Ukraine wants Europeans to pay $100bn for weapons deal with US – FT
Ukraine has proposed that its European backers spend $100 billion providing it with American weapons, the Financial Times reported. Kiev continues to seek security guarantees from Washington.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and the heads of several Western European states held talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday to discuss the ongoing conflict and diplomatic attempts to resolve it.
Trump, who has repeatedly questioned the previous administration’s unconditional aid to Kiev, announced last month that Washington’s NATO allies would effectively pay for the US-made weapons being sent to Ukraine.
In addition to the weapons procurement proposal, Ukraine is preparing a $50 billion deal to produce drones domestically, FT reported, citing four people familiar with the matter and a document Kiev reportedly shared with the US.
Although the document contains limited details, FT said Ukraine intends to purchase at least 10 Patriot air defense missile systems.
Ukraine’s European supporters have struggled to ramp up production to meet Kiev’s needs, as Ukrainian forces have steadily been losing ground to the Russian army.
After a one-on-one meeting in Alaska on Friday, Trump claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to agree to security guarantees for Ukraine, though he did not provide specifics.
Ukraine has previously urged the West to provide security guarantees equivalent to NATO’s collective defense, while several European states have offered to deploy peacekeepers. Russia, however, has stressed that it will not tolerate any Western troops in Ukraine.
