US is selling weapons to NATO allies to give to Ukraine, Trump says
WASHINGTON AP The United States is selling weapons to its NATO allies in Europe so they can provide them to Ukraine as it struggles to fend off a contemporary escalation in Russia s drone and missile attacks President Donald Trump and his chief diplomat announced We re sending weapons to NATO and NATO is paying for those weapons Trump mentioned in an interview with NBC News late Thursday 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 Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned Friday that selected of the U S -made weapons that Ukraine is seeking are deployed with NATO allies in Europe Those weapons could be transferred to Ukraine with European countries buying replacements from the U S he declared It s a lot faster to move something for example from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a U S factory and get it there Rubio explained reporters during a visit to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Ukraine badly necessities more U S -made Patriot air defense systems to stop Russian ballistic and cruise missiles The Trump administration has gone back and forth about providing more vital military aid to Ukraine more than three years into Russia s invasion After a brief pause in specific weapons shipments Trump noted he would keep sending defensive weapons to Ukraine U S functionaries disclosed this week that selected were on their way Details still are being worked out on Trump s plan NATO itself doesn t send weapons to Ukraine or otherwise own or handle arms that is done by its member nations but it does coordinate the deliveries of weapons to a logistics hub in Poland bordering Ukraine The alliance itself ships items like therapeutic supplies and fuel Allies continue to work to ensure that Ukraine has the endorsement they need to defend themselves against Russia s aggression NATO spokesperson Allison Hart reported This includes urgent efforts to procure key supplies from the United States including air defense and ammunition Germany Spain and other European countries possess Patriot missile systems and selected have placed orders for more Rubio mentioned The U S is encouraging its NATO allies to provide the defensive systems that Ukraine seeks since they have them in their stocks and then we can enter into financial agreements with them with us where they can purchase the replacements Rubio disclosed A senior NATO military official noted Trump spoke to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte about the plan but noted that the details were still being worked out U S weapons already in Europe could be transferred to Ukraine under Trump s proposal as could American-made weapons previously purchased by allies NATO has effective mechanisms in place to make something like this achievable the official declared A senior European defense official noted it was their understanding that European nations would purchase U S weapons for Ukraine under the plan The functionaries spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters Ukraine is seeking more coveted Patriot air defense systems Russia has in the past few days sought to overwhelm Ukraine s air defenses by launching major aerial attacks This week Russia fired more than attack and decoy drones at Ukraine topping previous barrages for the third time in two weeks Ukraine has urged other countries to supply it with an additional Patriot systems and missiles President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted Thursday Germany is ready to provide two systems and Norway has agreed to supply one he commented German Chancellor Friedrich Merz explained Thursday that functionaries stand ready to acquire additional Patriot systems from the U S and make them available to Ukraine Sought how various Patriot systems Germany is interested in buying Merz didn t give a number But he reported he spoke to Trump a week ago and sought him to deliver these systems In addition to the Patriots the weaponry that could be sold to NATO members includes advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles shorter-range missiles and Howitzer rounds according to a person familiar with the internal White House debate The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private discussions The White House did not instantly respond to a request for comment seeking more details Republican Sen Lindsey Graham of South Carolina who has been in touch with Trump in latest days noted it s in U S national guard interests to sell weapons to Ukraine and Europe can pay for them We have the best weapons They sure as hell know how to use them Graham announced in an AP interview in Rome while attending a meeting on the sidelines of a Ukraine recovery conference Allies purchasing U S weapons for Ukraine would get around a attainable stalemate in funding for Kyiv once an aid package approved last year runs out Even with broad endorsement in Congress for backing Ukraine it s unclear if more funding would be approved Trump s evolving stance on Putin Trump s efforts to facilitate Ukraine s weapon supply come as he has signaled his displeasure with Russian President Vladimir Putin At a Cabinet meeting this week he noted he was not happy with Putin over a conflict that was killing a lot of people on both sides Russia s bigger army is pressing hard on parts of the -mile -kilometer front line where thousands of soldiers on both sides have died since the Kremlin ordered the invasion in February Graham says Trump has given him the go-ahead to push forward with a bill he s co-sponsoring that calls in part for a tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil Trump stated Tuesday that he s looking at it very strongly In the NBC News interview Trump teased that he will make a major announcement on Russia next week The U S president also has had a tumultuous relationship with Zelenskyy which reached a low point during an Oval Office blowup in February when Trump berated him for being disrespectful The relationship has since shown signs of rebounding The two leaders spoke by phone last week about Ukraine s air defenses Zelenskyy mentioned Thursday that talks with Trump have been very constructive Impact of the latest Russian attacks In the latest attacks a Russian drone barrage targeted the center of Kharkiv just before dawn Friday injuring nine people and damaging a maternity hospital in Ukraine s second-largest city representatives stated There is no silence in Ukraine Zelenskyy disclosed A daytime drone attack on the southern city of Odesa also injured nine Kyiv the Ukrainian capital has endured repeated and intensifying drone attacks in latest weeks as have a great number of other regions of the country mostly at night Zelenskyy urged Ukraine s Western partners to fleetly follow through on pledges they made at the international meeting in Rome on Thursday Ukraine demands more interceptor drones to bring down Russian-made Shahed drones he declared Government noted Friday that they re establishing a comprehensive drone interception system under a project called Clear Sky It includes a million funding in interceptor drones operator training and new mobile response units the Kyiv Military Administration disclosed We discovered a response That s the key Zelenskyy commented We need financing And then we will intercept
