US Reaffirms Readiness to Aid Ukraine as Trump’s Patience With Putin Wears Thin
The Trump administration claimed on Tuesday that it “never meant” to stop supporting Ukraine – and will continue to help – as the war-torn country defends itself against increasing Russian attacks.“We’ve been helping them, we’ll continue to help them” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a daily briefing when pressed by “Kyiv Post’s correspondent about the Trump administration’s commitment to providing weapons to Ukraine. “The [US] president feels obviously very passionate and determined regarding the ability of Ukraine to defend itself,” she said.
The move came as Trump voiced his frustration on Tuesday morning with Russian President Vladimir Putin and promised to send Ukraine more weapons. “It’s turned out to be tougher,” the US president said about the war.
Bruce went on to emphasize that recent developments around the Ukraine aid issue shouldn’t be interpreted as a new US policy. “We have been and remain Ukraine’s biggest supporters. We care about those people,” she claimed.
On July 2, the Pentagon abruptly announced it would temporarily withhold shipments of defensive aid, including Patriot missiles, due to concerns over diminishing US stockpiles.
The pause, which was later rolled back by Trump, came at a particularly vulnerable time for Ukraine, as Putin took advantage of the situation to launch record-breaking air attacks, killing dozens of Ukrainian civilians.
Moscow’s move reportedly frustrated the White House, and triggered some policy analysts, including Tyson Barker, a non-resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center, to believe that Trump was blindsided.
“Imagine, Trump said at the Hague NATO Summit just days before that the US should consider providing more Patriot missiles to strengthen Ukraine’s defense canopy. Maybe his political appointees don’t listen to him,” Barker told Kyiv Post, adding that this was likely a decision snuck through in the dead-of-night by one or two sub-cabinet political appointees at the Pentagon.
“It cost innocent lives,” he said.
The Pentagon on Tuesday denied media reports that the defense secretary Pete Hegseth had acted without consulting the president.
But asked by a reporter on Tuesday who had approved the pause, Trump bristled at the question while he was gathered with his Cabinet members, including Hegseth: “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” he told reporters.Asked if he wanted to see further sanctions against Russia, Trump replied: “I’m looking at it.”
After days of expressing displeasure with his latest phone call with Putin, Trump suggested on Tuesday that the man he spent years curiously avoiding criticizing might not be a reliable interlocutor.For Atlantic Council’s Barker: “It’s good that the White House forced the Pentagon to reverse its terrible decision to cut off defense assistance to Ukraine.” In the meantime, Barker told Kyiv Post that the events of the past few days point to internal divisions within the Trump administration regarding Ukraine policy.
The expert went on to identify three camps: those supporting Ukraine, those wanting to rebalance away from Europe, and those unwilling to take a position.
As for Trump himself, the expert suggested that the president might be “coming around” to a more consistent stance, though for now it remains ambiguous.In the meantime, Barker highlighted the need for congressional Republicans to step in and seek accountability for the past few days, so that “this doesn’t happen again.”
“I sincerely hope that Senate Armed Services Chair, Roger Wicker (R-AL) – a strong Ukraine supporter – looks into this,” he concluded.
Source: Alex Raufoglu