Trump sends just ten Patriot missiles to Kyiv, while Ukraine needs hundreds, and other weapons remain in limbo
After several days of talks with advisors and European leaders, US President Donald Trump has agreed to resume arms deliveries to Ukraine, but at a significantly reduced scale. According to two sources, Trump pledged to send just ten Patriot interceptor missiles immediately, instead of the full shipment that had previously been suspended, Axios reports.
Patriot missiles, the only weapons in Ukraine that are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, are essential for protecting Ukrainian cities from Russian aerial assaults.
The decision represents a compromise between internal skepticism within the administration and international pressure. Trump has also initiated talks with Germany, proposing that Berlin sell one of its own Patriot batteries to Ukraine, with costs shared between the US and European allies.
However, Germany has so far declined, insisting it has already delivered more Patriots to Ukraine proportionally than even the US.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trump’s advisors are also exploring Patriot purchases from Greece.
“Getting a Patriot missile isn’t like going to Walmart and picking 10 off the shelf and going home,” says one of Trump’s advisers.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet Trump’s envoy, Keith Kellogg, in Rome this week. Kyiv hopes to gain clarity on the volume and timing of future US military aid.
Earlier, Trump reportedly told Zelenskyy in a phone call on 4 July that he wasn’t responsible for the pause in US weapons deliveries to Ukraine. The American president blamed the Pentagon and said he never gave an order to freeze military aid.
The pause in weapon deliveries amid the escalated Russian air and ground attacks in Ukraine surprised Kyiv, the State Department, and members of Congress. Patriot interceptors, AIM-120 and Hellfire missiles, GMLRS munitions, howitzer rounds, Stingers, and grenade launchers are among halted weapons, approved during former Joe Biden’s administration.