'They have to be able to defend themselves' — Trump confirms additional weapons shipments to Ukraine, criticizes Putin
The United States will send “more weapons” to Ukraine amid intensified Russian strikes, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on July 7, adding that he is disappointed in Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We’re gonna send some more weapons we have to them, they have to be able to defend themselves, they’re getting hit very hard now,” Trump said alongside U.S. and Israeli delegations at the White House.
The U.S. halted weapons shipments to Ukraine amid a capability review, the White House and Pentagon previously said, with Trump later denying the pause.
Trump previously said he was disappointed in Putin for not making progress to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, following a phone call between the two leaders on July 3.
On July 7, Trump again said he was unhappy with Putin for failing to cooperate with U.S. efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
“It’s a horrible thing, and I’m not happy with President Putin at all,” Trump said. “I’m disappointed frankly that President Putin hasn’t stopped."
He noted that the additional assistance the U.S. will supply to Ukraine will mainly consist of defense weapons amid increased Russian attacks.
“They’re getting hit very hard. We’re gonna have to send more weapons, your defensive weapons primarily, but they’re getting hit very, very hard. So many people are dying in that mess,” Trump said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously said he and Trump discussed supplying Ukraine with additional Patriot missile systems following a phone call between the two on July 4.
Zelensky described his recent phone call with Trump as “the best conversation in all this time” in an evening address on July 5.
"Patriot (missiles) are key to protection from ballistic (missiles). We discussed several other important issues that our teams will work out in detail at meetings in the near future,” he said.
Trump described his July 3 conversation with Putin as disappointing, saying that the call “didn’t make any progress” in stopping Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin,” Trump told journalists. “Because I don’t think he’s there. And I’m very disappointed. I don’t think he’s looking to stop this fighting."
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed on July 2 that some military assistance to Ukraine has been halted as the U.S. Defense Department conducts a review of foreign aid deliveries.
“This capability review… is being conducted to ensure U.S. military aid aligns with our defense priorities… We see this as a common-sense, pragmatic step towards having a framework to evaluate what munitions are sent and where,” Parnell said.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk