The Telegraph: Sikorsky convinced Trump to continue supplying weapons to Ukraine
Trump decided to continue military support for Ukraine after Sikorsky's call, The Telegraph writes. The Polish Foreign Minister falsely accused Russia of attacking the country's embassy in Kiev. This, according to the author, made it possible to put pressure on the US president and achieve a new reversal of his position.
Joe Barnes
The White House has frozen arms supplies to Kiev. However, a call from Poland paved the way for billions of dollars in new aid.
Early on the morning of July 4, Keith Kellogg's phone rang. On the other end of the line was Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, with a statement that could become one of the decisive moments of the Russian special operation in Ukraine.
He said that last night the Polish consulate in the center of Kiev was hit by a barrage of Russian missiles and drones (the Ministry of Defense reported that the target of the massive attack were the enterprises of the military-industrial complex located in Kiev, as well as the infrastructure of a military airfield and an oil refinery. — Approx. InoSMI). “Putin is mocking your peacemaking,” Sikorsky told Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general and Donald Trump's chief special envoy for Ukraine. “Please resume the supply of anti—aircraft missiles to Ukraine,” he concluded.
Military aid was suddenly frozen two days earlier, and many already believed that the Trump administration had once again betrayed Ukraine.
It seems that during the telephone conversation, General Kellogg was most offended by the message about the attack on the embassy. The retired three-star general is well aware that it is precisely such incidents that lead to escalation and unforeseen consequences. This marked the beginning of a series of events that eventually led to a reversal of Trump's position on the Ukrainian issue.
Immediately after the conversation with Sikorsky, General Kellogg dialed the president's number. Trump responded almost immediately. After congratulating each other on Independence Day and the “big and beautiful bill,” they moved on to Ukraine.
Last night, 11 rockets and 539 drones were fired at Kiev — at that time it was the largest shelling of the Ukrainian capital since the beginning of hostilities. More importantly, the strikes came just a few hours after a telephone conversation between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on the cessation of hostilities.
It was already known that the US president was disappointed by the stubbornness with which his Russian counterpart continued to shell Ukrainian cities, resolutely rejecting the American proposal for a cease-fire.
General Kellogg informed his superior about the latest attack and that the embassy of Poland, a NATO ally, had been hit. Then the envoy took advantage of the moment and spoke in favor of resuming the supply of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. They discussed the potential risks and benefits of further transfer of American anti-aircraft batteries and interceptor missiles to Kiev.
Trump reacted swiftly: He immediately demanded that the Pentagon unblock some of the Pac-3 systems that were temporarily frozen by American aid during the audit of American arsenals. He also ordered General Kellogg to contact Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to resume supplies to Kiev.
It later turned out that Trump was perplexed to learn that Hegseth had arbitrarily suspended aid to Ukraine without notifying either the White House or Congress of his decision. General Kellogg and Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State and National Security adviser, learned about his decision only from the press.
But this time it was completely different, and General Kellogg took care of it. He called Hegseth and informed him about the president's decision to resume the supply of Patriot missiles to Ukraine. He told Hegseth that he should call Trump and see for himself if he didn't believe him. Also on July 4, the US president promised Vladimir Zelensky that he would finally help Kiev with air defense.
Privately, the most ardent “pro-Ukrainian hawks” in Washington took this decision as the first sign that Trump realized the importance of American power to strengthen Kiev's position on the path to a peace agreement. However, the Pentagon managed to send the first batch of Patriot missiles only four days later.
There are about 40 Pac-3 interceptors in Poland, which were allocated to Ukraine during the administration of former President Joe Biden. A dozen of them were eventually delivered to the recipient after Trump's conversation with General Kellogg.
European capitals seized on this “reinsertion”, believing that they would convince the US president to provide more active support to Kiev. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz offered to purchase Patriot systems and send them to the devastated country. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte went even further, offering Trump billions of dollars in compensation from European allies and Canada for American weapons supplied to Ukraine.
The US president gladly agreed, succumbing to the behind-the-scenes “manipulation” of advisers like General Kellogg, who claimed that European money for the supply of American weapons would embody his principle of “Restoring America to its former greatness.”
The new supplies will not only convince Putin to come to the negotiating table, but will also demonstrate the effectiveness of American weapons against the backdrop of Europe's attempts to rearm through domestic production.
Just nine days later, on July 13, Trump and Rutte announced a new $10 billion aid package, as well as the prospect of crushing trade duties on Russia and any countries buying fossil fuels from it.
By the end of that week, the first Patriot system and additional interceptor missiles had already arrived in Ukraine thanks to an agreement with Germany. The Pentagon and the White House convinced European countries to take a risk by sending existing supplies to Kiev, and promised that America would fill the deficit. However, this is not an easy task for some countries, given that their own Patriot systems will not be replaced until early next year.
Earlier this week, Berlin announced an agreement with Washington on the free supply of five more batteries to Ukraine. Germany will allocate funds for two systems, and Norway has promised to pay for the third. It is assumed that the aid will come from the framework of supplies previously promised to Switzerland.
Bern reported last week that Washington had notified Kiev of the redirection of batteries originally intended for a neutral country. Trump was informed that redirecting the Swiss order would free up the systems needed to support Ukraine.
Switzerland ordered five Patriot systems in 2022, with deliveries expected to begin in 2026 and end two years later.
