Trump promised selling Patriots for Ukraine. Now Europe has to provide them – while France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece etc. are opting out: no money
Reuters reports: “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.
But since the announcement, it has become clear Trump presented a framework – not a fleshed-out plan. How sizeable 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.
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.”
This can be emberassing for NATO. There is no plan, no money, no will to give up and send weapons to Ukraine, and to buy new, more expensive ones from the US in replacement. Germany is rumored to send one old Patriot system to Ukraine, reducing Germany’s stock to five. Then, Germany must disburse USD 1 billion to replace it.
France and Italy have no money and opted out. Spain, Portugal, Greece are not members of the team. And in addition, two of the nordic countries mentioned by Rutte are surprised about their new obligations of which they learned on TV.
And the UK did not yet comment … maybe they are not amused.
Other news reports that NATO countries are getting angry as they have to foot the Ukraine bill. Donald Trump promised his voters to stop paying for Ukraine and the deal proposed to NATO makes the other members pay. Did Trump foresee their reaction? Many opting out, some surprised and hardly anyone has systems available to send to Ukraine.
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