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Kyiv hails US weapons deal as Moscow dismisses Trump’s sanctions threat

US president says he will send Ukraine Patriot anti-aircraft batteries and interceptor missiles paid for by EU allies

Trump confirms Ukraine weapons deal and threatens Russia with severe tariffs – video

Politicians in Kyiv have welcomed Donald Trump’s announcement that billions of dollars worth of US military equipment will be sent to Ukraine, while officials in Moscow officials dismissed his threat of sanctions against Russia as hot air.

In a meeting with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, at the White House, Trump said the US would send Patriot anti-aircraft batteries and interceptor missiles, paid for by European allies.

He promised that additional Patriot systems would arrive within days, funded by Germany and other Nato partners, which would be a significant step in helping Ukraine to defend itself. Kyiv is believed to have only six functioning Patriot batteries.

Andrii Kovalenko, a member of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, summed up the positive response from Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government. In a one-word reaction, he wrote: “Cool”.

Others acknowledged that Ukraine’s relations with Washington had signally improved since Zelenskyy’s disastrous meeting with Trump in the Oval Office in February.

But there was also scepticism that the new package - coupled with the threat of sanctions on the Russian economy in 50 days’ time - would be enough to persuade Moscow to stop fighting. One former Ukrainian military officer said it was unlikely to make a meaningful impression on the Kremlin, or act as a strong deterrent.

The independent MP Mariana Bezuhla- a prominent critic of Zelenskyy and his top military team - dismissed the announcement as an empty “game”. “Trump gave Putin another 50 days to seize Ukraine,” she posted on social media.

Referring to cities in the east of the country, where Russian troops are advancing, she said: “Well, then, let’s see, carte blanche, so to speak. To the Dnipro or Kramatorsk - everything is so appetising.”

Russian officials and pro-war bloggers largely dismissed Trump’s threats, portraying them as far less serious than anticipated.

Konstantin Kosachev, a senior Russian lawmaker, wrote on Telegram that the US president’s ultimatum amounted to “hot air”, suggesting he could easily walk it back. “A lot can change in 50 days - on the battlefield and in the mindset of those in power, both in the US and in Nato,” he wrote.

Yuri Podolyaka, a popular pro-Kremlin military blogger, similarly wrote on Telegram that Trump “could change his ‘opinion’ several times in the next 50 days”.

Podolyaka and other commentators pointed to the main Moscow stock index, which gained more than 2.5% after Trump’s announcement.

The shift in tone stood in stark contrast to the earlier anxiety in Moscow, where state media had speculated that Trump might announce the delivery of long-range missiles capable of reaching the Russian capital.

Some voices in Moscow, however, lamented that Trump’s once-positive relationship with Putin may have fundamentally shifted. “A new reality on Ukraine began today with Trump’s statement,” said Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin commentator.

“As of today, he’s pressuring only Russia and supporting Ukraine,” he wrote on Telegram.

In Ukraine, there was frustration that it had taken the Trump administration nearly six months to agree to send substantial military support, at a time when Ukrainian cities were under heavy fire. Russia pounded Kyiv in a seven-hour attack last week, killing two people, and dispatched a record 741 drones and ballistic missiles across the country.

The journalist and blogger Illia Ponomarenko suggested Trump had allowed himself to be deceived in his dealings with Putin.

“How many Ukrainian lives could have been saved if, from the very beginning, Trump had listened to wise and honest people about helping Ukraine, instead of the artful lies of that cannibal Putin on the phone?” he wrote. Rather, Trump had believed he could ‘“achieve peace’ by indulging and encouraging the aggressor’s appetite”, he said.

Author: Luke Harding in Kyiv and Pjotr Sauer

Source: The Guardian

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