President Donald Trump announced Monday that NATO members intend to send large amounts of Patriot missile batteries and other weapons to Ukraine, arms they would buy from the United States.
The arrangement could help Trump save some face with his “Make American Great Again” base, which has long opposed sending new U.S.-made and -financed arms to Ukraine. Under the new agreement with NATO, Trump said the U.S. would not spend a penny on any of the new arms going to Kyiv, as his frustrations with Russian President Vladimir Putin swells.
“It’s not my war. I’m trying to get you out of it, and we want to see it end. And I’m disappointed in President Putin, because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn’t seem to get there.” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, seated alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
