Donald Trump has voiced his frustration with Vladimir Putin and promised to send 10 Patriot missiles to Ukraine, after announcing on Monday that US weapons deliveries would resume days after they were halted by the Pentagon, according to an official familiar with the matter.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump said he was getting increasingly frustrated with the Russian leader. “We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless,” he said.
Asked if he wanted to see further sanctions against Russia, Trump replied: “I’m looking at it.” On Monday he said he was “disappointed” with Russia’s president and would send “more weapons” to Ukraine.
“We’re gonna send some more weapons we have to them. They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now,” Trump said, alongside a US and Israeli delegation.
Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday they were grateful for the US president’s U-turn but described the number of Patriots being supplied to Kyiv as “minuscule”. Ukraine’s defence ministry said it was seeking to clarify the details.
In a statement, the ministry said it not received official notification of the change in policy and it was “critically important” for Ukraine to have “stability, continuity and predictability” in the provision of arms, especially air defence systems.
The statement added: “We are grateful to the United States for all its support and highly appreciate the efforts of American partners aimed at achieving genuine peace.”
The US news website Axios said Trump had agreed to immediately send 10 Patriot missiles – 20 fewer than the original total that was ready for delivery last week, in a shipment that was halted at the Poland-Ukraine border. He also promised to find additional supply channels, it said. An official later confirmed the report. Ukraine is believed to have eight Patriot batteries, costing more than $1bn each, which fire the interceptors.
Trump’s pledge came after a seven-hour Russian air raid on Thursday night on Kyiv, featuring more than 550 drones and ballistic missiles. Ukrainian officials were reluctant to discuss their own stocks but indicated that the 10 new Patriot interceptors would be enough only to neutralise one big night-time aerial onslaught.
Russia’s coordinated attack last week happened hours after Trump and Putin spoke by phone. On Monday Trump said the US would send “defensive weapons primarily”. “So many people are dying in that mess,” he said.
The US Department of Defense said “additional defensive weapons” would now be shipped to Ukraine “at President Trump’s direction”. The U-turn came after a telephone call on Friday between Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which Ukraine’s president hailed as their best conversation to date.
Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, last week stopped the delivery of air defence interceptors and other precision munitions, including a shipment that was sitting on the Poland-Ukraine border. He claimed the move was necessary because Pentagon stocks were running low.
The US has only about 25% of the Patriot missiles it needs for all of the Pentagon’s military plans after burning through stockpiles in the Middle East in recent months, sources told the Guardian. There were concerns that potential US operations could be jeopardised, they added.
The Guardian has reported the decision to pause aid was made by the deputy defence secretary, Stephen Feinberg. Hegseth then signed off on Feinberg’s determination. It provoked dismay in Kyiv and surprise from Democrats in Congress, who said there was no evidence US weapon stocks were in decline. Ukraine’s European allies were unhappy, too.
The military support was promised last year by the Biden administration and approved by Congress. It included 30 Patriot missiles, as well as 8,400 155mm artillery rounds, 142 Hellfire missiles and 252 guided multiple launch rocket system missiles.
Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s ministry for strategic industries, said he was thankful that Trump was “giving something”. “At this stage it isn’t about the quantities. It’s about the US’s willingness to continue to support Ukraine. The few days where there was a pause caused a nervous breakdown for many here in Kyiv.”
Sak conceded that the number of new US Patriots being supplied was “minuscule”. “Today it’s 10. Tomorrow maybe it’s 20. It’s a positive sign but is not enough for us to defend our cities,” he said.
Ukraine is running low on interceptors for its Patriot anti-aircraft systems, which play a crucial role in shooting down Russian ballistic rockets. Since January and Trump’s return to the White House, the Kremlin has escalated its bombardment of Ukrainian civilians.
On Sunday one person died and more than 60 were injured after a wave of Russian drones hit Kharkiv, the country’s second city, and Zaporizhzhia. Last week’s attack on Kyiv caused extensive damage, with debris falling on a school, setting fire to cars and damaging windows and balconies.
In recent months Zelenskyy has tried to fix his relations with Trump, after their disastrous meeting in late February in the White House, when the vice-president, JD Vance, accused Ukraine’s leader of ingratitude.
Zelenskyy has praised Trump’s leadership, agreed to a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and signed a deal giving American investors access to Ukraine’s valuable minerals. It is unclear if this is enough to reverse Trump’s apparent pivot towards Moscow. Putin, meanwhile, has refused a ceasefire and continues to insist on Kyiv’s capitulation.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday it would take time to “completely clarify” what weapons the US was sending to Kyiv. “There is a lot of contradictory information out there,” its spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said, accusing Europe of “pumping” Ukraine with weapons.
Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has offered to buy Patriot batteries from the US and send them to Ukraine. In a recent call, Trump told Merz that Germany should sell one of its own batteries instead, Axios reported, and suggested that the US and Europe could split the cost.
On Wednesday Zelenskyy is due to attend an international aid summit in Rome, convened to help Ukraine’s postwar recovery. His defence secretary, Rustem Umerov, will hold talks with Gen Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy, where the resumption of US deliveries is likely to be discussed.
In a video address Zelenskyy said his country was working to counter Russia’s relentless airstrikes. “Everything related to air defence is today our top priority – air defence systems, missiles for them, and drone-based air defence,” he said.
“Step by step, we are closing the funding gap for the production of drones and interceptor drones, and filling Ukrainian production lines with specific orders.”