Donald Trump has agreed to send «top of the line weapons» to NATO to support Ukraine – and threatened Russia with «severe» tariffs if it doesn’t agree to end the war.
Speaking with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte during a meeting at the White House, the US president said: «We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them.
«This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment which is going to be purchased from the United States,» he added, «going to NATO, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.»
Follow the latest here
Weapons being sent include surface-to-air Patriot missile systems and batteries, which Ukraine has asked for to defend itself from Russian air strikes.
Mr Trump also said he was «very unhappy» with Russia, and threatened «severe tariffs» of «about 100%» if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.
The White House added that the US would put «secondary sanctions» on countries that buy oil from Russia if an agreement was not reached.
It comes after weeks of frustration from Mr Trump against Vladimir Putin’s refusal to agree to an end to the conflict, with the Russian leader telling the US president he would «not back down» from Moscow’s goals in Ukraine at the start of the month.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump says Putin ‘talks nice and then bombs everybody’
During the briefing, Mr Trump said he had held recent calls with Putin where afterwards he would say «that was a nice phone call» but then «missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and that happens three or four times».
Earlier this year, the US president told Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy «you’re gambling with World War Three» in a fiery White House meeting, and suggested Ukraine started the war against Russia as he sought to negotiate an end to the conflict.
Ahead of Mr Trump’s briefing, pro-Kremlin analyst Sergey Markov said on Telegram: «Moscow is prepared for Trump to turn from attempts at a peaceful settlement in Ukraine to supporting the war in Ukraine.»
He also attacked Trump, claiming he was weak and that he was moving away from his campaign promises, citing the strikes on Iran last month.
Read more:
Trump announces 30% tariff on EU imports
Trump threatens to revoke US comedian’s citizenship
Two women killed after shooting at US church
Follow The World
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Tap to follow
Meanwhile, Mr Zelenskyy met with US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv where they «discussed the path to peace» by «strengthening Ukraine’s air defence, joint production, and procurement of defence weapons in collaboration with Europe».
He thanked both the envoy for the visit and Mr Trump «for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries».