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President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will send weapons, including Patriot air defense systems, to Ukraine through NATO. Speaking to NBC News, Trump said that under a new arrangement, "we're going to be sending Patriots to Nato, and then Nato will distribute that," with NATO covering the costs. The announcement follows a "positive dialogue" between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on timely arms deliveries, particularly air defense systems.
Zelensky said he had asked for 10 Patriot systems, after a surge in Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in the past week.
Speaking in Rome on Thursday, the Ukrainian leader said Germany was ready to pay for two of the Patriots and Norway for one, while other European partners were also prepared to help.
After a phone-call with Russia's Vladimir Putin last week, Trump said he was "not happy" that progress had not been made towards ending the war, and he has since complained that Putin's "very nice" attitude turned out to be meaningless.
During his interview with NBC News, Trump said he would make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday, but did not say what it would be about.
He said "Nato is going to reimburse the full cost" for the weapons sent to Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Friday that he had urged countries including Germany and Spain to hand over some of their existing Patriot batteries, as they could reach Ukraine faster.
The US defence department halted some shipments of critical weapons last week, raising concerns in Kyiv that its air defences could run low in a matter of months.
Among the armaments reported to have been placed on pause were Patriot interceptor missiles and precision artillery shells.
Then, as Ukraine was pounded by record numbers of drone attacks this week, Trump said more weapons would be sent.
On Tuesday night, Ukraine was hit by a record 728 drones, and the Ukrainian president warned that Russia wanted to increase that to 1,000.
June saw the highest monthly civilian casualties in Ukraine in three years, with 232 people killed and more than 1,300 injured, according to the UN.
The New York Times, quoting unnamed US officials, says a Patriot battery formerly based in Israel will be sent to Ukraine after refurbishment in the US.
