Less than a week after pausing weapons shipments to Ukraine, US President Donald Trump said his administration would reverse course.
“They have to be able to defend themselves,” he said alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday evening, also expressing disappointment in Russian President Vladimir Putin for not moving to end the war.
Trump also told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he didn’t order a pause on weapons in a phone call last week, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The developments created a sense of whiplash in Ukraine, which had been caught off guard by the original pause on critical munitions, like Patriot interceptors. “At President Trump’s direction, the Department of Defense will send additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace,” the Pentagon said after Trump’s remarks.