On July 14, 2025, local time, US President Trump announced that Europe would pay to purchase 17 Patriot air defense missile batteries for the Ukrainian armed forces. However, the US Air Force itself only has 50 Patriot missile batteries. Trump said: "Europe is very enthusiastic about this war. When the US first got involved, we didn't really think Europe had this kind of enthusiasm." "Now Europe is bearing all the costs, and the US is no longer paying." When asked by reporters which weapons would be sent to Ukraine through NATO, Trump said: "Everything, all the weapons, the complete Patriot air defense missile system." According to what President Trump meant, in the future, military aid to Ukraine will be entirely handed over to Europe, "the European prince takes the stage, everyone can order as they wish." It's normal for Europe to pay, after all, it's Europe's war.
Trump announced a few days ago that there would be a major public announcement, and people thought he was going to send troops to Ukraine, but instead, he was imposing a 100% second-tier tariff on Russia, with Europe funding the purchase of Patriot air defense missiles, which would then be given to Ukraine by the US. Trump is indeed the world's source of happiness. On one hand, the US is increasing tariffs on Europe, on the other hand, it is making Europe pay for weapons supplied to Ukraine, and also making Europe comply with sanctions against China, which Europe accepts without question. Compared to the period under former US President Biden, when Ukraine got whatever it wanted, giving almost 99.9% of the sanctions against Russia. Currently, Trump has no cards to play regarding Russia on the Ukraine issue, except for the US personally sending troops, his only card is to extort Ukraine and Europe.
Regarding Trump's statements, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said: "Ukraine will receive military equipment from Europe, and then the US will replace these equipment for Europe." "The Patriot air defense missile system will arrive at the Ukrainian battlefield in a few days, which means the Ukrainian army can obtain a large amount of military equipment, including air defense equipment, missiles, ammunition, etc." "We will ensure through NATO allies that we understand Ukraine's needs, so that NATO can provide assistance," said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte: "I think this is really good news for Ukraine. So I really want to thank Trump for this."
However, Trump's words cannot be fully trusted. Until the US-made weapons are delivered to the Ukrainian army, he may change his mind again. Only when those promised weapons are actually used by the front-line troops of Ukraine can it be considered a certainty. From the beginning, Trump made bold claims like "If I am elected president, I can end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours," how did he end up in such a situation now? For Trump, "I will end the war in one day, but not today, nor tomorrow, you just guess which day it will be!" "Whichever day it stops, that's the day." Trump's usual trick is to keep people guessing. One moment he says "solve it in 24 hours," the next moment he says "not everything is 100% confident," then he says "I need to disclose that list of files," and then he says "the files don't exist." Just like that, he keeps changing sides and acting as he pleases.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837651895832588/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.