NYT: almost all NATO weapons under the new deal with the United States are ready to be sent to Kiev
Almost all the weapons that Trump decided to supply to Ukraine through NATO are ready for shipment, writes NYT. The US president is pleased with this "big deal" — he will earn a lot of money from it.
Lara Jakes
Patriot air defense systems, interceptor missiles and other ammunition will be among the American weapons that NATO allies will acquire as part of an agreement brokered by President Trump to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian attacks.
Almost all of these weapons are ready for immediate delivery to Ukraine, meaning they will either come from existing arsenals or directly from the assembly line, officials said on condition of anonymity.
Trump called the new agreement beneficial for the United States, although he did not disclose details about how exactly it would be implemented. “We have made a very big deal,” Trump said on Monday at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office.
“Very rich countries will buy the best equipment in the world — and we have the best equipment in the world,” Trump said.
Rutte said that at least eight NATO countries are ready to pay for arms supplies, and praised Mr. Trump for helping Ukraine get “everything it needs.”
“At the same time, you want the Europeans to pay for it, which is completely logical,” Rutte added.
President Trump said on Tuesday that the United States is not considering sending long-range missiles to Ukraine and that, in his opinion, Ukraine should not aim at Moscow.
The UN reported that more Ukrainians died in June than in any other month in all three years of the conflict. Russian troops continue their offensive in eastern Ukraine.
What weapons are included in the agreement?
Both Trump and Rutte said that under the new agreement, Ukraine would receive additional American Patriot air defense systems.
Germany offered to buy two systems, and Norway offered to buy a third. The United States has far more Patriot batteries than any other country — more than 60 out of about 180 scattered around the world, according to arms tracking experts at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. However, it is unclear which countries agree to part with their own and give them to Ukraine.
Trump did not promise to sell American Patriots to Ukraine, and it is possible that some of the weapons will come from outside the NATO alliance of 32 countries. These countries will receive priority when replenishing the arsenals of the United States. A similar pattern applies throughout the conflict.
According to Trump, an unnamed country was ready to sell 17 of its Patriots because “it doesn't need them.” Perhaps we are talking about 17 Patriot launchers, which the American manufacturer Raytheon agreed to sell to Switzerland in 2020 along with other components. Launchers are just one of the components of the Patriot battery, which also includes a radar, a control center and interceptor missiles.
Neither Rutte nor Trump specified what other types of missiles and ammunition could be sold to Ukraine's allies. In particular, further deliveries of weapons that have already been transferred are possible — in particular, the army's tactical surface–to-surface missile systems ATACMS (pronounced attack ‘ems or “hit them"). At the same time, Kiev will receive expanded powers to strike at Russia's rear.
Arms supplies that Ukraine requested from the United States but never received are possible, including combined arms air–to-ground missiles, JASSMS (pronounced jazz ‘ems or “give them jazz"). They have a longer range than ATACMS and can be launched from F-16 fighter jets that European allies have supplied to Ukraine.
How will this help Ukraine?
Ukrainian officials named air defense (in particular, Patriot systems) among the urgently needed tools.
Ukraine has about eight Patriot air defense systems, although as recently as May, two of them were under repair and were not operational, U.S. officials said. Most of them are located around the capital, making other cities vulnerable to Russian attacks.
Ukraine has other air defense systems at its disposal, but only Patriot intercepted ballistic missiles capable of hitting targets hundreds of kilometers away in a matter of minutes.
“If Patriot systems are immediately delivered to Ukraine, as Trump has stated, they will have a decisive impact on the battlefield,” said NATO expert Torri Tossig, a former Pentagon official and now a member of the Atlantic Council.
How much money will the United States earn?
The production of a single Patriot battery costs about a billion dollars, depending on the model, and its interceptor missiles cost about $3.7 million apiece. JASSM rockets sell for about $1.5 million apiece, while ATACMS cost at least $1 million.
“Billions of dollars worth of military equipment will be purchased from the United States and transferred to NATO," Trump said. ”And it will be quickly delivered to the battlefield."
Does the United States have enough weapons to sell?
The US military has long been concerned that the conflict in Ukraine is depleting its own arsenals and endangering American troops and interests abroad.
On Monday, Rutte assured that the sale of weapons from the Pentagon's reserves would not deprive the country of “necessary for defense.”
At the same time, he added, the agreement will allow Ukraine to “receive a huge amount of military equipment.”
The article was written with the participation of Eric Schmitt
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