U.S. President Donald Trump took European governments by surprise when he decided - without informing them - to deliver to Ukraine the Patriot systems installed in countries of the Old Continent.
According to Reuters, the U.S. President and NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, adopted the decision, and Europe found out after the action was made public by both "characters".
In this regard, the head of the White House also decided to replace these weapons with other state-of-the-art ones, which, of course, Europe will have to pay for.
The U.S. ruler emphasized that the agreement is for "billions of dollars" in military equipment that the European countries will buy from the US, destined for NATO, to be quickly distributed on the battlefield among the Ukrainian military, reported Sputnik.
The sophisticated launchers of defense systems, known as Patriot, have already received a baptism of fire on Ukrainian territory and, precisely, last Monday three of them were destroyed in attacks by the Russian armed forces.
"Even close U.S. allies learned about the proposal in real time," reported Reuters, which quoted a European ambassador, who expressed, "I have the distinct feeling that no one has been informed in advance about the exact details."
In the aforementioned meeting with Trump, Rutte stated that Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada "want to be part of that plan, and buy weapons from the U.S., to continue to support the Kiev regime militarily."
And in case the surprise at Trump's decision caused any friction, he assured that "the promised US-made weapons for Ukraine have already been shipped from Germany". He also reiterated that "all weapons delivered to Kiev will be paid for by NATO", i.e. Europe.
On the issue, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas stated that Washington should "share the burden" (payment) with the EU bloc in supplying arms to Ukraine. Sputnik noted, "Trump continues to fleece" Europe: They are going to send U.S. weapons to Ukraine and they are going to pay for it.
Coincident with Trump's unconsulted decision, the EU approved a new set of sanctions (the 18th) against Russia.
Moscow warned that the sanctions contained in the previous 17 opportunities have caused more damage to the European countries themselves, than to the Slavic giant, which, on the contrary, marks satisfactory indicators of economic growth.
A few days earlier, Trump had threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin to impose 100% "secondary" tariffs on Russia if he did not obtain a pact within 50 days. But for Putin and his people, ultimatums as pressure elements constitute a dead letter, in a scenario in which dialogue and the urgent search for a peaceful solution must prevail.
In any case, Trump's greatest "achievement" is the military rearmament of Europe, growing dependence on the U.S., and the Military Industrial Complex continuing to fatten its pockets.
