On July 7, President Donald Trump said that the US will send more weapons to Ukraine to strengthen the country's defense capabilities. The move comes after Washington's decision to suspend missile aid to Kiev last week.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Mr. Trump emphasized that Ukraine needs to be able to defend itself, and revealed that the US will send mainly defensive weapons.
However, observers are still skeptical about Ukraine's ability to receive additional patriot air defense systems and compatible missiles from the US following Mr Trump's recent statements.
This is because President Trump did not specifically mention the types of weapons that Kiev is in dire need of, although he previously admitted on June 4 that Kiev needed more patriot missiles.
However, on June 4, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine agreed to cooperate with the US to enhance Kiev's "sky protection" capabilities after a phone call on the same day with its US counterpart.
Mr Zelensky even added that he and Mr Trump have also discussed cooperation in the production, purchase and investment of weapons.
These developments show that President Trump is starting to change his views on military aid to Kiev and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Previously, the US leader has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the arms aid packages sent by the previous Washington administration to Kiev, Mr. Trump even criticized the Ukrainian President for his proposals to support and buy more patriot complexes.
In April, Mr Zelensky proposed to the US that Ukraine would buy 10 patriot systems (each worth about $1 billion) in the event that Western allies were unable to provide enough support.
But Trump later refused and said that Zelensky was only looking to buy more weapons and missiles instead of seriously considering diplomatic solutions to end the conflict.
