US President Donald Trump said the United States would try to get Ukraine some more air defense systems to protect against deadly Russian attacks but would not commit to approving more aid for the embattled nation.
Trump also seemed to pin most of the blame for the failure of peace negotiations on Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him "misguided," another sign of his growing frustration with the Kremlin leader.
Ukraine has been pleading with the West for more air defense systems as Russia steps up its missile and drone attacks, including on civilian infrastructure, leading to the deaths of dozens of noncombatants.
The United States and allies have delivered several Patriot anti-missile systems to Ukraine to protect their main cities but Russia has been overwhelming the country’s air defense with attacks that include hundreds of missiles and drones.
“We're going to see if we can make some [Patriots] available,” Trump said on June 24 when asked by a reporter if he would sell air defense systems to Ukraine. “They're very hard to get. We need them too. We were supplying them to Israel.”
However, Trump was less categorical when asked about further US military aid for Ukraine.
“We'll see what happens,” Trump said when asked about American defense assistance for Ukraine, which is expected to run out in the coming months. Trump’s Republican party is deeply divided on the issue with its isolationist wing strongly against aid for Ukraine.
Trump criticized the amount of US military aid sent to Ukraine during the 2024 presidential campaign but did not exclude the possibility of selling weapons to the country.
Former US President Joe Biden approved $175 billion in military, financial, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in February 2022. The aid was critical in helping Ukraine stop Russian forces. Trump has yet to approve any aid since taking power in January.
'A Monumental Win'
Trump was speaking to reporters in the Netherlands following the conclusion of the annual NATO summit where allies agreed at the behest of Washington to boost defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product by 2035, more than double the current 2 percent target.
Trump has for years criticized NATO allies for not spending enough on their own defense, even threatening to pull out of the alliance or not defend those nations that don’t meet spending targets. The fear of losing US military support at a time when Russia is rearming has forced allies to concede to higher spending targets.
Trump called the summit outcome "a monumental win for the United States” and “a big win for Western civilization.”
The US president said NATO members are now set to boost defense spending by $1 trillion by 2035 under the agreement.
When asked about whether he supports Article 5 of the NATO charter, which states that allies will defend any member that is attacked, Trump said the spending boost changed his opinion of the alliance.
“I left here differently. I left here saying that these people really love their countries. It's not a rip off, and we're here to help them protect their country,” he said.
Ukraine War
Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the summit on June 25. Trump, who has had a contentious relationship with the Ukrainian leader over the years, called the meeting “good.”
Zelenskyy was expected the raise the question of Patriot sales to Ukraine as well as greater US sanctions on Russia. Zelenskyy described the meeting as "long and meaningful."
John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the outcome of the meeting appeared to be good for Ukraine even if it did not result in any tangible benefits like aid and sanctions.
Zelenskyy seems to be “staying in Trump's good graces,” Hardie said. In February, Trump kicked Zelenskyy out of the Oval Office following a heated argument over the war, raising concern about a rupture in US-Ukraine relations.
Trump has made ending the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year, a top foreign policy priority since taking office five months ago. He has dispatched his special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow on at least three occasions to meet with Putin.
However, the Kremlin leader has so far refused to agree to Trump’s proposed 30-day cease-fire.
“Vladimir Putin has been more difficult,” Trump said, adding that he has also had “some problems” with Zelenskyy.
“I consider [Putin] a person that has, I think, been misguided. I'm very surprised. Actually, I thought we would have had that [war] settled easy,” Trump said.
Hardie said that Trump appears to be taking his foot off the Ukraine peace talks pedal as he makes little progress on ending the conflict.
"I don't think President Trump is paying a ton of attention to Ukraine right now. Even before the Iran-Israel crisis, he seemed to kind of take a step back," he said.
Nonetheless, the US president said he would be holding another call with Putin soon and urged the Russian leader to end the fighting.
“Vladimir Putin really has to end that war," Trump said "People are dying at levels that people haven't seen before for a long time.”
Hardie said sanctions and greater aid to Ukraine would push Putin to the negotiating table but said Trump just isn't ready to take those steps.
"I just don't think he really wants to go that route. He's had plenty of opportunities and plenty of evidence on the ground of what Russia is doing to potentially convince him otherwise," he said.
