Trump to send Ukraine weapons through NATO, threatens secondary tariffs on Russia
President Donald Trump is stepping up his support for Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing attacks and resistance to peace efforts after more than three years of war.
Trump announced July 14 that the United States is sending weapons to NATO, which plans to transfer the equipment to Ukraine, and also threatened steep tariffs aimed at impacting Russia's ability to finance the war.
Trump said that the United States would put secondary tariffs on countries that do business with Russia if a peace deal is not reached within 50 days.
“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days," Trump said.
The announcement marked a major shift by Trump to increase U.S. pressure on Moscow to make a quick deal. It came during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office.
Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine quickly, but has expressed increasing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a ceasefire proves elusive.
“I’m disappointed in President Putin because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn’t seem to get there," Trump said.
Trump said Putin is a "tough guy" who has "fooled a lot of people" over the years but "he didn't fool me." The president indicated he's weary of fruitless negotiations and said he wants "action."
"It's gotta be results," Trump said.
The new military aid for Ukraine is being financed by European nations. Trump has complained about the massive cost of supplying Ukraine with weapons and pushed Europe to shoulder more of the burden.
“We’re in for a lot of money, and we just, we don’t want to do anymore," Trump said July 14.
Rutte said Trump called him last week to relay his position on arming Ukraine. Trump told the NATO leader he wanted to ensure Ukraine can “defend itself against Russia, but you want Europeans to pay for it,” Rutte said.
Rutte said the deal is “really big,” and builds on the Trump administration’s efforts to push European countries to spend more on NATO.
“It will mean that Ukraine can get its hands on really massive numbers of military equipment,” Rutte said, describing it as “only the first wave, there will be more.”
Trump’s posture toward Ukraine has evolved since he took office. He criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a dramatic Oval Office clash in February and briefly paused military aid and intelligence sharing.
The Pentagon also halted some weapons shipments to Ukraine this month amid a review of U.S. military stockpiles. Trump reversed the decision last week and revealed his plan over the weekend to send Ukraine additional air defense systems.
Zelenskyy thanked Trump in a July 14 social media post for his "willingness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings and establish a lasting and just peace."
The Ukrainian leader said he spoke with Trump and they discussed how to "provide better protection for people from Russian attacks and to strengthen our positions."
Trump said the United States would be sending Patriot missiles and batteries to Ukraine that would arrive within days. Several countries that already have Patriots will transfer them to Ukraine and the United States will send those countries replacement weapons.
U.S. officials have been pushing for a ceasefire, which Ukraine agreed to in March. Russia has not signed onto the agreement, though, and Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Putin in recent weeks.