Trump promises Ukraine "billions of dollars" in weapons at NATO's expense - Rutte

US President Donald Trump promised to provide Ukraine with "billions of dollars" in weapons, the financing of which will be borne by NATO countries.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said this in an interview with Fox News, the New York Post reports.

"I think it's fair," he commented on Trump's demand that NATO allies pay for the weapons.

According to Rutte, the alliance plans to transfer weapons to Kyiv as part of military aid packages that will be "maximum effective."

The Secretary General said that last week Trump personally told him of his readiness to increase support for Ukraine. "Last Thursday, President Trump called me and said: 'Mark, we really want to increase support for Ukraine in terms of arms supplies.' And this morning I was at the White House, and he said that when it comes to sanctions, we obviously need to take the next step now," he said.

Rutte also suggested that Trump was irritated by his latest conversation with russian dictator vladimir putin.

He urged world leaders who trade with Moscow to call putin and push him to reach a peace deal before Trump's promised secondary tariffs take effect.

Separately, Rutte confirmed US plans to send 17 Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine. According to him, they will arrive in a few days, and the agreement between the US and NATO stipulates that European allies will pay for the American weapons.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on July 14, US President Trump said that Ukraine would receive 17 MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems. Some of them will arrive in the coming days.

In addition, Trump is considering the possibility of transferring JASSM cruise missiles to Ukraine.