US President Donald Trump revealed that First Lady Melania Trump had shaken his views regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a White House meeting, Trump revealed that his wife gave a very critical reaction to his earlier impression of the Kremlin leader and his Ukraine war.
While sitting next to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump declared, “My conversations with Putin are always very pleasant. I say, isn’t that a very lovely conversation? And then the missiles go off that night.”
The Republican leader further shared his personal conversation with Melania, stating that “I go home, I tell the First Lady: I spoke with Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation. She said: ‘Really? Another city was just hit.”
Melania Trump, born in Slovenia, previously part of Yugoslavia, has a unique perspective on the volatile geopolitics of the continent.
As soon as Russia launched its complete invasion of Ukraine, she referred to the footage from the ravaged country as "heartbreaking and horrific". She also requested donations to the Red Cross.
Hitting out at Putin, Trump refused to call him “an assassin”, but added that “he’s a tough guy. It’s been proven over the years. He’s fooled a lot of people.”
The remarks are synchronized with Trump's declaration that the US will be donating additional Patriot air defense batteries and interceptor missiles to Ukraine, with its European allies bearing the cost of delivery.
The US President also confirmed that Germany and other NATO nations would finance the systems, which would be shipped "within days." With six functioning Patriot systems already deployed, Ukraine's defenses should be substantially improved by the recently committed units in the wake of continuing Russian drone and missile attacks on large cities.
“I am grateful to President Trump for his readiness to support the protection of our people's lives,” asserted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a recent speech acknowledging the support.
