KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥 U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 special envoy to Ukraine and Russia met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday, as anticipation grew over a possible shift in the Trump administration鈥檚 policy on the three-year war.
Trump last week said he would make a 鈥渕ajor statement鈥 on Russia on Monday. He was due to meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Washington. Rutte also planned to hold talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as members of Congress.
Trump made one of his diplomatic priorities, and he has about Russian President Vladimir on U.S-led peace efforts.
Trump has long boasted of his friendly relationship with Putin, and after taking office in January repeatedly said that Russia was more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal. At the same time, Trump accused Zelenskyy of prolonging the war and called him a 鈥渄ictator without elections.鈥
But Russia鈥檚 relentless onslaught against civilian areas of Ukraine wore down Trump鈥檚 patience. In April, Trump urged Putin to 鈥淪TOP!鈥 launching deadly barrages on Kyiv, and the following month said in a social media post that the Russian leader 鈥 !鈥 as the bombardments continued.
鈥淚 am very disappointed with President Putin, I thought he was somebody that meant what he said," Trump said late Sunday. "He鈥檒l talk so beautifully and then he鈥檒l bomb people at night. We don鈥檛 like that.鈥
Zelenskyy said he and Trump's envoy, , had 鈥渁 productive conversation鈥 about strengthening Ukrainian air defenses, joint arms production and purchasing U.S. weapons in conjunction with European countries, as well as the possibility of tighter international sanctions on the Kremlin.
鈥淲e hope for the leadership of the United States, because it is clear that Moscow will not stop unless its ... ambitions are stopped by force,鈥 Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
Talks on sending Patriot missiles
Russia has pounded Ukrainian cities, , with hundreds of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles that Ukraine鈥檚 air defenses are struggling to counter. June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded, the U.N. human rights mission in Ukraine said. Russia launched 10 times more drones and missiles in June than in the same month last year, it said.
At the same time, Russia鈥檚 bigger army is making to drive back Ukrainian defenders on parts of the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.
Trump confirmed the U.S. is sending Ukraine more badly needed and that the European Union will pay the U.S. for the 鈥渧arious pieces of very sophisticated鈥 weaponry.
While the EU is not allowed under its treaties to buy weapons, individual EU member countries can and are, just as NATO member countries are buying and sending weapons.
Germany has offered to finance two Patriot systems, government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said Monday in Berlin. As far as other European countries financing more systems is concerned, that would have to be seen in talks, he said.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was traveling to Washington on Monday to meet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Germany has already given three of its own Patriot systems to Ukraine, and Pistorius was quoted as saying in an interview with the Financial Times that it now has only six.
'Weapons flowing at a record level'
A top ally of Trump, Republican Sen. of South Carolina, said Sunday that the conflict is nearing an inflection point as Trump shows growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back against Russia's full-scale invasion. It鈥檚 a cause that Trump had previously dismissed as being a waste of U.S. taxpayer money.
鈥淚n the coming days, you鈥檒l see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves,鈥 Graham said on CBS鈥 鈥淔ace the Nation.鈥 He added: 鈥淥ne of the biggest miscalculations Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there鈥檚 going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table.鈥
Kirill Dmitriev, Putin鈥檚 envoy for international investment who took part in talks with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia in February, dismissed what he said were efforts to drive a wedge between Moscow and Washington.
鈥淐onstructive dialogue between Russia and the United States is more effective than doomed-to-fail attempts at pressure,鈥 Dmitriev said in a post on Telegram. 鈥淭his dialogue will continue, despite titanic efforts to disrupt it by all possible means.鈥
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Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
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