Trump says US to supply weapons to Ukraine via NATO

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would provide arms to Ukraine through NATO and indicated he would deliver a “major statement” regarding Russia on Monday.

In recent times, Trump has shown annoyance with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the insufficient advancements in resolving the conflict initiated by Russia’s comprehensive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday,” Trump told NBC News, declining to elaborate. Trump also told about what he called a new deal between the U.S., NATO allies and Ukraine over weapons shipment from the United States.

“We’re sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons, 100%. So what we’re doing is the weapons that are going out are going to NATO, and then NATO is going to be giving those weapons (to Ukraine), and NATO is paying for those weapons,” Trump said.

“We send weapons to NATO, and NATO is going to reimburse the full cost of those weapons,” he added.

For the first time since returning to office, Trump will send weapons to Kyiv under a presidential power frequently used by his predecessor, two sources familiar with the decision said on Thursday.

Trump promised to quickly conclude the war, but several months into his presidency, minimal progress has occurred. The Republican president has occasionally taken issue with U.S. expenditures on Ukraine’s defense, expressed admiration for Russia, and openly disagreed with Ukraine’s president. Nonetheless, he has occasionally shown support for Kyiv and voiced his dissatisfaction with Russia’s leadership.

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