Ukraine gets a big boost from Trump's weapons pledge.

 

For the first time since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has pledged to make new weapons available to Ukraine.

 Under a new deal, the US will sell weapons to Nato members who will then supply them to Kyiv as it battles Russia's invasion.

 The president didn't give too many specifics about what he said was "billions of dollars' worth of military equipment".  But when asked if the deal included Patriot air defence batteries and interceptor missiles, he replied "it's everything".

 One European country has 17 Patriot systems and "a big portion" would soon be on the way to Ukraine, Trump said.

 For Ukraine, a huge country that currently operates handful of batteries - perhaps as few as eight - this is a major step forward, giving Kyiv a chance to expand protection against Russian ballistic and cruise missiles.

 Sitting beside the president, the Nato Secretary General, Mark Rutte, hinted at a bigger package.

 "It's broader than Patriots," he said.

 "It will mean that Ukraine can get its hands on a really large amount of military equipment, including missiles, ammunition, and equipment for air defense..." ADVERTISING

 This is a significant moment.

 Less than two weeks ago, there was horror in Kyiv at news that the Pentagon had suspended military shipments to Ukraine, including Patriots.

 The decision-making surrounding that announcement remains unclear, but on Monday, Trump once again tried to make light if it, saying it had been made in the knowledge that this deal would be struck.

 "We were pretty sure this was going to happen, so we did a little bit of a pause," the president said.

 Now, thanks to some tortuous negotiations, many of them involving Rutte, the weapons can continue to flow without Washington picking up the tab.

 "We're in for a lot of money," the president said, "and we just don't want to do it any more."

 The deal is a personal triumph for Rutte, the "Trump whisperer", who has flattered and encouraged the president, in part by helping to secure a member-wide Nato commitment to spend 5% of GDP on defence.

 As they sat side by side in the Oval Office, Rutte continued to flatter Trump, calling the latest deal "really big" and saying it was "totally logical" that European members of Nato pay for it.

 Reuters File picture of a Patriot air missile system being fired during an exercise between US and Philippine troopsReuters

 Additional Patriot missile batteries will give Kyiv a chance to expand protection against Russian attacks (file pic)

 He stated that a number of nations, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands, were lining up to participate. "And this is only the first wave," he said.  "There will be more."

 In a separate and rather characteristic development, Trump threatened Moscow with a new deadline: if Vladimir Putin doesn't agree to a ceasefire deal in the next 50 days, Russia and its trading partners will be hit with 100% secondary tariffs.

 Trump threatens Russia with tariffs while unveiling new Ukraine weapons plan

 It's a novel approach, which Kyiv and members of the US congress have been urging for some time: pressure Russia by targeting countries that continue to buy Russian oil and gas, like China and India.

 Trump's move comes as the US Senate continues to work on a bill that would impose much stiffer sanctions.

 The president said the Senate bill, which envisages 500% secondary tariffs, could be "very good" but added that it was "sort of meaningless after a while because at a certain point it doesn't matter".

 As always, the precise details of the president's threat remain somewhat vague.

 However, regardless of what transpires in the upcoming days, weeks, or months, Monday felt like a significant turning point. A US president finally moving away from his perplexing faith in Vladimir Putin, while still giving the Russian leader time to come to the negotiating table.

 It is not at all the neutral stance that has enraged Ukraine and its western allies, and it is certainly not a return to Joe Biden's pledges to support Ukraine "for as long as it takes." Trump appears to have guaranteed that the all-important US weapons pipeline to Ukraine will remain open for now – provided others pay for it.

 But 50 days will feel like a very long time to Ukrainians, who are on the receiving end of near-nightly drone and missile bombardment.

 It appears unlikely that anything Trump has done will immediately stop this.