Trump Disappointed with Putin...Hints at Resuming Patriot Support for Ukraine

U.S. President Donald Trump, on the 4th (local time), responded to a question about whether he would agree to provide more Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine as requested by Ukraine, mentioning that "it will be necessary." This statement followed his explicit dissatisfaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who previously rejected Ukraine's ceasefire proposal, leading to expectations that Patriot air defense missile support for Ukraine might resume.

According to Reuters on the 5th, President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One the previous day that he had a 'good call' with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying, "They will need them for defense. They are getting hit pretty hard, so they need something."

President Trump highlighted the excellence of the Patriot, saying, "It's fantastic." His remarks came as the United States was visibly moving to halt weapon support to Ukraine, including the Patriot.

Regarding whether Russia and Ukraine could agree to a ceasefire, President Trump said, "It's a very tough situation." He added, "I had a very unsatisfactory call with President Putin. He wants to see it through to the end, just wants to keep killing people. This is not good."

He also stated that during his call with President Putin, they had 'many' conversations about sanctions, saying, "He understands that they (the sanctions) could come."

Previously, on the 3rd, President Trump spoke with President Putin about ceasefire negotiations but failed to make any significant progress, as President Putin insisted on maintaining his war goals.

Immediately after the call with President Trump, President Putin launched a large-scale airstrike with 539 drones and 11 missiles targeting major Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv. At that time, 26 casualties were reported.

Axios, citing sources, reported that President Trump told President Zelensky he wanted to help Ukraine's air defense and would check on any pending support.

President Zelensky wrote on social media platform X, "We had a very important and productive conversation" and said they agreed to cooperate to strengthen protection over their skies.

Last month, the U.S., under President Joe Biden, halted promised weapon deliveries to Ukraine, citing depleted own inventories. The suspended support reportedly included about 30 Patriot air defense missiles, over 8,500 155mm shells, more than 250 precision-guided GLMRS rockets, and 142 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles.

Yonghyun Shin, Hankyung.com reporter yonghyun@hankyung.com