Trump plans to send Ukraine weapons via NATO allies
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President Trump at the Vatican with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Getty Images.
President Trump is planning to sell weapons to NATO allies with the understanding that they will then provide them to Ukraine, three sources familiar with the discussions tell Axios.
- Trump seemed to confirm those plans in an interview with NBC News on Thursday.
Why it matters: This is a major policy shift from Trump as he grows increasingly disillusioned with Russia's Vladimir Putin. He had long rejected the idea of new arms packages for Ukraine in part to avoid becoming personally embroiled in the conflict.
Yes, but: Two administration officials denied the plans meant Trump would now be arming Ukraine.
- "POTUS is sending defensive weapons to NATO. NATO can decide what to do with it. We're not sending weapons to Ukraine," one official said.
- But Trump himself confirmed in the NBC interview that the arms would ultimately be bound for Ukraine. "So what we're doing is the weapons that are going out are going to NATO, and then NATO is going to be giving those weapons [to Ukraine], and NATO is paying for those weapons."
Breaking it down: The scheme was floated at the recent NATO summit and has been discussed with Ukraine and European allies, two sources familiar with those discussions told Axios.
- One source said the sales could include offensive weaponry, not just air defense support.
- The other source, a senior European official, confirmed such a scheme had been discussed but said their government was not aware of any final plan.
- None of the sources provided details as to when or how the plans would be carried out.
Between the lines: Trump continued to allow some arms shipments to Ukraine that were authorized under President Biden, but had not approved any new packages since taking office.
- He has long opposed picking sides in the conflict, and many in his base are hostile to the idea of actively backing Ukraine.
- Trump attacked Biden for months for throwing billions of dollars at an open-ended war.
- Trump could argue he's not repeating that mistake because he is selling weapons, rather than providing them as aid. But with Trump's peace process nowhere near fruition, he is now preparing to take steps that would have seemed unthinkable a few months ago.
The intrigue: Trump is also considering a Russia sanctions package spearheaded by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
- However, a White House official told Axios Trump won't sign it unless it grants him "100% flexibility" to implement and withdraw the sanctions as he sees fit.
Friction point: For weeks, when asked whether Trump had grown frustrated enough with Russian intransigence that he would consider new weapons transfers, senior administration officials downplayed the likelihood to Axios.
- "He wants out of Ukraine, not into Ukraine," one official said earlier this month.
- But Trump's frustration with Putin's bombardments of Ukrainian cities changed the calculus. "Everything is a negotiation," the same official said on Thursday.
State of play: The Pentagon froze a recent shipment to Ukraine that included much-needed air defense weaponry, but Trump reversed the decision earlier this week, citing Ukraine's need to defend its cities.
- He has said repeatedly in recent days that the U.S. would supply only defensive weaponry to Ukraine, which faced the largest Russian drone attack to date on Tuesday night.
What to watch: Arms shipments were expected to dwindle as Biden-era funding ran out, but Trump's newfound willingness to sell arms bound for Ukraine could change that calculus.
