Trump claims that after a pause last week, the US will begin delivering weapons to Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Kyiv— Reversing a decision a week ago to halt air defense shipments already on their way to the Ukrainian military, the Pentagon announced Monday that it will deliver more defensive weapons to Ukraine at President Trump’s request.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the weaponry will “ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure that the killing stops.” Trump told reporters that Ukrainians need to be able to protect themselves from increasing Russian aggression while he was at the White House with a group from the United States and Israel. “They’re getting hit very hard now,” Trump stated, expressing his dissatisfaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin once more.

 

The Kremlin unleashed what the Ukrainian military called the biggest attacks on Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 following Trump’s phone conversation with Putin on July 3. The Ukrainian air force claimed to have captured a record 11 missiles and over 539 drones.

It’s evident that Russia is not responding to Trump and Ukraine’s requests for a ceasefire, Hanna Shelest, director of security studies at the Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council, said NPR. “I don’t see anyone except Russia who is winning,” she stated. “Russia is dragging out negotiations so the U.S. won’t introduce new sanctions against them but all signs show that they’re not serious about ending the war.” If Russia doesn’t agree to end the war, Trump has threatened sanctions against it on numerous occasions. A plan presented by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., would impose 500% taxes on nations that purchase Russian oil, including China and India, the two most populous countries in the world.

Ukraine depends on western partners for air defense systems and ammunition, such as the U.S.-designed Patriot missile system, to defend Ukrainian cities as Russian raids increase. The Pentagon’s sudden decision to halt shipments of Patriot missiles, Hellfire missiles, and Howitzer rounds last week caught Ukraine’s defense and foreign ministries off guard. Shelest finds the Pentagon’s argument that it stopped shipments because of worries that stockpiles were running low puzzling. “It would mean quite a negative for the U.S. reputation in the world because of what it says about U.S. capabilities,” she stated. “So they’re sending the signal (of) how weak they are.”

 

In a phone discussion with Trump on July 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy raised the urgent need for air defense, which Zelenskyy later called “the best conversation in all this time, extremely productive.” During his Saturday weekly video address, Zelenskyy stated, “We discussed air defense issues, and I am grateful for the willingness to help,”

Zelenskyy added that Ukraine had signed agreements on collaborative drone production with an American defense company and its Western partners, which might deliver hundreds of thousands of drones to Ukraine as early as this year.

• “Interceptor drones are obviously our top priority,” Zelenskyy stated. Russia may soon launch 1,000 attack drones a day, according to Ukrainian military intelligence, Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, wrote on social media. “That’s the trajectory,” claimed Phillips O’Brien, a strategic studies professor at Scotland’s University of St. Andrews. “As long as Putin believes the war is trending in his direction, and Trump seems uninclined to put any pressure on him, then I think Putin will keep fighting,” he stated.