President Trump said Wednesday that he was weighing sending additional Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine amid intensifying Russian attacks. But it was not immediately clear whether Mr. Trump was considering donating the Patriots to Ukraine — as his predecessor, former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and several European allies have done — or selling them to Kyiv.
“We’re going to see if we can make some available,” Mr. Trump said during a news conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, where he held a nearly hourlong meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. But Mr. Trump cautioned that the systems, which Mr. Zelensky proposed buying directly in April, were “very hard to get” and in limited supply, especially with the United States already providing some to Israel.
Mr. Zelensky said in a statement that his meeting with Mr. Trump had been “meaningful” and that the pair had discussed the prospects for a cease-fire. But neither he nor the White House offered details about how the meeting unfolded or whether it would lead additional American support.
Mr. Zelensky has a complicated relationship with Mr. Trump, marked by meetings that have at times been tense and fraught, and at other times more substantive.
His visit to the White House in February, where he was supposed to sign a landmark bilateral minerals deal, quickly unraveled as the two leaders publicly argued in the Oval Office.
It took two more months for them to sit down together again, on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral in late April. That meeting helped defuse tensions between Kyiv and Washington and finalize the minerals deal.
They were scheduled to meet again last week at the Group of 7 summit in Canada. But Mr. Trump ultimately skipped the meeting, citing a need to return to Washington to handle the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. The United States subsequently carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, and Israel and Iran soon after reached a cease-fire mediated by the United States.
The canceled G7 meeting and Mr. Trump’s comments about the limited supply of Patriots encapsulated the difficult position Ukraine faces as the Trump administration shifts its attention to the Middle East, which could leave Kyiv without the diplomatic leverage and military support it needs to end the war.
Mr. Zelensky attended the NATO summit aiming to keep Ukraine at the top of his allies’ agenda. But at a closing news conference on Wednesday, Mr. Trump devoted significantly more time to commenting on U.S. strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities than on the war in Ukraine.
Apart from the announcement about potential Patriot deliveries, Mr. Trump only repeated his desire to see the war end. He also acknowledged it was “possible” that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia harbors territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine, though he provided no further details.
Mr. Trump’s comment on the Patriots could pave the way for Ukraine to purchase more air defense systems, which it desperately needs to defend itself against escalating Russian air assaults that are killing many civilians. Mr. Zelensky said in April that he was ready to buy 10 American-designed Patriot air defense systems for about $15 billion.
Ukraine also hopes Mr. Trump will endorse a bipartisan bill that would impose sweeping sanctions on Russia. The bill has been lingering in the Senate for weeks without a vote, with Republican lawmakers waiting for Mr. Trump’s go-ahead.
But Mr. Trump has repeatedly shown a reluctance to antagonize Mr. Putin, and his administration has signaled it was not currently willing to impose further sanctions on Russia.
Asked about Mr. Trump’s warmth toward Mr. Putin, Mr. Zelensky said he hoped it was a tactic intended to bring about peace. “I would like this approach to be only a way to force Putin to the negotiating table and to end the war,” he told Sky News on Tuesday. “Let us hope so.”
Constant Méheut reports on the war in Ukraine, including battlefield developments, attacks on civilian centers and how the war is affecting its people.
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