Sawt Falasteen - Trump set to unveil Ukraine weapons plan at meeting with NATO chief

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's visit to the White House came on the day that Trump promised to deliver a "major statement" on Russia.

Trump launched a bid at rapprochement with Putin shortly after starting his second term in January as he sought to honor his election campaign promise to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours.

His pivot towards Putin sparked fears in Kyiv that he was about to sell out Ukraine, especially after Trump and his team berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in February.

But Trump has shown growing anger and frustration with Putin in recent weeks as the Russian leader, instead of halting his three-year invasion, instead stepped up attacks.

Last week, Trump had teased an announcement on Monday on Russia. He then announced on Sunday that he would send vital Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine to help it fend off escalating barrages of Russian attacks.

"Putin really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening," Trump said on Sunday. Last week he used an expletive when talking about the Kremlin chief.

- 'Productive' -

Washington has also U-turned from an announcement earlier this month that it would pause some arms deliveries to Kyiv.

Instead it announced a new deal which would involve NATO and the European Union paying the United States for some of the weapons it sends to Ukraine.

Rutte's visit to the White House is the first since the former Dutch prime minister described Trump as "daddy" at a NATO summit in The Hague in June.

Moscow has unleashed record waves of drone and missile strikes over the past few weeks, with the number of Ukrainian civilians killed or wounded in June hitting a three-year high, according to UN figures.

Trump's announcement on Monday came as his special envoy Keith Kellogg arrived in Kyiv to meet Zelensky.

Zelensky hailed the "productive meeting", saying they had discussed "strengthening Ukraine's air defense, joint production, and procurement of defence weapons in collaboration with Europe."

The Ukrainian leader also said he was "grateful to President Trump for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries," in an apparent reference to the pledge of new Patriots.

The deal for European and NATO allies to fund new weaponry for Ukraine has placated Trump, who has long complained about the United States funding Kyiv's fight against Moscow.

Trump has also hinted he might be ready to slap sanctions on Moscow as momentum grows for a deterrent package in Congress.

- 'Better late than never' -

A German government source said they expected Trump's announcement to include arming Ukraine.

"In concrete terms I think it means that from the US side, there will be approvals for the delivery of certain weapons," the source said.

"There is an expectation from the American side that there will be considerable financial contributions to this end from the European side."

One Ukrainian soldier deployed in the war-scarred east of the country, who identified himself by his call sign Grizzly, welcomed Trump's promise of fresh air defence systems.

"Better late than never," he told AFP.

"Because while we are here defending the front line, our families are unprotected. Thanks to the Patriots they are giving us, our families will be safer," the 29-year-old added.

Russian forces meanwhile said on Monday they had captured new territory in eastern Ukraine with the seizure of two villages, one in the Donetsk region and another in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Its forces also killed at least three civilians in the eastern Kharkiv and Sumy regions on Monday, regional Ukrainian officials announced.

In Kyiv, Zelensky also proposed a major political shake-up, recommending economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko take over as the country's new prime minister.

Svyrydenko said on social media that Ukraine was facing a "crucial time."

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A.AlHaj--SF-PST