Trump promises Ukraine new Patriot air defense systems, but delivery will be delayed. Media gave reason

US President Donald Trump said that he would send MIM-104 Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine, although he had previously repeatedly opposed such deliveries. This is reported by Military Watch Magazine.

According to Trump, the decision was made due to the actions of the russian authorities and president vladimir putin personally. "We will send them Patriots, which they desperately need, because putin has really surprised a lot of people. He talks well, and then in the evening he bombs everyone. But there is a little problem. I don't like it," Trump told reporters.

He also added that along with the Patriot, other "very sophisticated" military equipment may be sent. "We will, in fact, send them various units of very sophisticated military equipment. They will pay us 100% for it, and that is how we want it," he emphasized.

This statement came just days after Trump called the Patriot a "very rare and very expensive" system and questioned whether it was worth agreeing to the Ukrainian request, emphasizing: "It's a shame that we have to spend so much money." Ukrainian officials have previously expressed pessimism about possible deliveries.

According to the publication, the promise to provide Patriot will reduce pressure on the Trump administration from NATO and domestically, but actual deliveries are unlikely to take place in the near future due to an acute shortage of such systems in the United States. Back in early July, it was reported that the Pentagon's stock of Patriot interceptor missiles had decreased to 25% of the required level. This shortage worsened after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on a US air base in Qatar on June 23, and Patriot launched dozens of missiles to intercept the attack.

The United States now faces a dilemma: whether to replenish its own stocks or allocate systems to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Kyiv is increasingly in need of new air defense systems due to the depletion of the Soviet S-300 and the loss of Patriots to russian missiles.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on July 14, US President Trump announced 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.