The ‘massive’ extent of new U.S. lethal arms package to Ukraine revealed as Republicans remain divided

NATO Secretary Mark Rutte said the new flow of arms from the U.S. to Ukraine will be ‘massive’ as Donald Trump strikes a new hardline with Putin. 

Rutte described the package in comments made exclusively to the Daily Mail as he briefed lawmakers on a scheme to funnel lethal weaponry to Ukraine as it staves off repeated Russian drone and missile attacks.

Republicans have been publicly divided over whether to send additional assistance to the country as the war continues.

Rutte’s pressure campaign to sway top lawmakers comes as Trump decided to ramp up pressure on Moscow as Putin continues his bombing campaign on Ukraine. 

He gave the Russian leader a 50-day deadline to strike a peace deal or else face secondary tariffs at 100 percent.  

And he announced a major arms deal struck with NATO in an Oval Office meeting with Rutte on Monday. 

Trump says that American taxpayers have paid too much to defend Ukraine, and although the military will provide lethal weapons, including Patriot missiles, the U.S. won’t be footing the bill.

Rutte told the Daily Mail that the packages will be designed ‘to make sure that Ukrainians get a handle on what they need… taking into account what [the] U.S. can deliver.’

He emphasized that there should be ‘enough stuff and gear here to defend yourselves.’

‘But this is potentially massive. And not only air defense, it is also missiles and ammunition,’ Rutte added.

He stressed that the proposal is designed to make sure that ‘you have enough in stock for yourself,’ amid concerns among top Pentagon officials who ordered a temporary pause to aid while it assessed U.S. stockpiles.

He said the ‘potentially massive air defense, plus missiles and ammunition’ packages still had to be arranged at the granular level. 

‘But NATO is good at this, because we have designed these packages over three and a half years now with Ukrainian.’

Rutte spoke a day after meeting with Trump in the office. The president deferred to Rutte in response to a question by the Daily Mail about whether there was a ceiling on what the Europeans are willing to meet. 

‘It’s not that you can have a shopping list and you can order whatever you want, because the U.S. has to make sure that the U.S. keeps his hands on what US needs also to keep the whole world safe. Because in the end, you are the police agent of the whole world.’

He brought up Germany and other major NATO allies ‘talking about big numbers.’

‘They are really enthusiastic about this. They’re willing to go very far, I will tell you,’ Trump added.

As he left the White House today, Trump denied a key element of Financial Times report that Trump had a fiery conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky July 4 where he encouraged the Ukrainian to strike deep inside Russian territory.

‘Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? . . . Can you hit St Petersburg too?’ Trump asked his counterpart, according to the report.

Asked if Zelensky should target Moscow, Trump replied: ‘No, he shouldn’t target Moscow.’

Trump defended his latest statements toward Russia – that he will impose ‘secondary tariffs’ after 50 days if there is no deal with Moscow.     

‘What we decided is us making up its stockpiles available for Ukraine, paid for better Europeans, in a way, of course, that you have enough in stock for yourself.

Potentially massive air defense, plus missiles and ammunition. But of course, all the details now will be work through.

The president has also publicly refused to pick sides in the war, saying he’s on ‘humanity’s side.’ 

‘You know what the side I’m on – humanity’s side. I want to stop the killing of thousands of people to go away. Stop the killing. I want the killing to stop,’ he told reporters.

‘How do you say it in English? Infinite – it’s not finite,’ Rutte told the Daily Mail between meetings in the Senate.