Ukraine to start getting weapons under European deal with Trump

Europe has begun buying American weapons for Ukraine in earnest, only weeks after President Trump struck a deal with Nato allies to do so.The latest sale, announced by the state department on Thursday, will send 3,500 extended-range cruise missiles and GPS navigation kits to Ukraine once Congress formally approves it, as expected.

They cost $825 million, paid for by Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway, with some unspecified financial assistance from the Pentagon. The missiles can be fired from fighter jets, and have a similar range to the Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles that Ukraine has used to strike Crimea and into Russia.The sale marks one of the first purchases by European countries on behalf of Ukraine since Trump and other Nato leaders reached the deal this summer. "It's not a game changer for Ukraine air force, but it might signal that there's a productive conversation between Europeans and the Trump administration, in terms of future supply of modern equipment to Ukraine," said Rafael Loss, a defence and security expert Last month, Trump said European allies had agreed to buy US-made weapons for Ukraine under a deal clinched with Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte.