US President Donald Trump appears to be planning to deliver weapons to Ukraine by selling them to their Nato allies first, marking a major policy shift for his administration. The recent development comes amid growing frustrations with Vladimir Putin over stalling negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, reports the Guardian.
In an interview with NBC News, which aired on Thursday evening, Trump said, "I think I'll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday."
"I'm disappointed in Russia, but we'll see what happens over the next couple of weeks," he added.
Previously, the US temporarily paused weapons shipments to Ukraine in response to a Pentagon review of dwindling stockpiles of crucial munitions, including Patriot air defence missiles.
Reversing a previous policy of reducing support to the Ukrainian government to force Kyiv to sue for peace, Trump has now suggested he is ready to grant a pass to a major military aid package for Ukraine via NATO,
During the interview, Trump laid out a plan by which the US could sell weapons to NATO, and then they could be sent on to Ukraine. Trump has not previously approved packages of military aid to Ukraine.
"So what we're doing is the weapons that are going out are going to Nato, and then Nato is going to be giving those weapons [to Ukraine], and Nato is paying for those weapons," Trump said, probably indicating that they would be purchased by countries that are members of the Nato security bloc.
Administration officials have said this would be different from the US supplying Ukraine directly, as NATO and not Washington would be deciding to arm Kyiv.
During the interview, Trump also endorsed the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, a bill introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally seen as a leader of Russia hawks in the legislature.
Graham has said that the bill would impose "bone-breaking sanctions" on Putin and a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil and other goods, potentially targeting China and India.
On Wednesday night, Russia launched almost 400 Shahed drones and decoys, as well as ballistic and cruise missiles, in strikes against Kyiv that killed two and caused fires across the Ukrainian capital.
Trump has said in the past that he admires Putin, but he increasingly has vented frustration over the lack of progress in peace talks and the continued airstrikes against Ukrainian cities.
"We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth," Trump said during a cabinet meeting this week. "He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."
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