The US president is due to meet NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte this week to discuss Ukraine among other issues, and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius is set to visit Washington for talks with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Berlin has offered to pay for Patriot systems for Ukraine, under a proposal made public by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and has emerged as an important player as European states in NATO move to build up their military strength under US pressure.
A German government official said Berlin was “cautiously optimistic” before Trump’s expected statement on Ukraine, with the expectation being that the US and European countries would cooperate on getting further air defence systems to Ukraine.
The possibility of Germany sending to Ukraine Patriot missile systems from its own stocks and buying replacements from the US is among the possible options, the officials added.
Russia, which began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, holds about one-fifth of Ukraine. Its forces are slowly advancing in eastern Ukraine and Moscow shows no sign of abandoning its main war goals.
Putin told Trump by phone on Jul 3 that Moscow wants a negotiated end to the war but will not step back from its original goals, a Kremlin aide said.
A year ago, Putin was ready to halt the war with a negotiated ceasefire recognising existing battlefield lines, Reuters reported at the time. But at talks last month, Russia set out punitive terms for peace, demanding Kyiv give up big new chunks of territory and accept limits on the size of its army.
