Source: Reuters

President Donald Trump has finally found a way to like arming Ukraine: ask European allies to donate their weapons, and sell them American replacements.

Now comes the hard part — agreeing on who will actually give up their prized systems, including the Patriot missile batteries that Kyiv has been desperately seeking.

Some Patriot missile defense systems should arrive in Ukraine “within days,” added Trump, who faces resistance from some high-profile figures in the MAGA movement who oppose U.S. support for Ukraine.

The costly Patriot systems – in high demand among U.S. allies – have proven effective at destroying Russian ballistic missiles aimed at Ukraine’s cities.

The U.S. has also signaled willingness under the proposed arrangement with European allies to send additional offensive weapons, said one source familiar with the matter, though Trump has said that Ukraine should refrain from attacking Moscow.

The plan, which Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte hatched in recent days, according to two sources familiar with the discussions, has been received positively by Ukraine and its allies.

Some Patriot missile defense systems should arrive in Ukraine “within days,” added Trump, who faces resistance from some high-profile figures in the MAGA movement who oppose U.S. support for Ukraine.

The costly Patriot systems – in high demand among U.S. allies – have proven effective at destroying Russian ballistic missiles aimed at Ukraine’s cities.

The U.S. has also signaled willingness under the proposed arrangement with European allies to send additional offensive weapons, said one source familiar with the matter, though Trump has said that Ukraine should refrain from attacking Moscow.

The plan, which Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte hatched in recent days, according to two sources familiar with the discussions, has been received positively by Ukraine and its allies.

Leaders in Kyiv and elsewhere have celebrated a major tonal shift from Trump, who had until recent weeks spoken glowingly of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But since the announcement, it has become clear Trump presented a framework – not a fleshed-out plan. How material any support ends up being for Ukraine will depend on coming negotiations about who provides which equipment, according to 10 officials in the U.S. and Europe.

“As always with these things, the devil is in the details,” said one northern European ambassador in Washington.

The central question is who would donate the Patriot batteries, and when.

SPARE A PATRIOT?

During his Oval Office meeting with Trump on Monday, Rutte mentioned six NATO countries – Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada – that were willing to participate in the weapons-purchasing scheme.

High-ranking sources at two of those countries’ embassies in the U.S. told Reuters they personally learned of the plan as it was announced. Even close U.S. allies appeared to learn of the proposal in real time.

“It is my clear sense that nobody has been briefed about the exact details in advance, and I also suspect that internally in the administration they are only now beginning to sort out what it means in practice,” said a separate European ambassador.

Kurt Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, said Trump found a way to balance support for Ukraine with the political realities of the Republican Party. Having the European allies underwrite U.S. arms supplies is “very consistent with what he (Trump) said during the campaign,” he said.

Throughout the campaign, Trump said he would push European countries to spend more on defense, to great applause from MAGA crowds. “You gotta pay,” he said. “If they’re not going to pay, we’re not going to protect, ok?”

Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.