【By Observer News, Ruan Jiaqi】

This week, the first batch of American weapons paid for by "Mr. Ou" has arrived in Ukraine. Trump is feeling very refreshed.

According to Russia Today (RT), on Friday local time, Trump told reporters in the White House Oval Office that the United States is "benefiting" from the conflict in Ukraine and praised the agreement signed with NATO in July.

The agreement, named the "Ukraine Prioritized Requirements List" (PURL), allows the United States to transfer weapons to Ukraine, but the related costs are borne by European countries. According to reports by Reuters, a NATO official who did not want to be named confirmed on the 18th that the first batch of military equipment under the PURL aid mechanism had arrived in Ukraine. This means that Washington has resumed sending weapons to Kyiv through a new cooperation mechanism with its allies.

According to a video released on the official YouTube channel of the White House, when asked if he would consider weakening the funding commitment made by the previous Biden administration for Ukraine, Trump immediately replied, "We (the Trump administration) have not spent a penny on this war. You know, everything we provide is paid for. Unlike Biden, he gave them $350 billion, which is simply shocking."

He added, "We haven't spent any money on this war. The war is funded by NATO. NATO is buying our equipment."

Shrugging his shoulders, Trump continued, "In fact, I didn't want to make money from this war, but we do benefit from it, because as you know, they (referring to NATO countries) are buying our equipment. That's very important. They pay for missiles, tanks, and all the supplies sent to Ukraine."

"This is truly a sad war, it shouldn't have happened..." With a familiar line, Trump ended the question.

On local time September 19, Trump answered questions about aid to Ukraine. Screenshot from the White House YouTube video

Two months ago, Trump announced an agreement between the United States and NATO, under which NATO countries would fully fund the purchase of weapons from the United States, and then NATO would "transfer" these weapons to Ukraine.

Since then, several European countries have pledged to provide financial support for the PURL program. Denmark has allocated about $90 million, Sweden has contributed $275 million, Norway has contributed about $135 million, and the Netherlands has provided $590 million for the first batch of aid materials. Germany has also pledged to contribute $500 million.

On local time September 17, a source with knowledge of the matter revealed that the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy, Elbridge Colby, had approved the first two batches of military aid materials under the new mechanism to be provided to Ukraine, each worth $500 million. The relevant materials will soon enter the delivery process.

It is said to be the first time that the United States and its NATO allies have activated this new cooperation mechanism.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy later stated that Ukraine will receive the first batch of military support under the PURL mechanism, including missiles for the "Patriot" air defense system and high-mobility rocket systems "Himars" launch vehicles.

He also said that the PURL mechanism has committed to providing over $2 billion in aid to Ukraine, and more funds are expected to arrive by October, at which point the amount of military aid under the mechanism will rise to $3.5 billion to $3.6 billion.

Photo: "Patriot" anti-missile system, Visual China

NATO's senior representative in Ukraine, Patrick Turner, also confirmed that more aid materials are already on the way, "The funds for four batches of equipment on the list have been secured, and the relevant equipment is being delivered gradually."

Regarding Europe continuing to provide military aid to Ukraine, Russian President's Press Secretary Peskov previously stated, "This trend is very bad and very dangerous. We have seen it, we are considering it, and we will develop our next steps based on it."

On the 17th, Peskov reiterated that Russia remains open to negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and hopes to resolve the conflict through "political and diplomatic means," but Ukraine is "artificially delaying" the process.

Additionally, according to a report by the UK's Independent, Zelenskyy revealed on the 19th that he will meet with Trump during the United Nations General Assembly next week to discuss Ukraine's security guarantees and sanctions against Russia. At that time, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov will represent Russia to deliver a speech at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

This article is exclusive to Observer News, and without permission, it cannot be reprinted.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7552190069302460943/

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