German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told Reuters that a decision to send two Patriot systems to Ukraine will come “in days or weeks, but actual delivery could take months.”

US President Donald Trump announced on July 14 that the US will sell $10bn worth of weapons to the European Nato allies that will then deliver them to Ukraine. He also said the US will impose secondary sanctions, 100% tariffs, on any country doing business with Russia if there is no ceasefire deal in 50-days.

While European leaders welcomed Trump’s decisions, they were less happy about the new pause. EU foreign policy chief and former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that the weapon pledge was positive but called the 50-day deadline “too long.” Analysts have pointed out that Trump is fond of pauses and prone to extending deadlines, earning him the moniker “TACO”: Trump Always Chickens Out.

"On one hand, it is very positive that President Trump is taking on a strong stance on Russia... On the other hand, 50 days is a very long time if we see that they are killing innocent civilians," Kallas told The Telegraph

Trump has become increasingly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the ceasefire talks stalled in May and Russia has launched a missile war on Ukraine in its most intense barrages to date, targeting military, defence and infrastructure assets on a daily basis. In the last week Trump has made his most pro-Ukraine, anti-Russia comments since taking office in January.

The announcement marks a change in Trump’s policy. Since taking over he has imposed no new sanctions and allocated no new funding to Ukraine. The new deal takes the US out of the war effort on hand as the US is no longer directly involved in supporting Ukraine, but marks Trump's first contribution to defending Ukraine on the other.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed yesterday: “If Europe funds it, the U.S. will supply the weapons. I assured Trump Germany will play a key role.”

Pistorius’ comments also confirm that the new US-supplied military aid will not arrive in Ukraine soon. Germany said earlier that it will transfer two Patriot batteries that it has on order with US arms makers due for delivery to Ukraine but won’t send one of the 12 batteries it maintains in Germany to the frontline. Norway also said earlier that it will send one of the three it maintains to Ukraine.

Trump announced a total of 17 Patriot “batteries” would be sent to Ukraine “very soon”, however it remains unclear if he was confusing “batteries” with “interceptor” ammunition. Europe has a total of 18 batteries and would denude itself of defence if it were to send all these to Ukraine now.

Separate reports have claimed that Israel will send seven batteries to Ukraine and last autumn ammunition intended for Israel was diverted to Ukraine. The US recently supplied Israel with more air defence ammunition to fend off an Iranian missile barrage during the 12-day war and it is believed that the US has resupplied it since from its stockpile of over 60 Patriot batteries. However, US Secretary for Defence Pete Hegseth recently halted all new weapons deliveries to Ukraine, saying US stocks are running very low. The Guardian reported this month that the Pentagon only has 25% of the Patriots it needs to meet its strategic plans. The US is currently producing 4-6 new PAtirot batteries a year and there is a reported five year backlog for 35 new systems orders.

A question mark is hanging over where the Patriot batteries promised by Trump will come from and when they will arrive in Kyiv.

Despite the deal, Trump remains pessimistic about Ukraine’s chances of fending off the Russian summer offensive. Trump still believes Moscow has the upper hand, according to a senior White House official, Politico reports.

“The president’s view is Russia is going to win, it’s a matter of how long it takes,” the senior White House official told Politico. “Russia has the bigger economy, has the bigger military, has more than enough bodies to throw into the meat grinder, and just doesn’t care. And although they are making slow progress, they are still making progress. The president just wants to stop the killing.”