The historic minerals agreement signed between Ukraine and Trump’s administration will help to advance the Biden-era initiative to send more air defense systems to Ukraine to fight Russia’s war.
Four sources have told The New York Times that Patriot air-defense systems in Israel are being refurbished and repurposed for Ukraine. The West allies also work on logistics to provide another Patriot air defense system to Germany or Greece.
James Hewitt, a spokesman for the National Security Council, told The Times that President Trump was clear in his desire to see the war in Ukraine end and to put an end to the violence. He declined to comment on specifics about the anonymous sources’ report.
As the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee under the Biden administration, Rubio was adamant about defending Ukraine from the Vladimir Putin-ordered Russian invasion.
The Times reported that a Biden administration official had told them the move to repurpose the Patriot air defense system from Israel to Ukraine had been planned since September, in the last months before Donald Trump’s November election. Trump has spoken repeatedly about reducing the massive financial support to Ukraine to achieve peace with Russia and Putin.
The Defense Department told the Times, “It continues to supply equipment to Ukraine beyond what was previously authorized.
Trump, after weeks of heated exchanges with Volodymyr Zelenskyy from Ukraine, has softened his criticisms against Russia and Putin, and hardened his criticisms towards Ukraine. The Times reported.
Trump also met Zelenskyy last weekend at the funeral of Pope Francis and signed this week a delayed minerals agreement. Trump supporters note that it provides de facto guarantees to Ukraine against any future Russian aggression on Ukrainian soil, where U.S. officials and contractors will be extracting rare-earth minerals.
Zelenskyy, a reporter in Kyiv on Saturday, said that the minerals deal had accelerated plans for Ukraine to have a bolstered defense system.
The embattled Ukrainian leader, who extended martial law in August and stopped democratic voting to Trump’s dismay, has repeatedly called for the Patriot air defense systems.
The system uses mobile launchers and power radars to intercept incoming missiles.
The Times reported that while Trump had urged an end to free foreign aid, Zelenskyy stated that buying air defenses is on the table.
We are prepared to buy the required number of Patriot Systems for our country.
Zelenskyy spoke in his nightly address. “This isn’t about charity.”
Trump acknowledged that Zelenskyy had asked for more Patriot missiles during the brief Pope Francis meeting.
Trump told reporters, “He told me that he needed more weapons.” “He has been saying this for three years.”
“Look, this man wants to do good for his country.”
Kateryna Stpanenko, an analyst at Washington, D.C.’s Institute for the Study of War, said that despite Trump’s call for a ceasefire, even if it is not a lasting one, between Ukraine & Russia, Putin has increased his missile attacks to wear Ukraine down amid the efforts toward peace, which might eventually force Ukraine to give up territory seized and occupied by Russia.
Stepanenko, a Times reporter, said, “Part of it is a political and psychological campaign the Kremlin has waged, where it tries to scare the Ukrainian people into accepting capitulation when the reality of the battlefield is far from Russia winning.”