U.S. President Donald Trump, left, welcomes Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House in Washington, DC, prior their talks on Feb. 28, 2025. Trump recently agreed to provide weapons to Ukraine. Photo by Ukrainian Presidential Press-Service /AFP PHOTOArticle contentThere was rejoicing when US President Donald Trump announced that he was going to let Ukraine have weapons after all, but it was conspicuously contained joy. Half-smiles and sighs of relief were plentiful; cheers were absent or faked.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentThe Ukrainians were relieved because this is the first time they will be getting weapons actually ordered by Trump. The stop-go dribble of arms that the US has sent Ukraine at intervals in the past five months was really the tail-end of Joe Biden’s last package, although Trump had to approve each shipment.Article contentArticle contentArticle contentI spoke with @SecGenNATO Mark Rutte. Another very good conversation. Mark informed about today’s meeting in Washington with President Trump and about the details of cooperation between Europe and the U.S. to continue and strengthen support for Ukraine.We appreciate the…— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 14, 2025Article contentArticle contentWhat Trump is willing to send now remains unclear, but at least it’s on his own initiative, and $10 billion has been mentioned. And Ukrainians don’t care that the money will really be provided by other NATO members, who will buy the weapons from the US but pass them on to Ukraine’s armed forces.Article contentWhat does concern Ukrainians is that Trump’s threatened ‘secondary tariffs’ (more accurately secondary sanctions) on countries like India and China that are still buying cut-rate Russian oil and gas and supporting Moscow’s war economy won’t kick in for 50 more days.Article contentThat gives Russian President Vladimir Putin 49 more days to bomb Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with impunity, and Trump is notorious for shifting his deadlines to later dates. (TACO, as they say – ‘Trump always chickens out’.) Moreover, Trump warned Ukraine not to attack Moscow in return.Article contentArticle contentSo the Russian reaction to Trump’s apparent change of heart was relief that it wasn’t worse. It is mostly “hot air”, wrote Konstantin Kosachev, a senior Russian politician, on Telegram.Article contentArticle content“A lot can change in 50 days – on the battlefield and in the mindset of those in power, both in the US and in NATO.”Article contentTrump no longer NATO allyArticle contentThat’s mostly correct, but not so much about NATO, most of whose other members have privately concluded that the United States under Donald Trump is no longer a trustworthy ally.Article contentThat leaves them dreadfully exposed if Russia conquers Ukraine and they become the next item on Putin’s agenda. The historical ‘division of labour’ within the NATO alliance has left the Europeans lacking in key military categories like aerial surveillance, satellite data and nuclear deterrence.
GWYNNE DYER: Trump agrees to weapons for Ukraine as NATO buys time
