Trump Repeats His Baseless
Belief about an End to Russia’s War
At the latest NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, that was almost
thrown into disarray by President Donald J. Trump’s repeated demand that he
wants to occupy Greenland, the 34 heads of state and government reasserted
their commitment to counter Russia’s threat to Euro-Atlantic Security and their
unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its freedom, sovereignty, and
territorial integrity.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was surely satisfied
when Trump said at a NATO summit Wednesday, July 8, that the United States will
give Ukraine a license to make Patriot air defense systems to counter
missile attacks from Russia in their more than four-year war. For
Zelenskyy and his team this was regarded as a huge achievement as they have
been long requesting the technology.
Allowing foreign manufacture of Patriots, which the White
House had resisted, was a turnaround for Trump that mirrored his day at the
NATO meeting: Upon arriving, he lashed out at European partners for resisting
his efforts to take control of Greenland and for not supporting his
war in Iran. But by day’s end, he described a gathering of unity and
“tremendous love,” and praised member nations on their progress in increasing
their defense spending.
“We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them
how to do it,” Trump said, sitting next to Zelenskyy. “I think they can produce
them pretty quickly.”
Patriots are expensive, in high demand and take a long time
to produce. Zelenskyy has for years been asking for more of them, and more
recently for a license so that Ukraine can manufacture its own. It takes
two-two-and-a-half years for Patriot missile systems to be installed in
Ukraine. To buy a single, fully functioning Patriot battery, the price tag is a massive $1.1 billion.
Though not of the members’ doing, the proceedings were
marred by the latest Russian bombardment of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities as
a remember to the free world that Moscow still hasn’t fulfilled its mission in
Ukraine and is not prepared to stand down and evacuate.
Russian drones and missiles reaffirmed Moscow’s aggressive
posture vis-a-vis Kyiv, killing four people across Ukraine on Wednesday, July
8, in attacks before dawn and at midday, as Moscow kept up its pressure on Kyiv
in the latest phase of the over four-plus-year-old war. Ukraine struck oil
refineries in Russia’s Saratov and Tatarstan regions, according Zelenskyy.
In Kyiv, several explosions were heard shortly after
midnight, even before authorities could issue an alert to give civilians time
to find shelter.
The early morning Russian attacks killed one woman and
injured two others in Kyiv, according to city administration head Tymur
Tkachenko. The State Emergency Service said the attack damaged several administrative
buildings and warehouses, as well as a garage complex and several trams.
Hours later, another Russian drone struck Kyiv’s Desnianskyi
district, killing a second person and injuring six others, Tkachenko said. A
total of eight people were injured in the attacks on the capital.
In Kharkiv, two people were killed and 20 others were
injured in a series of overnight strikes, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov. In
Zaporizhzhia, a Russian guided bomb injured two people Tuesday night, regional
head Ivan Fedorov said.
But the tone of Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy was a break
from earlier encounters which ended in acrimony like the infamous oral
brawl, and American President praised the Ukrainian leader’s willingness to
reach a deal on ending the fighting in Ukraine.
“We’ve actually developed a good relationship. It’s hard to
believe,” Trump said during a news conference with Zelenskyy, adding that he
believed a deal on ending the war was on the horizon and that the U.S. would
“work on some kind of security package” to provide to Ukraine.
Trump added that the Ukrainian president has “done an
amazing job” and “been very effective” in the war as he pledged to grant
Ukraine a license to manufacture the Patriot defense systems.
Trump suggested that he’s career has been based on successful
deals. “And that’s what I do, and I do it well. And I know when people want to
make a deal. I think he wants to make a deal,” he said, assuring the
journalists in attendance that he can convince Putin to make a deal though he
offered no proof. A claim Trump repeated a few times in his repartee with
journalists.
“And I do feel that President Zelenskyy would like to get
back to rebuilding this country, as opposed to having all of this death and
destruction. Ukraine has tremendous potential. He understands that. He
understands that. We talk about that. He talks about that more than he talks
about the war. You know, to me, I think you might find that more exciting than
the war. This is brutal,” he continued.
It was interesting to hear Secretary of State Marco Rubio
opine about Ukraine’s ability to hit a Russian target at a distance of 1,700
miles. “I think what you’re discussing is the ability of Ukraine to reach deep
inside of Russia and conduct strikes. And I think that’s one of the dynamics
that’s changed in this war over the last few months — that is that Russians are
finding it more difficult to defend their own airspace. And what we hope that
means is that it’s going to create the space now to negotiate the end of this
war. It’s an escalation, but it’s also an escalation that can help lead to an
end,” he said, leaving a positive impression of Ukraine’s battlefield
abilities.
