UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed a new NATO-US agreement to deliver Patriot missile systems and additional military support to Ukraine, following what he described as “very good” discussions with US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
In a statement posted to X on Monday, Zelensky said the leaders had reviewed joint efforts “to stop the killings and establish a lasting and just peace,” with focus on strengthening Ukraine’s air defences against intensifying Russian missile attacks.
“We reviewed steps to improve protection against Russian attacks and agreed to coordinate our actions moving forward,” Bernama-Anadolu cited Zelensky stating, adding that Trump had briefed him on his prior talks with NATO’s new chief, Mark Rutte.
“We appreciate the readiness to provide additional Patriot systems. The US, Germany, and Norway are already working jointly on this,” he said, as further deliveries are expected to bolster Ukraine’s defences.
Zelensky also insisted that Russia “must be forced to stop the killings,” accusing President Vladimir Putin of deliberately prolonging the war.
“Peace is only possible through strength,” he declared, while also calling for intensified global efforts to cut Moscow’s access to war financing and to halt its growing military cooperation with Iran and North Korea.
The announcement came just hours after Trump’s high-profile meeting with Rutte in Washington, during which the US President vowed to impose 100 per cent secondary tariffs on Russia unless a peace agreement is reached within 50 days.
Under the new NATO-US arrangement, Patriot air defence systems will be delivered to Ukraine “within days,” Trump confirmed, noting that the US would provide the weapons while European partners cover the full cost. Rutte reaffirmed NATO’s role in coordinating the delivery.
The development follows a visit to Kyiv by Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg, who discussed air defence and arms production cooperation with Zelensky.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Germany is expected to decide within “days or weeks” on whether to jointly send two US-made Patriot batteries to Ukraine, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters following a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in Washington.
Speaking alongside Hegseth, Pistorius said talks were ongoing to finalise technical details, including the number of launchers and missiles to be included. A first Patriot unit could be dispatched within months, he noted, though he declined to confirm whether offensive weaponry for Ukraine had also been discussed.
Germany has already donated three of its own Patriot systems to Ukraine, reducing its Cold War-era arsenal of 36 batteries to just nine.
Pistorius received a warm welcome in Washington as Germany emerges as a key player in NATO’s largest military buildup since the Cold War. In a major shift, Berlin recently loosened its constitutional debt brake to meet NATO’s target of spending 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2029, with spending projected to rise to €162 billion from €95 billion in 2025.
Germany has also formally requested to purchase US-made Typhon missile launchers. Describing the system as a “stop-gap” while Europe develops its own long-range missile platforms, Pistorius said Typhon could fill a strategic void as deployment of US long-range missiles to Germany remains under review.
“Together with Great Britain and other partners, we are developing land-based long-range systems, but this will take 7 to 10 years,” Pistorius noted. “This is why we need a stop-gap solution.”
The Typhon system is capable of launching missiles with a range of approximately 2,000 km and could bridge the gap until European solutions are operational.
However, Pistorius admitted the German delegation had not yet received confirmation on whether Washington would proceed with the previously agreed 2026 deployment of long-range missiles such as Tomahawk cruise missiles and the Dark Eagle hypersonic weapon. “I am very confident that last year's agreement is still valid, but we are still waiting for a final decision,” he said.
The proposed deployment, fiercely criticised by Moscow, is part of a broader review of US global force posture, which could include reductions to the 80,000 American troops currently stationed in Europe, including 40,000 in Germany. - July 15, 2025
