The US will not directly supply weapons to Ukraine. It is planned that NATO countries will do this from their stocks, and then replace the weapons. This is reported by The game.
According to the publication, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has been working for months to broker a deal acceptable to the United States on arms for Ukraine. According to his idea, the United States would continue to supply weapons to Ukraine, especially air defense systems, and the Europeans would foot the bill.
According to Spiegel, Pistorius first mentioned the idea during a phone call with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth in late April. He asked what it would be like if Germany bought two Patriot air defense systems from the Americans and transferred them directly to Ukraine.
At first there was no reaction. But since then, the German minister has repeatedly returned to this topic — at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, at the Alliance summit in The Hague, and during his first visit to the Pentagon on July 14.
On the same day, US President Donald Trump dramatically changed his rhetoric, saying that several countries that have US Patriot systems will transfer them to Ukraine and replace them later. As Trump put it, they can be deployed “very quickly.”
Pistorius said after the meeting with Hegseth that they discussed the two Patriot systems, as well as possible ways to further support Ukraine with air defense systems. The publication adds that the best solution for Germany would be to supply these air defense systems either from the American arsenal or directly from industry.
But in Washington, Pistorius noted that Berlin was open to another option - for the Bundeswehr to transfer the systems to Ukraine, which could then be replaced with supplies from the United States.
The German defense minister is also reportedly continuing an initiative from last year, in which he raised funds from other Ukrainian partners to purchase air defense systems. According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Finland, Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Denmark plan to participate.
