President Trump said that he had little choice after Moscow’s recent attack on Ukrainian cities and declared on Monday that the US would provide Ukraine with additional weapons to assist it repel Russia’s invasion.
After his government halted certain arms deliveries to the nation just last week, sparking concerns that the United States was cutting back on its backing, Mr. Trump’s remarks seemed to indicate a reversal by the president. Rather, Mr. Trump stated on Monday that he had become dissatisfied with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, who has thwarted his attempts to mediate a cease-fire.
At the White House, Mr. Trump said reporters, “We’re going to send some more weapons.” We must. They must be capable of self-defense. They are being severely impacted. They are now being severely beaten. They’re being hit really hard, but we’re going to have to send more weaponry, mostly defensive weapons. That crap is killing so many people.
Those remarks were a dramatic change for Mr. Trump, who has frequently voiced doubts about U.S. assistance to Ukraine and, only months ago, humiliated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House by accusing him of not being appreciative enough of America’s assistance.
Citing Pentagon worries that U.S. weapons inventories were running low, the White House admitted last week that the administration had put a hold on sending some air defense interceptors, precision-guided bombs, and missiles to Ukraine. A White House spokesperson at the time characterized the decision as an evaluation of weapons supplied worldwide.
Around the time the United States carried out surgical bombing raids on three Iranian nuclear weapons sites, Mr. Trump ordered the Pentagon to examine available munitions stocks, according to two people briefed on the halt who were not permitted to speak publicly about the issue. According to a person briefed on the situation, at least part of the munitions that were supposed to be transferred to Ukraine were stopped after someone at the Pentagon classified them into several categories.
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