BRUSSELS: The United States is moving quickly to deliver weapons to Ukraine under President Donald Trump’s new plan for European NATO members to buy and supply arms, and is considering drawing Patriot air defence systems from its own stockpiles, Washington’s envoy to NATO said on Thursday (Jul 17).
Trump announced on Monday a deal with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte that would see European allies purchase US-made weapons, particularly advanced Patriot missile systems, and send them to Kyiv.
The announcement signals a shift for Trump, whose frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin has grown after repeated failures to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine.
“We are all moving with haste to facilitate this and get this done, and I think things are actually moving very quickly,” US ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker told journalists.
“But I cannot verify a date that this will all be completed.”
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES STEP UP
Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden have all expressed readiness to procure and transfer the weaponry to Ukraine.
However, questions remain over where the Patriot systems will come from and how soon they can be delivered, especially as Ukraine endures intensifying Russian missile strikes.
NATO’s supreme commander in Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, said preparations were already under way to deliver the first Patriot systems under the new arrangement.
“We’re already in the preparation phase for the first tranche of capability to start moving with respect to Patriots,” Grynkewich said at a defence conference in Germany.
Whitaker confirmed that discussions were ongoing about whether the United States might supply Patriots from its own military stock.
“We are never going to put the United States at a strategic disadvantage, and we are going to make sure that we have everything we need,” he said.
“At the same time, I think we all acknowledge the desperate requirements that Ukraine currently, immediately needs on the battlefield and to protect their cities.”
