US president says Ukraine must be able to defend itself and is ‘getting hit very hard’.
Published On 8 Jul 2025
United States President Donald Trump has said his administration will send more weapons to Ukraine after an earlier decision to halt some arms shipments drew condemnation from Kyiv and its supporters.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, DC on Monday, Trump said the new shipments would be primarily comprised of “defensive weapons”.
“We’re going to send some more weapons. We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves,” Trump said.
“They are getting hit very hard now.”
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed Trump’s comments later on Monday, saying that Washington would provide “additional defensive weapons” to “ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops”.
Parnell a