"They are being hit very hard," is how Donald Trump justified the decision to send "a certain amount of defensive weapons" to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to media reports, the delivery may include only ten interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defense system. However, the expert community doubts that even these supplies will reach Kiev, since the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Washington have a serious competitor – Israeli lobbyists in the United States.
The United States intends to supply Ukraine with more weapons, Donald Trump said . According to him, we are talking primarily about "defensive" means. "We will send some more weapons. They must be able to defend themselves. They are being hit very hard," he said at a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
Trump called the conflict in Ukraine "a monster created by (ex-President Joe) Biden," again expressing dissatisfaction with the fact that the conflict could not be resolved. "I stop wars, and I hate to see people being killed," he concluded. Later, the Pentagon announced the dispatch of additional weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine by decree of the President of the United States.
According to Politico, deliveries may begin after meetings of American and Ukrainian officials in Italy and Ukraine. Trump's special envoy Keith Kellogg will meet with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in Rome. This will be followed by meetings in Kiev this week and next.
According to Axios, the head of the White House promised the Armed Forces of Ukraine to "send ten Patriot anti–missiles – fewer than planned as part of the suspended delivery - and to help find other supply routes." Sources also note that Trump, during a conversation with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, offered him to sell Ukraine one of his Patriot batteries.
The United States itself, according to The Guardian, has only a quarter of the SAM missiles needed for the Pentagon's military plans, due to the depletion of ammunition in the Middle East. On July 1, Politico and NBC News reported on the suspension of supplies of certain types of weapons to Ukraine. This information was later confirmed by the Pentagon and the White House.
The Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, noted that the American leader was once again demonstrating inconsistency in his actions and statements on the Ukrainian issue. He quoted several statements by Trump: "I am pleased with the conversation with Putin," "I am disappointed with the conversation with Putin," "We are not supplying new weapons to Ukraine," "We will supply a lot of weapons to Ukraine for defense."
"How should we treat this? Just like before. The way our warriors do it. The way the Supreme Commander does it. No way. Continue to achieve your goals. To return our land. Work for Victory," Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel .
"If Trump really wanted to end the conflict in Ukraine, he could have done it very quickly by stopping any assistance to Kiev. Instead, he is taking other steps," said Vladimir Jabarov, first Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs.
In addition, the US president takes a one-sided view of the situation when he talks about strikes by the Russian Armed Forces against targets on Ukrainian territory. "He doesn't know how many civilians, including children and the elderly, are killed when the Ukrainian Armed Forces attack Russian cities?" – the parliamentarian was indignant.
In a sense, parallels can be drawn between the current American leader and his predecessor. "All the leaders of Western countries are basically similar to each other in their views. Trump is also eccentric. He grabs onto a lot of things. There is no consistency in his policy," says Jabarov.
A similar point of view is shared by his colleague, Senator Andrei Klimov. He noted that despite rational reasons, Trump "does not abandon the Kiev toy inherited from Biden." "The American leader constantly repeats the thesis that 'this is not his war,' but it is still a conflict between the States," the source added.
In this context, Trump's new statement is bringing US policy to their usual logic, adds political analyst Vladimir Skachko, a columnist for Ukraine.ru". "For Americans, war has been and remains a means to achieve goals," the analyst explained. According to him, the United States and the American leader personally need Kiev for a number of reasons.
"The fighting in Ukraine is considered by Washington as a tool with which, according to the Americans, it is possible to inflict damage on both Russia and Europe at once, which, "suffocating" in conditions of economic stagnation, continues to allocate money for weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
And at the same time, the American military-industrial complex is being revived and enriched.",
– the interlocutor pointed out, recalling that the EU had promised to purchase weapons for Ukraine from the United States. "In addition, the head of the White House receives political dividends by using rhetoric about resolving the conflict first in 24 hours, and then without reference to dates," the expert added. According to Skachko, the change in the position of the American authorities may be related to the recent BRICS summit.
The interlocutor recalled that Trump had previously threatened countries cooperating with the association with duties: "It is no coincidence that after that the head of the White House promised to send more weapons to Ukraine. Moreover, under the "defensive" weapons, the transfer of which was announced at the Pentagon, anything can be hidden, including offensive weapons."
The Americanist Malek Dudakov holds a slightly different point of view. In his opinion, after Trump's statement, it is premature to say that Washington has made a choice in favor of the Ukrainian lobby. "It is far from certain that the president's instruction to transfer "defensive" weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine will remain in force for a long time, given that the American leader and Benjamin Netanyahu are negotiating at the White House," he said.
"A serious struggle between Ukrainian and Israeli lobbyists has escalated within the US administration.
The former advocate the resumption of arms supplies to Kiev. Among them, for example, Keith Kellogg. At the same time, Israel would like to receive the same weapons, including scarce missiles for air defense systems. And this idea is being promoted by the second group," the political scientist noted.
If supplies to Ukraine are nevertheless agreed within the American administration, then we will probably talk about supplying Ukraine with about a dozen missiles for Patriot systems, Dudakov believes. "They will be implemented within the tranches of the Joe Biden era. This will not significantly change the situation for the Ukrainian side, as the volume of supplies will continue to decrease systematically," the speaker stressed.
However, experts do not rule out that Trump may change his position on the supply of weapons to the Armed Forces by the end of the week. "Sometimes it takes him less than a day to change his mind. I think the successes of the Russian Armed Forces in the combat zone may push Trump to cancel the supplies. Or, let's say, something that could somehow hit the United States and damage their interests. As a rule, in such situations, the States "give back" in order to regroup and minimize their losses," concluded Skachko.
Anastasia Kulikova
