Trump pledges Patriot missiles to Ukraine to defend against Russia

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the U.S. is sending Ukraine badly needed Patriot air defense missiles to help it fend off Russia’s intensifying aerial attacks.

Trump did not give a number of Patriots he plans to send to Kyiv but said the European Union was “going to pay us 100% for that, and that’s the way we want it.”

Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, arrived in Kyiv on Monday, a senior Ukrainian official said, as anticipation grew over possible changes in the Trump administration’s policies on the more than three-year war.

Trump last week teased that he would make a “major statement” on Russia on Monday. Trump made quickly stopping the war one of his diplomatic priorities, and he has increasingly expressed frustration about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unbudging stance.

Putin “talks nice and then he bombs everybody,” Trump said late Sunday after saying the U.S. would send missiles to Ukraine and the European Union would pay the cost of the weapons.

Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said when asked about Trump’s plan to send missiles to Ukraine through Europe, “the fact remains that the supplies of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment from the USA to Ukraine have continued and continue.”

There are “very positive signs” from Washington on the sale of Patriot air defence systems for Ukraine, a German defence ministry spokesperson told Reuters on Monday.

“Discussions are now being held on the modalities of implementation, i.e. how many systems there will be, who will take them over and how they will be financed,” the spokesperson said, referring to a visit by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to Washington.

A top ally of Trump, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said Sunday that the conflict is nearing an inflection point as Trump shows growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back against Russia’s full-scale invasion. It’s a cause that Trump had previously dismissed as being a waste of U.S. taxpayer money.

Also, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was due in Washington on Monday and Tuesday. He planned to hold talks with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as well as members of Congress.

Talks during Kellogg’s visit to Kyiv will cover “defense, strengthening security, weapons, sanctions, protection of our people and enhancing cooperation between Ukraine and the United States,” said the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andrii Yermak.

“Russia does not want a cease fire. Peace through strength is President Donald Trump’s principle, and we support this approach,” Yermak said.