The president of the United States, Donald Trump, and NATO general secretary, Mark Rutte, announced a plan on Monday to rearm Ukraine with missiles and other armaments in their struggle to defend against Russian invaders and warned of severe tariffs if Moscow does not end the war.
The announcement of the two leaders followed weeks of frustration by Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin for his refusal to reach an agreement to end the conflict.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has made frequent appeals to Trump’s leaders and NATO for more weapons.
According to the agreement, Trump said that the United States will supply weapons that NATO countries will pay. Rutte said that a large number of weapons would be sent, including missiles, as part of a first wave of equipment.
“It is a complete complement to the batteries,” Trump said when asked if he would send patriot missiles specifically. “We will have arrived very soon, in a matter of days … a couple of countries that have Patriots are going to change and will replace the patriots with those they have.”
Trump also warned that he would impose “very severe tariffs” to Russia if no agreement is made in 50 days.
“If it were Vladimir Putin today, and you are talking about what you plan to do in 50 days … I would reconsider if I should not take the negotiations on Ukraine more seriously,” Routte said.
Trump has been reluctant to punish Russia, but left a recent phone call with Putin disappointed that the Russian leader seemed prepared to continue the war.
“Putin really surprised many people. He speaks well and then pumps everyone at night,” Trump said Sunday, while returning from seeing the FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey.
The White House has become an ad at the beginning of this month that it would pause some weapons deliveries to kyiv, instead of announcing a new agreement that would involve NATO to buy some US weapons to send to Ukraine.
Last week, Trump accused Putin of launching “shit” in Washington in Ukraine, openly frustrated with impasse in peace efforts.
When he began his second period in office in January, Trump insisted that he could work with the Russian leader to end the war in Ukraine quickly, and delayed hiking sanctions, unlike kyiv European allies.
But Russia has rejected for months a fire proposed by the United States and Ukraine.
‘Sledgehammer’
Meanwhile, Republican senators are promoting a bipartisan bill that would root Trump with a “deck” to use Russia.
The sanctions bill would allow Trump “to go after Putin’s economy, and all those countries that underpin the Putin war machine,” said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to the station CBS news.
“He would give President Trump the ability to impose 500 -piece tariffs on any country that helps Russia,” said Graham, added that they could include economies that buy Russian goods such as China, India or Brazil.
“This is really a sled available for President Trump to end this war,” said Graham.
Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blucenthal had also met Rutte today.
Blumenthal told him CBS news They would also discuss the legally spiny issue of unlocking frozen Russian assets in Europe and the United States for Ukraine access.
“The $ 5 billion that the United States can also be accessed, and I think it’s time to do it,” said Blumenthal.
Zelensky said that the proposed bill “is exactly the type of leverage that peace can bring and make sure that diplomacy is not empty.”
The Kremlin has previously said that sending weapons to Ukraine would only prolong the conflict.
Putin launched the large -scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has shown little appetite to finish the conflict despite Trump’s pressure.
During the summer, Russia has increased its offensive and advanced the front line, launching some of the missile missile attacks and planes of the war.
