U.S. to send weapons to Ukraine, threatens sanctions on Russia

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States will send weapons to Ukraine through NATO, and threatened "severe tariffs" targeting Russia if a ceasefire deal is not reached in 50 days.

Sitting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he was disappointed in Russian President Vladimir Putin and that billions of dollars of U.S. weapons would go to Ukraine.

Trump said the weapons would include Patriot air defence missiles Ukraine has urgently sought, and some Patriot systems will arrive in Ukraine within days.

Rutte said Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Canada all wanted to be a part of rearming Ukraine.

Trump's threat to impose sanctions on Russia, if carried out, would be a major shift in Western sanctions policy. Lawmakers from both U.S. political parties are pushing for a bill that would authorize such measures, targeting other countries that buy Russian oil.

"We're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days," Trump said of Russia. He also noted there would be "secondary tariffs" of about 100 percent.

A White House official explained that Trump was referring to 100 percent tariffs on Russian goods as well as secondary sanctions on other countries that buy its exports. 

Eighty-five of the 100 U.S. senators are co-sponsoring a bill that would give Trump the authority to impose 500 percent tariffs on any country that buy Russia goods, but the chamber's Republican leaders have been waiting for Trump to give them the go-ahead for a vote.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram he had spoken to Trump and "thanked him for his readiness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings and establish a lasting and just peace."

Trump's frustration with Putin

Trump said his shift was motivated by frustration with Putin. Since returning to the White House promising a quick end to the conflict, Trump has talked with Putin several times, but failed to reach a ceasefire agreement. In recent days, Russia intensified its drone attacks on Ukrainian cities.

"We actually had probably four times a deal. And then the deal wouldn't happen because bombs would be thrown out that night and you'd say we're not making any deals," Trump said.

Asked about Trump's Monday announcement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said an immediate ceasefire was needed to pave the way for a political solution and "whatever can contribute to these objectives will, of course, be important if it is done in line with international law."

Evelyn Farkas, a former senior Pentagon official who is now executive director of the McCain Institute, said Trump's moves could eventually turn the tide of the conflict if Trump ratchets up enforcement of current sanctions, adds new ones and provides new equipment quickly.

"If Putin's ministers and generals can be convinced that the war is not winnable they may be willing to push Putin to negotiate, if nothing else but to buy time," said Farkas.

However, Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of the Defense Committee of the Russian State Duma said on Monday that the resumption of the U.S. missile supply to Ukraine would not change the situation on the front line.

He said that Ukraine once had a sufficient number of long-range strike weapons, but it did not prevent Russia from carrying out special military operations.

Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, told China Media Group that the adjustment of U.S. policy is unlikely to ease the situation. Instead, it will make the conflict even more intense and unpredictable. With increasing U.S. and EU military aid to Ukraine, Li said the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will become increasingly difficult to resolve and will likely continue to escalate.

"This will not only hinder any prospects for negotiation between Russia and Ukraine, but it will place Europe in a precarious position, balancing between heightened confrontation and the risk of a new conflict," said Li.

(With input from agencies)