Trump: NATO to pay 100% for Ukraine arms
US President Donald Trump announced in a July 10 interview with NBC that the United States has agreed to a new mechanism for delivering weapons to Ukraine through NATO.
According to Trump, the alliance will directly purchase American armaments and then transfer them to Ukrainian forces, DW reports.
"We send weapons to NATO, and NATO pays 100% for this weaponry. The weapons we send go to NATO first, and then NATO delivers them to Ukraine. NATO bears the entire expense," Trump stated in an interview excerpt published by NBC.
The President described this arrangement as "a new agreement between the U.S., NATO, and Ukraine," stating that the understanding was established during the NATO summit in June. He also added that the United States intends to supply NATO with Patriot air defense systems, saying: "We deliver weapons to NATO, and NATO will reimburse us for their total cost. We plan to send Patriot systems to NATO, which will then distribute them."
During the interview, the Republican leader also referenced Russia, expressing his displeasure with the Kremlin's actions. "I'm disappointed with Russia. But we'll see what happens in the next few weeks," Trump said, promising a "major announcement regarding Russia" on Monday, July 14.
NATO has not commented on the new agreement
To date, neither NATO representatives nor its member states have commented on Donald Trump's statements regarding the new arrangement. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he had discussed the matter with Trump and "urged leaders to do more to ensure Ukraine receives more ammunition and air defense systems."
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also stated on July 10 that Berlin is prepared to purchase Patriot systems from the U.S. for delivery to Ukraine. He added that he had already discussed this with Trump.
Who will pay for the American armaments?
Currently, the United States directly delivers armaments to Ukraine, covering the costs from its own budget. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, the U.S. Congress has allocated approximately $175 billion to support Ukrainian armed forces, according to Reuters estimates.
It is unclear whether Trump refers to purchases made by NATO from the alliance's common budget or separate acquisitions by member states from their national budgets. According to NATO's official website, the alliance's common annual budget is 4.6 billion euros—several times smaller than the military aid provided to Ukraine by allies.
For example, at the last NATO summit in The Hague, Mark Rutte announced that, starting in 2025, European countries and Canada intend to allocate 35 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine. At the 2024 summit in Washington, allies promised Ukraine annual support of 40 billion euros.
A significant portion of NATO's common budget comes from U.S. contributions. According to official data, the U.S. currently covers 15.88% of NATO's budget, the same as Germany, with both being the primary contributors. The United Kingdom and France each contribute 10.19%; Italy, 8.53%; and Canada, 6.68%. Each of the other 26 member states contributes less than 5%.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
