Headlines have crossed from Axios that US President Trump will announce an 'aggressive' Ukraine weapons plan Monday. See this link for more details (via BBG). This follows remarks from an interview late last week, where Trump said (to NBC) he would be making a major announcement on Monday with regards to Russia.
- Axios notes (via BBG): "President Trump will announce a new plan to arm Ukraine on Monday that is expected to include offensive weapons, two sources with knowledge of the plans tell Axios."
- It adds: "Sending offensive weapons would be a major shift for Trump, who had until recently been at pains to say he would provide only defensive weapons to avoid escalating the conflict."
- And "The new initiative, which will be rolled out in a meeting between Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, will involve European countries paying for U.S.-made weapons that will be sent to Ukraine."
- It was reported earlier that Trump would meet with the Secretary General of NATO at 10am ET.
- Earlier Trump remarked that he is very disappointed with Russian President Putin. He has made this point on numerous occasions in recent weeks, given lack of progress around Ukraine/Russia peace talks.