President Trump says Ukraine will need Patriot missiles for defense and criticizes Putin for not ending the fighting
US President Donald Trump on July 4 (local time) announced that Ukraine will need Patriot missiles to defend itself, after a phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky, and expressed disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin's failure to end the conflict.
Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had a “very good” call with Mr Zelensky, but repeated his view that he was “very unhappy” with his call a day earlier with Mr Putin over the Russian leader’s refusal to cooperate on a ceasefire deal.
Asked if the US would agree to provide Ukraine with more Patriot missiles as requested by Kiev, Mr Trump said: “They’re going to need them for defense… They’re going to need something because they’re being attacked very hard.” He praised the effectiveness of the Patriot system, calling it a “very great weapon”. Asked about the possibility of a ceasefire, Mr Trump said: “It’s a very difficult situation… I was very unhappy with the call with President Putin. He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people – that’s not good at all.” President Zelensky said he had agreed to work together to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to “protect the skies” amid Russia’s increased attacks. On Telegram, he said the two sides had discussed joint defence production, procurement and investment with the US. Ukraine has repeatedly called on Washington to sell more Patriot missiles and systems, seeing them as key to protecting cities from intense Russian air strikes.
The US decision to suspend some aid shipments has prompted Kiev to warn that the move will weaken its defenses against Russian air strikes and attacks. Germany said it was negotiating the purchase of additional Patriot systems to make up for the shortfall.
A source familiar with the Trump-Zelensky call told Reuters they were optimistic that supplies of Patriot missiles could resume soon, after what the source described as a “very good” conversation between the two presidents. Trump also said he had spoken to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about Ukraine’s Patriot missile proposal, but no final decision had been made.
According to Axios, citing informed sources, the call lasted about 40 minutes and President Trump told Mr. Zelensky that he would check to see if any weapons shipments scheduled to be sent to Ukraine were suspended.
In his nightly video message, Mr. Zelensky said the two sides had agreed to “arrange a meeting between the teams of the two sides to strengthen air defense. We discussed in great detail the joint production. We need it, the United States needs it.”
The conversation came a day after Mr Trump said he had a “disappointing” call with President Putin. Hours after that call, Russia launched its largest drone attack of the war on Kiev.
Mr. Zelensky called this attack “deliberate, large-scale and provocative." Ukraine previously received Patriot complexes and ammunition from the US under President Joe Biden.
Mr. Trump once criticized his predecessor Biden for providing weapons to Ukraine “without getting anything in return,” and since taking office, he has strongly adjusted relations with Kiev./.