“No, we’re not looking to do that,” Trump stated to reporters as he left the White House for an event in Pittsburgh.
Nonetheless, in discussions with European allies over recent weeks, Trump hasn’t dismissed the possibility of allowing certain offensive weaponry into Ukraine, including items that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously sought from the United States but has not yet obtained, according to officials familiar with the situation.
Towards the conclusion of his tenure, President Joe Biden authorized the delivery of potent long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles to Ukraine for operations within Russia, although those weapons wouldn’t have the capability to reach the two cities Trump inquired about during his phone conversation with Zelensky.
Trump called the move “stupid” and a “big mistake,” and questioned why he wasn’t consulted as he was preparing to take office.
Ukraine has also previously requested — but not yet received – Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles, or JASSMs, which are fired from F-16 fighter jets.
European nations have previously provided those jets to Ukraine.
For now, however, the priority appears to be getting Ukraine air defence systems — namely, the Patriot batteries that can intercept Russian ballistic missiles.
Those products will be the first to enter the new weapons pipeline that Trump announced Monday, involving European nations purchasing the products and then transferring them to Ukraine.
The weapons will be available to ship quickly from existing stockpiles in Europe, and will likely be backfilled by new purchases from the US by European nations.
“When it comes to ammunition and missiles, we will work on this from now on, every hour, making sure that the stuff gets into Ukraine.
But of course, we know it’s not only Patriots,” Rutte told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday, citing other systems used to intercept cruise missiles as essential to Ukraine’s defenses.
“This is really discussing everything the US can still deliver without hurting the defense of the US itself,” he said.
