Trump confirms he's sending Patriot missiles to Ukraine — but with one major caveat

6 hours ago 3

President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over his apparent reluctance to negotiate a lasting peace with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It appears, however, that this frustration has now been eclipsed by his displeasure with Putin's bellicosity.

Days after suggesting that Putin deals in "bulls**t" that sounds nice but "turns out to be meaningless," Trump confirmed Monday that his administration is going to send some serious military hardware to Ukraine — as he suggested he would in talks with the Ukrainian leader earlier this month — despite Pentagon concerns that U.S. weapon stockpiles have fallen dangerously low.

On again, off again

Days after his disastrous Feb. 28 meeting at the White House, Zelenskyy — whose term officially ended in May 2024 — suggested that a deal to end the war between Kyiv and Moscow was "still very, very far away" and that continued aid from the U.S. was a certainty.

'America will not put up with it for much longer!'

Zelenskyy's presumption of guaranteed aid at American taxpayers' expense evidently angered Trump, who was already peeved that the foreign leader was "not ready for Peace if America is involved" and had "disrespected the United States of America."

Trump ordered a pause on all military aid being sent to Ukraine, writing, "America will not put up with it for much longer!"

When, days later, Kyiv signaled an openness to a 30-day ceasefire with Russia, Trump reversed course on military aid.

Zelenskyy indirectly moved the needle further on military aid weeks later by signing the April 30 Ukraine-United States Mineral Resources Agreement. Before the ink on the deal was dry, the Trump administration approved the sale of F-16 fighter jet parts, training, and maintenance to Ukraine.

The flow of weapons to Ukraine once again came to an abrupt halt earlier this month when the Pentagon determined that the U.S. was running low on Patriot missile interceptors and 155mm artillery shells.

White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly noted that the decision "was made to put America's interests first following a DOD review of our nation's military support and assistance to other countries across the globe."

Politico reported that the decision to halt shipments followed a review of Pentagon munitions stockpiles and was driven by Elbridge Colby — a Pentagon policy chief who understands that China, not Russia or Middle Eastern rogue states, "presents a real, concrete peril to Americans and especially to the realization of the goals that the New Right seeks."

Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

Colby said in statement obtained by CNN at the time of the pause, "The Department of Defense continues to provide the president with robust options to continue military aid to Ukraine, consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end. At the same time, the Department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving U.S. forces' readiness for administration defense priorities."

'They should be in actually for more than us.'

Colby's apparent desire to ensure America was not handing away weapons at the expense of its own war-making ability was condemned by the usual suspects, including Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, who claimed Colby was "taking action that will surely result in the imminent death of many Ukrainian military and civilians."

To the satisfaction of Kaptur and others keen on sending more armaments to Ukraine, Trump vacated the order to pause shipments and said he would send even more to Ukraine.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell noted on July 7 that "at President Trump's direction, the Department of Defense is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops."

Patriot batteries and more

Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday that his administration is going to supply Ukraine with "various pieces of very sophisticated military" equipment, including Patriot air defense batteries, and European nations will foot the bill.

"We're in for about $350 billion. Europe is in for $100 billion. That's a lot of money, 100, but they should be in actually for more than us," Trump said. "So as we send equipment, they are going to reimburse us for that equipment."

'We want everlasting peace.'

While Trump did not indicate how many Patriot batteries his administration will send to Ukraine, he emphasized that they are desperately needed because "Putin really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice, and then he bombs everybody in the evening. So there's a little bit of a problem there. I don't like it."

During his meeting on Monday with Trump, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed the plan to ship American weapons to Ukraine at European expense and indicated that "speed was of the essence."

— (@)

Trump expressed hope that the weapons help chasten Moscow without emboldening Kyiv to the point of seeking to prolong the war.

"We want everlasting peace," Trump stressed.

In addition to lamenting the war, suggesting his predecessor should have stopped it at the outset, and indicating that the new weapons would be "quickly distributed to the battlefield," Trump threatened to impose "very severe tariffs" of 100% on Russia if a deal to end the war in Ukraine is not brokered.

Blaze News has reached out to the White House for comment.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Read Entire Article