US to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine as Trump threatens “severe” tariffs on Russia Trump-Rutte meeting/ VIDEO

US President Donald Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on July 14 amid renewed transatlantic efforts to support Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia, coming with major announcements on Moscow, which the US leader promised to announce a week before. 

During the meeting, Trump reiterated his dissatisfaction with Russia and warned of “very severe tariffs” unless a deal is reached to end the war in Ukraine. The leaders also announced a coordinated NATO move to supply billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment to Ukraine, Caliber.Az reports per Reuters.

NATO coordination on military support

Trump announced a new deal between the US and NATO to support Ukraine’s military capabilities.

“We've made a deal today where we're going to be sending them weapons, and they're going to be paying for them,” said Trump.

He added that NATO would coordinate the delivery of the weapons. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed European involvement in the effort: “This is, again, Europeans stepping up.” He noted that countries would move equipment quickly into Ukraine and emphasised increased defence spending commitments by member nations.

Trump stated that billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment would be purchased from the US to support Ukraine’s war effort.

“This is a very big deal we've made, this is billions of dollars worth of military equipment that is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO, etcetera, and that's going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield. Ukraine will take it up.”

He also stressed that American taxpayers would not cover the cost: “NATO members, not American taxpayers, would cover the cost of the weapons.”

Warning of sanctions against Russia

Trump expressed deep dissatisfaction with Russia’s actions in Ukraine and warned of potential economic retaliation.

“One of the reasons that you're here today is to hear that we are very unhappy, I am, with Russia,” said Trump. “But we'll discuss that maybe a different day. But we're very, very unhappy with them, and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days.”

He argued that economic measures can be an effective tool in ending conflicts: “Trade is great for settling wars.”

Speaking about his communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump shared his frustrations: “I speak to him a lot about getting this thing done. And I always hang up and say, well, that was a nice phone call. And then missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and [I say] strange.”

“And after that happens 3 or 4 times, you say the talk doesn't mean anything,” Trump continued.

He described Putin as a formidable leader: “Putin is a tough guy” who has “fooled a lot of people” and past US presidents.

“Ultimately talk doesn't talk. It's got to be [about] action. It's got to be [about] results,” said Trump.

Patriot missiles to arrive in Ukraine

As part of the military aid package, Trump confirmed that Patriot missile systems and batteries would be included and that their delivery would begin almost immediately.

“Well we're going to have some come very soon. Within days actually,” Trump said regarding the Patriot batteries, later adding, “they're going to start arriving this afternoon.”

He explained that some NATO countries would contribute their own systems in the short term: “A couple of the countries that have Patriots are going to swap over and will replace the Patriots with the ones they have.”

Reflecting on past negotiations with Russia, Trump added, “I felt that we had a deal about four times. And here we are still talking about it.”

By Sabina Mammadli