19 July 2025
Sitting next to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office on 14 July, President Donald Trump claimed, "It's a very big deal we've made". Rutte acting as Trump’s echo chamber said, “Mr. President, dear Donald, this is really big".
The deal that was announced by Trump was that the United States would ship "billions of dollars' worth" of military equipment (mainly Raytheon-made Patriot air missile and defence systems) to NATO members, paid for by the alliance, to be handed over to Ukrainian forces. Rutte said the deal would put "really massive numbers" of vital supplies, including air defence, in Ukraine's hands. Trump stated that Ukraine would receive an unspecified number of Patriot systems "within days".
Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, will be involved, Rutte said, as well as the Nordic nations of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
The agreement was meant to be the latest indicator of Trump's growing irritation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the stalled progress toward the ceasefire Trump had pledged to secure.
However, with the rejection of France and Italy, it was also a marker of underlying, unsolved tensions in Europe despite the NATO Secretary General trying to paint the alliance as more united than ever.
The French government will not join the initiative because of its emphasis on European strategic autonomy and the desire to support Europe's military industrial base, Politico reported on 15 July, citing two French officials. Italy will also refrain from participating, according to reports in Italian media, since the country does not feel as threatened by Russia as other NATO nations.
Both countries were also probably hoping for a similar deal for orders of the Franco-Italian SAMP-T ground-based air defence system, even though there is currently insufficient capacity to produce the system in significant numbers quickly. France’s air force also uses it to defend its airborne nuclear forces.
Europe and Canada appear to be walking a tightrope between wanting to keep the US engaged in the continent's security and weaning NATO's non-US members off a dependence on the country's equipment. While NATO broadly agrees Europe needs (and will) surge military spending, the industrial strategy is less clear, and there remain significant differences between the priorities of individual countries.
Ukraine has frequently appealed for more Patriot batteries, which are composed of several components, including radars, launchers and interceptor missiles, as well as a command-and-control centre.
Ukrainian President Zelensky said on 10 July that Germany would fund the purchase of two Patriot systems, while Norway would finance a third. Trump said an unnamed nation could provide all or at least the better part of "17 Patriots". It was unclear which parts of the Patriot system the president was referring to.
Ukraine has faced intensified Russian aerial attacks in recent months, despite US efforts to bridge the gap between Moscow and Kyiv. Trump, who had long held off on criticizing the Russian president, has increasingly made his frustration with Putin known. "I'm disappointed in him, but I'm not done with him," Trump told the BBC on 15 July.