Chris Partridge
Weapons analyst

Last night, Donald Trump confirmed that the US would send Patriot missile defence systems to Ukraine, as part of a shipment of military equipment.

The missiles are not a silver bullet, but they are extremely capable, effective and expensive.

One Patriot missile costs around $3m – three times the cost of a missile in a NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System)..

Patriots were used against Iraq’s Russian-made Scud missiles during the first Gulf War and have been continuously developed since by Raytheon Technologies.

They come in batteries that include a command centre, a radar station to detect incoming threats – and launchers.

Ranges to target reportedly vary between 40km to 160km (100 miles), depending on the type of missile used – and they are what’s termed “point defence” systems: generally designed to defend particular areas such as cities or important infrastructures.

In other words high-value assets.

At 10:00 local time (15:00 BST), Donald Trump will meet Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte in the White House. Their talks are closed to the media, but there may be public remarks from the pair later on.

A few miles down the road, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius will meet US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

In Kyiv, US Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg is expected to discuss sanctions against Russia and Ukraine’s security with Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak.

We’ll be monitoring these various meetings throughout today. Stay with us for updates and analysis.

Ukrainian air defences “neutralised” 108 Russian drones during an overnight attack on 13-14 July, Ukraine’s air force says on Telegram.

In total, Russia used 136 drones, including decoy drones. The air force says 61 were shot down and 47 jammed. There were hits at 10 locations.

Russia also launched four missiles from Kursk Region – the air force did not report intercepting them.

• This post contains language some readers may find offensive

Donald Trump’s recent criticisms of Vladimir Putin are a marked shift in tone from the US president, who had previously taken a warmer stance towards the Russian leader.

After he returned to the White House in January, Trump set out to restore relations with Russia, holding phone calls with Putin, and arranging high-level talks between representatives from Washington and Moscow in Saudi Arabia.

Early in his term, he also repeated Russian talking points – referring to Ukrainian President Voldoymyr Zelensky as a “dictator”, for example. The US also voted alongside Russia against a UN resolution identifying Russia as the “aggressor” in the war in Ukraine.

But that is now changing. In the spring, Trump told reporters he was “pissed off” with Putin and threatened new tariffs on Russian oil exports if he felt that Moscow was delaying a peace deal.

On 3 July, the two leaders spoke by phone. Trump has since expressed frustration that a ceasefire breakthrough wasn’t reached, telling a cabinet meeting “I’m not happy about that” and adding “we get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth”.

On Sunday, he went further again, saying Putin “talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening”.

Ukrainian drones attacked a trainingcentre at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Sundayevening, according to the Russian-installed administration of the Russia-heldplant in south-eastern Ukraine.

It says “no critical” damage was recorded.

The BBC has not been able to verify the report which was published by the administration on Telegram this morning.

The report comes a day after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that it had heard hundreds of rounds ofsmall arms fire late on Saturday at the plant.

• For context: Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia plant in thefirst weeks of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Each side regularly accuses the other of firing or taking actions that could trigger a nuclear accident.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff has just posted a video on X showing Donald Trump’s special envoy Gen Keith Kellogg arriving in Ukraine.

He got off a train in Kyiv and greeted Andriy Yermak with a salute followed by a big hug.

During his visit, Kellogg is expected to discuss security for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.

Later today Donald Trump is set to meet Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte in Washington DC.

Rutte’s 10:00 local time (14:00 GMT) Oval Office meeting will be closed to media, and the Nato chief is also slated to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as well.

We will be keeping an eye on both and be bringing you the latest as it happens.

Donald Trump’s pledge of support comes at a critical time in the war in Ukraine.

Last week, Ukraine suffered its heaviest aerial attack, when 728 Russian drones and 13 cruise or ballistic missiles struck cities around the country.

The city of Lutsk – which lies 90km (56 miles) from the Polish border in western Ukraine and is a transit hub for military and humanitarian aid – suffered the brunt of the overnight attack.

Attacks were also reported in the western cities of Lviv and Rivne.

The night after, capital Kyiv was hit by a massive attack, killing at least two people and injuring 16.

This led Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to declare that “Russia is obviously stepping up terror” and urged partners to “act faster investing in weapons production and developing tech”.

Last month, Ukraine recorded the highest monthly civilian casualties in three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 injured, according to the UN.

Donald Trump teased today’s announcement last night, when he spoke to reporters ahead of his Washington DC meeting with Nato chief Mark Rutte.

“We basically are going to send them [Ukraine] various pieces of very sophisticated military,” he told media gathered on the tarmac outside Air Force One.

He went on to say “they” are “going to pay us 100%” – it’s unclear if that means Ukraine, the European Union, Nato members, or a combination.

The US president refused to go into specifics on the number of weapons Ukraine would receive, but said “we will send them Patriots, which they desperately need”.

The decision to back Ukraine comes after Trump appeared to grow frustrated at talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Putin really surprised a lot of people,” Trump explained. “He talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening. So there’s a little bit of a problem there. I don’t like it.”

Jenna Moon
Live editor

US President Donald Trump has signalled a “major” statement on Ukraine today, amid what appears to be his increasing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Sunday night, Trump said that “sophisticated” military equipment will be heading to Ukraine, including Patriot air defence missiles.

And the US president seemed irritated by Moscow’s lack of action towards a ceasefire in Ukraine, telling reporters that “Putin … talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening”.

His comments follow an interview on Thursday, in which he promised a “major statement” today. US news outlet Axios reported last night that the president is considering sending offensive weapons to Ukraine.

So far, Trump has only offered the nation defensive weaponry – such as the Patriot system.

Trump will meet Nato chief Mark Rutte today at the White House, and US special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is in Kyiv this week for talks.

We’ll be following all the major developments here, so stick with us.