President Donald Trump promised to make a “major statement” on Monday, July 14, about Russia’s conduct in its war against Ukraine. It’s the latest indication of a deteriorating relationship between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump told NBC News he expects the Senate to pass tough new sanctions against Russia and that he plans to approve the first new U.S. arms shipments to Ukraine since he began his second term. All other shipments in 2025 were authorized by former President Joe Biden.
Trump’s shift follows months in which he denounced Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling him a dictator and falsely accusing him of starting the war with Russia.
Now Putin, who has rebuffed Trump’s calls for a ceasefire, is drawing the president’s ire.
“We get a lot of bulls— thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “He’s very nice, all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”
Funneling weapons through NATO
Trump will reportedly provide weapons to Ukraine under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows presidents to pull from U.S. arms stockpiles to help allies in an emergency. Biden used the same law to assist Ukraine.
In a telephone interview Thursday with NBC, Trump outlined a plan to funnel U.S. arms through NATO.
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Civilian casualties in Ukraine were higher in June than any other month in three years, the United Nations says. Russian attacks killed 232 Ukrainians and injured 1,343 others.
“We’re sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons, 100%,” Trump said.
“NATO is going to be giving those weapons (to Ukraine),” he added, “and NATO is paying for those weapons.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte wrote on X that he had spoken with Trump and is “working closely with Allies to get Ukraine the help they need.” But he did not address whether NATO would reimburse the United States for the weapons.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said some of the weapons are already in the possession of NATO allies in Europe, PBS reported. The European countries can buy replacements from the United States after shipping arms to Ukraine, he said.
“It’s a lot faster to move something, for example, from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a [U.S.] factory and get it there,” Rubio said.
Trump’s decision reverses a pause that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth placed during the week of June 29 on weapons shipments to Ukraine. Hegseth stopped shipments without notifying the White House, according to CNN, which cited five sources familiar with the matter.
At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, July 8, Trump declined to say whether he had approved the pause. When a reporter asked who else might have made the decision, Trump replied, “I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?”
Trump also declined to say whether he will impose sanctions on Russia. But he spoke favorably about the Senate sanctions bill, sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a Trump ally.
“It’s at my option if I want to use it,” Trump said. “They’re going to pass a very major and very biting sanctions bill, but it’s up to the president as to whether or not he wants to exercise it.”
North Korea sending ‘good weapons’ to Russia
The decision to resume U.S. arms shipments came as a Ukrainian military official told Bloomberg News that North Korea has provided more assistance to Russia’s war effort than previously known.
Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, said 40% of Russia’s ammunition is coming from North Korea. He also said North Korea is supplying Russia with ballistic missiles and artillery systems.
“Those are good weapons,” Budanov told Bloomberg. “North Korea has huge stockpiles, and production goes on around the clock.”
Putin signed a treaty with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June 2024, under which North Korea agreed to send thousands of troops to fight in Ukraine. At the time, Kim said he would back Russia “unconditionally.”
Bloomberg reported that Budanov’s claims could not be independently verified.
Budanov said Trump has been a steadfast supporter of Ukraine, despite his public criticism of Zelenskyy and his threats to withhold military aid.
“One should not judge him by media characteristics,” Budanov said. “As head of a special service, I know more things.”
Heavy toll on Ukrainian civilians
As weapons flow toward both sides, Ukrainian civilians continue to suffer heavy casualties, especially as Russia has intensified drone and missile attacks across the country.
A new report by the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said civilian casualties in June were at their highest level in three years. The U.N. said Russian attacks killed 232 civilians in June and wounded 1,343.
“Civilians across Ukraine are facing levels of suffering we have not seen in over three years,” Danielle Bell, the head of the U.N. monitoring mission, said in a statement. “The surge in long-range missile and drone strikes across the country has brought even more death and destruction to civilians far away from the frontline.”
The report said Russia launched 10 times more missiles and drones in June than in the same month in 2024. Intense attacks continued during the week of July 6. On Wednesday alone, July 9, the U.N. reported that Russia launched 728 drones.
Bell said that the attacks continue to take a heavy toll.
“Children spent many nights not tucked in bed, but sheltering in corridors, basements and bathrooms, covering their ears from the sounds of sirens and explosions,” she said. “These experiences bring heavy scars.”
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Author: Alan Judd
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