In reversal, Trump arms Ukraine and threatens sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil

U.S. President Donald Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine on Monday, and threatened sanctions on buyers of Russian exports unless Russia agrees a peace deal, a major policy shift brought on by frustration with Moscow's ongoing attacks on its neighbor.

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But Trump's threat of sanctions came with a 50-day grace period, a move that was welcomed by investors in Russia where the rouble recovered from earlier losses and stock markets rose.

Sitting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he was disappointed in Russian President Vladimir Putin and that billions of dollars of U.S. weapons would go to Ukraine.

"We're going to make top-of-the-line weapons, and they'll be sent to NATO," Trump said, adding that Washington's NATO allies would pay for them.

The weapons would include Patriot air defence missiles Ukraine has urgently sought. "It's a full complement with the batteries," Trump said. "We're going to have some come very soon, within days... a couple of the countries that have Patriots are going to swap over and will replace the Patriots with the ones they have." Some or all of 17 Patriot batteries ordered by other countries could be sent to Ukraine "very quickly", he said.Rutte said Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Canada all wanted to be a part of rearming Ukraine.Trump's threat to impose socalled secondary sanctions on Russia, if carried out, would be a major shift in Western sanctions policy.

Lawmakers from both U.S. political parties are pushing for a bill that would authorise such measures, targeting other countries that buy Russian oil.