Trump says he will provide Ukraine with Patriot systems – Reuters
US President Donald Trump has said he will send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine, explaining that Kyiv needs them since Russian leader Vladimir Putin "talks nice but then he bombs everybody in the evening".
Source: Reuters
Quote from Trump: "We will send them Patriots, which they desperately need, because Putin really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice and then bombs everybody in the evening. But there's a little bit of a problem there. I don't like it."
"We basically are going to send them various pieces of very sophisticated military equipment. They are going to pay us 100% for that, and that's the way we want it."
Details: Trump made this statement to journalists at Joint Base Andrews near Washington.
He did not specify how many Patriot systems he plans to send to Ukraine but said the European Union would reimburse the US for their cost.
He plans to meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte this week to discuss Ukraine and other issues.
Background:
- At a press conference following the NATO summit in The Hague on 25 June, Trump promised to check whether it would be possible to provide Ukraine with additional Patriot air defence systems, but he stressed that the United States needs them too. Trump said this in response to a question from a Ukrainian journalist, whose husband is fighting on the line of contact.
- The Guardian reported that the United States holds only about 25% of the Patriot missile interceptors required for all Pentagon military plans, after recent deployments depleted stockpiles in the Middle East. As a result, the US decided to pause the supply of defensive weapons to Ukraine.
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