NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte publicly pleaded with the Trump administration Wednesday to reverse its move to halt key weapons shipments to war-torn Ukraine.
“The US always has to make sure that their own interests are covered,” Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister dubbed the “Trump Whisperer,” told “Fox & Friends”.
“But when it comes to Ukraine, in the short term, Ukraine cannot do without all the support it can get when it gets ammunition and air defense systems.”
On Tuesday, the White House confirmed that 155mm artillery rounds, Patriot air defense missiles, Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System missiles, Stinger missiles, AIM-7 missiles and Hellfire missiles meant to go to Ukraine will no longer be shipped due to stockpiles running low.
Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister, Mariana Betsa, similarly warned Wednesday that “Any delay or slowing down in supporting Ukraine’s defense capabilities would only encourage the aggressor to continue war and terror, rather than seek peace.”
Meanwhile, Russia has continued to advance on the battlefield, particularly near the eastern city of Pokrovsk, as the Kremlin seeks to conquer all of the Donbas region.
President Trump has attempted to broker a cease-fire between the two warring countries, only to be met with continued stonewalling by Russia.
Last week, Trump attended the NATO summit in the Hague and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He later told reporters that he was “going to see” if Washington could make Patriot interceptor missiles available to the beleaguered nation.
Tuesday’s announcement followed a Pentagon assessment and was reportedly driven by Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby.
“This decision was made to put America’s interests first following a [Department of Defense] review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Post.
“The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned — just ask Iran.”
Rutte further cautioned Wednesday that while Europe is “stepping up” its support for Ukraine, it still needs “practical US support.”
“This is also in the US interest for Ukraine not to lose this war and having a huge Russia now on the border of Europe, and of course, a secure Europe also means [a] secure US,” Rutte cautioned. “So, this is all completely connected.”
“We now have to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, that Russia will come to the conference table and have a meaningful dialogue with Ukraine.”
Rutte also discussed his viral use of the term “daddy” as a term of endearment for the US president.
“Before President Trump went on the plane, the Israelis and the Iranians had committed to a cease-fire, and then that morning, before he boarded that plane, they said, ‘Well, we might get at each other’s throats again,” Rutte recalled.
“And then, President Trump, clearly, became very angry and he used some strong language to underscore that,” he added, calling the White House’s promotion of his remarks, “really funny.”