President Trump said Sunday the U.S. will send Patriot air-defense systems to Ukraine that will be paid for by the European Union, and he again criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A Patriot air-defense system in Ukraine last year.
“It’ll be business for us, and we will send them Patriots, which they desperately need, because Putin really surprised a lot of people,” Trump said. “He talks nice, and then he bombs everybody in the evening,” he added on his way back to the White House from New Jersey. “There’s a little bit of a problem there, and I don’t like it.”
Trump said he hadn’t decided how many Patriot air-defense systems he will send. He is expected to meet with North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House Monday morning.
Trump said that the EU will pay for the weapons but didn’t provide any details.
Trump has indicated he will have a “major announcement” related to Russia on Monday.
The president had been considering sending more Patriots, The Wall Street Journal reported last week. Sending more Patriots would be a significant step for the White House, marking the first time the president has approved providing a major weapons system to Kyiv beyond the number authorized by the previous administration.
Ukraine currently has only a handful of Patriot systems, donated by the U.S. and other countries, and has been seeking more to fend off escalating Russian attacks. Each Patriot consists of multiple launchers, a radar, a command and control element and interceptor missiles.
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