US to sell defensive weapons to Ukraine

US President Donald Trump said on Monday, “We're going to send some more weapons. We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves. They're getting hit very hard now. We're going to have to send more weapons, defensive weapons, primarily.”

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That is quite a big change in Trump's position on Ukraine. Ever since he began his second term as president, his position has been quite ambivalent towards Ukraine. First came his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the televised press conference in White House in February this year.

His primary aim when he took over as president was to end the Russia-Ukraine war, and he was pressuring Zelensky to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin. When Zelensky was reluctant saying that one cannot trust Putin, Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance exploded. Zelensky did not step back and that was an irritant for Trump.

But nearly six months later, and with Russia having stepped up its military attacks on Ukraine, Trump seems to feel that he needs to support Ukraine militarily. He understands perhaps that if Ukraine were to lose the war, then he would have no role to play as mediator, and make his claim for the Nobel Peace Prize.