Trump Says NATO Countries Will Buy Weapons to Give to Ukraine

NATO countries have devised a novel way to provide critical American weaponry to Ukraine for its fight against Russia, and President Trump suggested for the first time that he’s likely to go along with it.

Rather than having the United States continue to give its weapons to Ukraine, officials in NATO countries conceived a plan where the Trump administration could sell them to allies, which would then give them to Ukraine. Not only could that be a financial windfall for the United States, it would also shield Mr. Trump — who has expressed skepticism of devoting U.S. military support to Ukraine — from accusations of direct involvement in the war.

And according to defense officials and experts in Europe familiar with the discussions, it would speed desperately needed Patriot air defenses and ammunition to Ukraine as it withstands some of the heaviest Russian bombardments of the three-year war.

On Thursday, Mr. Trump said he intended to adopt that strategy. Other NATO countries would buy American weapons for Ukraine, he said, after striking the deal at the NATO leaders’ summit last month in The Hague.

“We’re sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons, 100 percent,” Mr. Trump said in an NBC News interview. “So what we’re doing is, the weapons that are going out are going to NATO, and then NATO is going to be giving those weapons” to Ukraine, he said, adding, “And NATO is paying for those weapons.”

NATO coordinates weapons donations for Ukraine, but it does not directly buy or supply arms itself. That is done by the alliance’s 32 member countries and other partners worldwide.