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Donald Trump says the United States will supply weapons to Ukraine via NATO and he will make a “major statement” on Russia next week.
“I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday,” Trump told US television network NBC News on Thursday, declining to elaborate.
Trump also told NBC News about what he called a new deal between the US, NATO allies and Ukraine over weapons shipment from the United States.
“We’re sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons, 100 per cent. So what we’re doing is the weapons that are going out are going to NATO, and then NATO is going to be giving those weapons (to Ukraine), and NATO is paying for those weapons,” Trump said.
“We send weapons to NATO, and NATO is going to reimburse the full cost of those weapons.”
For the first time since returning to office, Trump will send weapons to Ukraine under a presidential power frequently used by his predecessor Joe Biden, two sources familiar with the decision said on Thursday.
Trump’s team will identify arms from US stockpiles to send to Ukraine under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the president to draw from weapons stocks to help allies in an emergency, the sources said, with one saying they could be worth around $US300 million ($457 million).
Trump said on Tuesday the US would send more weapons to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against intensifying Russian advances.
The package could include defensive Patriot missiles and offensive medium-range rockets, but a decision on the exact equipment has not been made, the sources said.
The Trump administration has so far only sent weapons authorised by Biden, who was a staunch supporter of Ukraine. The Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump had pledged to swiftly end the war but months into his presidency, little progress has been made.
The Republican president has sometimes criticised US spending on Ukraine’s defence, spoken favourably of Russia and publicly clashed with Ukraine’s leader. However, sometimes he has also voiced support for Kyiv and expressed disappointment in the leadership of Russia.
Russia unleashed heavy airstrikes on Ukraine on Thursday before a conference in Rome at which Kyiv won billions of dollars in aid pledges, and US-Russian talks at which Washington voiced frustration with Moscow over the war.
Addressing the Rome conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction after more than three years of war, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged allies to “more actively” use Russian assets for rebuilding and called for weapons, joint defence production and investment.
Participants pledged over €10 billion ($18 billion) to help rebuild Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said. The European Commission, the EU’s executive, announced €2.3 billion ($4.1 billion) in support.
At talks with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov while in Malaysia, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said he had reinforced the message that Moscow should show more flexibility.
“We need to see a roadmap moving forward about how this conflict can conclude,” Rubio said, adding that the Trump administration had been engaging with the US Senate on what new sanctions on Russia might look like.
“It was a frank conversation. It was an important one,” Rubio said after the 50-minute talks in Kuala Lumpur. Moscow’s foreign ministry said they had shared “a substantive and frank exchange of views”.
Zelenskyy said Thursday’s assault by Russia had involved around 400 drones and 18 missiles, primarily targeting the capital.
