--- description: The arrangement allows Ukraine to get weapons it needs in its war with Russia while providing a way for Europe to increase its defense spending as promised. title: Trump Announces ‘Deal’ to Arm Ukraine via NATO image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8c78d59b25c5c15/6998c82f83ec3765b2c7ac1a/NATO-deal.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Ukraine](/tag/ukraine/) ## Ukraine Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Trump Announces ‘Deal’ to Arm Ukraine via NATO  by [Chad de Guzman](/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter Jul 11, 2025 9:00 AM CUT  Patriot defense batteries are transported at a German military compound in Poland on Jan. 23, 2025. Patriot defense batteries are transported at a German military compound in Poland on Jan. 23, 2025.Dominika Zarzycka—NurPhoto/Getty Images  by [Chad de Guzman](/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter Jul 11, 2025 9:00 AM CUT Sometimes Donald Trump says he didn’t mean what he said. His [repeated promises](https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/25/politics/fact-check-trump-ukraine-war "undefined") to end the Russia-Ukraine war on Day 1 of his second-term or sooner were an “exaggeration” that he “said in jest,” he [told TIME in April](https://time.com/7280114/donald-trump-2025-interview-transcript/ "undefined"). “I said that figuratively.” Other times, Trump has shown that he meant what he said. Despite noncommittal responses on the campaign trail when pressed about whether he’d halt U.S. military support to Ukraine, he insisted that [“Europe is not paying their fair share.](https://time.com/6972022/donald-trump-transcript-2024-election/ "undefined")” (Europe has allocated more total aid to Ukraine than the U.S. has since Russia’s invasion in 2022 and surpassed the U.S. in total military assistance earlier this year, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy’s [Ukraine Support Tracker](https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker/ "undefined").) On Thursday, Trump announced that he “just made a deal” to make that happen, telling [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-tariffs-inflation-hasbro-ukraine-patriot-missiles-nato-russia-rcna218125 "undefined") that the U.S. will be “sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons 100% … then NATO is going to be giving those weapons \[to Ukraine\].” The arrangement was reportedly first floated during the [recent North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit](https://time.com/7297825/donald-trump-nato-summit/ "undefined"), where [NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte](https://time.com/7295448/rutte-nato-secretary-general-interview/ "undefined") referred to [Trump as Europe’s “daddy”](https://time.com/7297927/trump-daddy-nickname-nato-mark-rutte-john-daly-tucker-carlson/ "undefined") and alliance member states [agreed to an increase in defense spending](https://time.com/7297698/nato-2025-summit-trump-iran-ukraine-defense-topics/ "undefined"). **Read More:** [_The Man Who Wants to Save NATO_](https://time.com/7295448/rutte-nato-secretary-general-interview/ "undefined") About the plan to use NATO as a middleman for U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine, a Trump Administration official [told Axios](https://www.axios.com/2025/07/11/trump-ukraine-weapons-nato-allies-sell "undefined") that the U.S. is “not sending weapons to Ukraine” but rather “sending defensive weapons to NATO” and “NATO can decide what to do with it.” Another source told Axios that the weapons sold to NATO could include offensive weaponry, not just air defense support. Hours before Trump’s interview with NBC News was published, Rutte [posted on X](https://x.com/SecGenNATO/status/1943390857400389896 "undefined"): “Russia’s continued massive attacks against Ukrainian civilians are deplorable. Earlier today I urged leaders to go further so Ukraine has more ammunition & air defences. I’ve just spoken with President Trump & am now working closely with Allies to get Ukraine the help they need.” The deal to allow European allies to act as an intermediary for U.S. weapons appears to have come at the suggestion of Ukraine, which [Politico reported](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/02/ukraine-weapons-european-money-tactics-00437675 "undefined") earlier this month had asked the Trump Administration about the potential for such an arrangement despite usual restrictions on the resale of U.S. weapons. The request from Ukraine came amid a [surprise halt](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/02/ukraine-weapons-freeze-elbridge-colby-00438156 "undefined") by the Pentagon of direct military support to Ukraine, which apparently even [blindsided Trump](https://apnews.com/article/trump-ukraine-weapons-pentagon-15694071ddb6f7040273e9ef090e84c4 "undefined"). The Trump Administration has since resumed [sending some weapons to Ukraine directly](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/trump-use-presidential-authority-send-weapons-ukraine-sources-say-2025-07-10/ "undefined"), as Trump has increasingly [expressed frustration](https://time.com/7301112/trump-putin-ukraine-sanctions/ "undefined") with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war’s continuation. “I’m disappointed in Russia, but we’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks,” Trump told NBC News, teasing: “I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov at a [Southeast Asian diplomatic summit](https://time.com/7301508/marco-rubio-asean-asia-indo-pacific-security-trump-tariffs-china/ "undefined") this week, [told reporters](https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/07/secretary-of-state-marco-rubios-remarks-to-the-press-at-the-kuala-lumpur-convention-center "undefined"): “We need to see a roadmap moving forward about how this conflict can conclude.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7301675/ukraine-us-weapons-nato-military-defense-spending-trump-putin-russia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7301675/ukraine-us-weapons-nato-military-defense-spending-trump-putin-russia/"},"headline":"Trump Announces ‘Deal’ to Arm Ukraine via NATO","datePublished":"2025-07-11T09:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-11T01:15:17.149Z","description":"The arrangement allows Ukraine to get weapons it needs in its war with Russia while providing a way for Europe to increase its defense spending as promised.","url":"https://time.com/7301675/ukraine-us-weapons-nato-military-defense-spending-trump-putin-russia/","keywords":["Ukraine","Donald Trump","overnight","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8c78d59b25c5c15/6998c82f83ec3765b2c7ac1a/NATO-deal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chad de Guzman","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8c78d59b25c5c15/6998c82f83ec3765b2c7ac1a/NATO-deal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"German Minister Of Defence Meets German Soldiers Stationed In Poland","caption":"German servicemen transport MIM 104 Patriot surface-to-air defence system batteries during German Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius visit to the German compound of military training ground German Patriot defence systems are placed in Jasionka near Rzes","creditText":"Dominika Zarzycka—NurPhoto/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ukraine/","name":"Ukraine"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7301675/ukraine-us-weapons-nato-military-defense-spending-trump-putin-russia/","name":"Trump Announces ‘Deal’ to Arm Ukraine via NATO"}}]}] ```