Ukraine: Trump announces new military aid to Kyiv

White House Considering More Patriot Systems for Ukraine as Trump Reverses Military Aid Freeze

The White House is weighing the delivery of an additional Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine. After previously halting U.S. military aid, President Donald Trump has now reversed course, saying weapons will again flow to Kyiv because “they need to defend themselves.” This marks a clear shift in Trump’s stance toward Vladimir Putin. “Putin talks a lot of crap — he's killing too many people,” Trump said, in a sharp rebuke of the Russian leader, who now faces the threat of new sanctions from Washington.

Despite the announcement, uncertainty remains within President Volodymyr Zelensky’s team regarding the actual scale of U.S. support. Pentagon stocks of Patriot systems are reportedly very limited. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. administration is also exploring whether allied countries might contribute Patriots to Ukraine. Currently, the U.S. retains only 25% of its Patriots for all military needs, making it unclear how many can be sent to Kyiv.

According to Axios, Trump has pledged to deliver 10 interceptors immediately and has started discussions with Germany, which is considering buying more Patriots from Washington. Originally, Ukraine was scheduled to receive 30 units.

In a recent phone call with Zelensky, Trump partially reassured the Ukrainian leader, stating that the decision to suspend aid was not his. According to CNN, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the halt last week—part of a reassessment of stockpiles following strikes on Iranian nuclear sites—without first informing the White House.

“We will send more weapons. We have to. They must be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard,” Trump told reporters. Speaking directly about Putin, he added: “I’m not happy. I’m disappointed, frankly, that he hasn’t stopped.” Trump also used the blunt term “crap” in reference to Putin’s statements during their recent calls, accusing Moscow of having no real intention to negotiate peace, as evidenced by the ongoing bombings and intensified ground assaults across Ukraine.

In Moscow, news of renewed U.S. arms shipments was met with disapproval. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the move inconsistent with efforts for a peaceful solution, arguing it only fuels further conflict. However, he stopped short of directly criticizing Trump, acknowledging his “efforts to start direct talks between Russia and Ukraine.” Moscow maintains that Europe is largely responsible for the continued arming of Kyiv.