U.S. Arms Ukraine and Threatens Sanctions on Countries that Buy Russian Oil

Reuters

A launcher of a Patriot air defence system of the Ukrainian Air Forces is seen on the ground, amid R

In a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy, President Donald Trump on Monday, 14 July 2025, announced new military aid for Ukraine and issued a stark warning to countries purchasing Russian oil, threatening them with sanctions unless Moscow agrees to a peace deal within 50 days.

Seated alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, President Trump voiced his disappointment in Russian President Vladimir Putin and unveiled plans to send billions of dollars’ worth of advanced weaponry to Ukraine.

"We're going to make top-of-the-line weapons, and they'll be sent to NATO," President Trump said, adding that Washington's NATO allies would pay for the weapons.

The package includes Patriot air defence missile systems, which Ukraine has urgently requested to protect its cities from Russian aerial attacks.

"It's a full complement with the batteries," President Trump said. "We're going to have some come very soon, within days... a couple of the countries that have Patriots are going to swap over and will replace the Patriots with the ones they have."

Some or all of 17 Patriot batteries ordered by other countries could be sent to Ukraine "very quickly", he said.

His threat to impose so-called secondary sanctions on Russia, if carried out, would be a major shift in Western sanctions policy. Lawmakers from both political parties in the United States are pushing for a bill that would authorise such measures, targeting other countries that buy Russian oil.

Throughout the more than three-year-old war, Western countries have cut off most of their own financial ties to Moscow, but have held back 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 shipping oil to buyers such as China and India.

"We're going to be doing secondary tariffs," President Trump said. "If we don't have a deal in 50 days, it's very simple, and they'll be at 100%."

A White House official said President Trump was referring to 100% tariffs on Russian goods as well as secondary sanctions on other countries that buy its exports.

Until now, Western sanctions have largely focused on cutting direct financial ties with Moscow, while refraining from measures that would block Russia’s ability to sell oil on the global market. This has allowed Russia to continue generating significant revenue through exports to countries such as China and India.

The proposed sanctions and new arms deliveries mark a sharp policy reversal and signal a more confrontational U.S. stance aimed at pressuring Russia to end its more than three-year-old war in Ukraine.



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