President Trump vowed Monday to supply Ukraine with “defensive weapons” — days after the US paused shipments of certain military firepower to the war-torn nation.
“We’re going to send some more weapons. We have to,” Trump told reporters at the White House, ahead of a private dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“They have to be able to defend themselves,” the president said of Ukraine, which has been grappling with an onslaught of Russian drone attacks in recent days targeting the capital city, Kyiv, and its civilian population.
“We have to,” Trump told reporters about additional weapons deliveries for Ukraine. “They have to be able to defend themselves.” Getty Images“They’re getting hit very hard now,” Trump continued. “They’re getting hit very hard. We’re going to have to send more weapons.”
“Defensive weapons, primarily,” the commander-in-chief noted. “But they’re getting hit very, very hard.
“So many people are dying in that mess.”
The president told his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a Friday phone call that he did not order the Pentagon to stop the weapons delivery, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday — nearly a week after it halted the delivery of some air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons bound for Ukraine over concerns that US stockpiles were dropping too low.
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Patriot air defense systems, 155mm artillery rounds, Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, Stingers, AIM-7 and Hellfire missiles were among the munitions held back after a Pentagon assessment.
Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least 11 civilians and injured more than 80 others, including seven children, officials said Monday. AFP via Getty Images
Russia fired more than 100 drones at civilian areas of Ukraine overnight, authorities said. POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesAfter more than three years of war — the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II — Russian airstrikes on civilian parts of Ukraine have intensified in recent days.
Trump’s pledge comes as Russian attacks on Ukraine on Monday killed at least 11 civilians and injured more than 80 others, including seven children, according to Ukrainian officials.
The attacks saw more than 100 Russian drones targeting civilian areas of Ukraine overnight.
Russia’s bigger army is also trying hard to break through at some points along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. Getty Images
Zelensky said Saturday that Ukraine had signed deals with European allies and a leading US defense company to step up drone production. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP via Getty ImagesZelensky on Monday said Russia has launched about 1,270 drones, 39 missiles and nearly 1,000 glide bombs at Ukraine in the past week.
“Air defense is the main thing for protecting life,” Zelensky argued in a Telegram post Monday, which came after he secured deals with a leading US defense company and European allies aimed at boosting drone production, including interceptor drones that can stop Russia’s long-range Shahed drones.
The weapons held back by the Trump administration are fired from the ground and in the air, via F-16 fighter jets, and can be used to thwart Russian drone attacks.
Extensive use of drones has also helped Ukraine compensate for its troop shortages on the front line. AFP via Getty Images“I’m disappointed, frankly, that President [Vladimir] Putin hasn’t stopped,” Trump said. “I’m not happy about it.”
“I’m not happy with President Putin at all,” he said at another point in his 30-minute chat with reporters ahead of dinner with Netanyahu. ”But this is something that would have never happened if I were president.”
With Post wires
