.
Trump said he hopes this new deal will help push Moscow towards peace, and voiced frustration with the tactics of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I speak to him a lot about getting this thing done and I always hang up and say well that was a nice phone call… and then the missiles get launched into Kyiv or some other city, and after that happens 3 or 4 times you say, that talk doesn’t mean anything,” Trump said.
Brad Bowman, Senior Director of the Center for Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told CBN News’s Faith Nation that Trump is discovering the truth about Putin.
“President Trump is realizing that Vladimir Putin is all talk and he’s going to continue with his war until we shift his cost-benefit analysis, and you do that with tariffs, secondary sanctions, and weapons to the people of Ukraine so they can defend their homes against this unprovoked invasion,” Bowman said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. for the support.
It’s been the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine to date with Russian missile strikes in major cities increasing from a year ago.
Trump also announced he’ll be imposing secondary tariffs, at 100 percent, on countries that do business with Russia if a deal to end the war isn’t reached within 50 days.