Zelenskyy offered his views on the prerequisites for peace,
at least Putin’s views. “I don’t know what conditions Putin now wants for this
peace. I think that they are changing in any way because at the very beginning
of the full-scale war, he was stronger. And now I think he is losing initiative
on the battlefield. I think his army — that’s why I think that because of
technologies. Because it’s not the question now of number of people. People and
our heroic people are very important. But now it’s not the question of only
number of people. First of all, people and technologies. People with
technologies,” the Ukrainian president said.
Not only is Zelenskyy interested in security guarantees for
Ukraine but at the press conference so was a reporter. Trump replied: “You mean
in the future? You mean after there’s an agreement? Well, we’re going to work
on a security guarantee that… And Russia respects us a lot. And we’re going to
work on some kind of a security… If we can make the right deal, we’ll help
Europe. I mean, Europe is going to be watching it. But we’re going to be
helping them. And we’ll work on some kind of a security package that we’ll make
sure.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think that if we
make a deal, Russia is going to be very happy. And they’re going to get on with
other things. They have… By the way, there’s a country, too. They have
tremendous potential. Tremendous land. Valuable land that they can do things
with. And they have tremendous potential.
“But I don’t think it’s going to happen. I don’t see… That
question is, oh, they’re going to attack again. I don’t see it at all. I think
they’ve had it. They’ve had… This has been going on for almost five years,
right? Yeah. Who would have thought? I mean, it’s a tribute because it’s a bigger
country, strong country. And it’s an amazing tribute.
Pay attention to two segments of Trump’s reply: Russia
respects us a lot and they (Russia) won’t attack Ukraine again. The American
president should leaf through any book on Ukrainian history.
On Tuesday Zelenskyy made a fresh appeal for Ukraine to be
allowed to join the alliance, saying Ukrainian armed forces are highly
experienced and would only boost NATO’s defense capabilities. Russia is
vehemently opposed to that.
In a declaration following Wednesday’s summit, NATO leaders
pledged to provide Ukraine with $80 billion to help meet its defense needs this
year and next, noting “the long-term threat Russia poses to Euro-Atlantic
security.”
Concern has been mounting among some countries with borders
near Russia that Moscow might be preparing a hybrid attack — a combination of
conventional warfare with tactics like cyberattacks as well as false flag operations
— on the continent as Putin struggles to secure victory in Ukraine.
Before the members departed, they adopted a communique that reinforced
NATO’s principles. Among them are:
* To counter the long-term threat Russia poses to
Euro-Atlantic security and stability, and the persistent threat of terrorism,
Allies are delivering on The Hague defense commitment. In 2025, European Allies
and Canada increased their investments in core defense requirements by more
than $139 billion. Our investments are delivering the capabilities we
need while strengthening our industrial base and resilience. Today in
Ankara, we announce more than $50 billion in new procurements and commit to
expanding collective manufacturing capacity and working with industry to
accelerate innovation. We will continue our work to eliminate defense
trade barriers among Allies and leverage NATO’s partnerships to maximize defense
industrial depth and cooperation.
* We are building the future: a stronger Europe in a
stronger NATO – a modernized Alliance. European Allies and Canada,
working with the United States, are assuming greater responsibility for the
Alliance’s defense. NATO’s deterrence and defense rest on an appropriate
mix of nuclear, conventional, and missile defense capabilities, complemented by
space and cyber assets. We are committed to maintaining our combat
advantage. We are investing in our ability to deploy, enable
and sustain our armed forces and deliver our capability targets in all domains,
including in deep precision strike, integrated air and missile defense,
uncrewed systems, cutting edge technologies, and intelligence
capabilities. We are developing an interoperable transatlantic warfighting
cloud and adopting powerful AI models.
* Ukraine contributes to transatlantic security, and Allies
stand united in our unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its freedom,
sovereignty, and territorial integrity. European Allies and Canada now
finance the vast majority of security assistance to Ukraine through bilateral
and multilateral means. Allies underscore that this support must be
equitable, predictable, and sustainable in the long-term. For 2026,
Allies pledge €70 billion ($80 million) in military equipment, assistance and
training for Ukraine and affirm their sovereign commitments to sustaining at
least equivalent levels in 2027. To this end, we welcome the European
Union’s decision to provide multi-year funding to Ukraine through the Ukraine
Support Loan.
In the meantime, with no concrete decision approved
regarding NATO’s military plan to help Ukraine eliminate the single deadly
nation on earth – Russia, innocent Ukrainian men, women and children will
continue to die in their homes and neighborhoods, stores, churches and schools.
Winston Churchill first sounded the alarm on the threat of
Adolf Hitler and the Nazis as early as 1933. As Prime Minister, he defined the
total war against Nazism in a series of iconic 1940 radio addresses, declaring
his goal to “wage
war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable
catalogue of human crime.”
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