US President Donald Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine on Monday, threatening sanctions against buyers of Russian exports unless Russia agrees to a peace deal. This represents a major policy shift fueled by frustration over Moscow's ongoing attacks on its neighbor.

However, Trump's sanctions threat came with a 50-day grace period, a move welcomed by investors in Russia, where the ruble recovered from earlier losses and the stock market rallied.

Meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he was disappointed with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that billions of dollars in US weapons would be provided to Ukraine. "We're going to make the best weapons, and they're going to NATO," Trump said, adding that Washington's NATO allies would pay for them.

The weapons will include Patriot air defense missiles, which Ukraine desperately needs. "The equipment is complete with batteries," Trump said. "Some will be coming soon, in a few days... some countries that have Patriots will be swapping them out and replacing them with Patriots."

Some or all of the 17 Patriot batteries ordered by other countries could be delivered to Ukraine "very quickly," he said. Rutte said Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the UK, the Netherlands, and Canada all want to be part of Ukraine's rearmament. Trump's threat to impose so-called secondary sanctions on Russia, if implemented, would represent a major shift in Western sanctions policy.

Lawmakers from both US political parties are pushing a bill that would authorize such measures, targeting other countries that buy Russian oil. During the more than three-year war, Western countries have severed most of their financial ties with Moscow but have refrained from taking steps that would restrict Russia from selling its oil elsewhere. That has allowed Moscow to continue earning hundreds of billions of dollars from oil shipments to buyers like China and India.

"We will implement secondary tariffs," Trump said. "If we don't reach a deal in 50 days, it's very easy, and they will go to 100%." A White House official said Trump was referring to 100% tariffs on Russian goods as well as secondary sanctions on other countries that buy its exports. Eighty-five of the 100 US senators

co-sponsored a bill that would give Trump the authority to impose 500% tariffs on any country that aids Russia, but Republican leaders in the chamber have been waiting for Trump to give them the green light for a vote.

In Kyiv, people welcomed the announcement, but some remained cautious about Trump's intentions. "I'm glad that finally European politicians, with their patience and conviction, have persuaded him (Trump) to our side a little, because from the beginning it was clear that he didn't really want to help us," said Denys Podilchuk, a 39-year-old dentist in Kyiv. (alg)

Source: Reuters