Sending Ukraine offensive weapons could push Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, retired Adm. James Stavridis, the former NATO supreme allied commander, said on Monday.
Speaking ahead of the announcement of the U.S.-NATO weapons deal for Ukraine, Stavridis said he was hoping the deal would “move beyond strictly defensive weapons, such as the Patriot missiles, which are the air defense systems that the Ukrainians desperately need.”
“What I would like to see is a provision for the United States to send more harpoon missiles to go after the Black Sea fleet, more HIMARS, surface-to-surface weapons that can reach deep behind Russian lines, more offensive cyber capability, and Kate, maybe some more F-16 aircraft, all of which are very capable offensively,” Stavridis said in an interview with CNN’s Kate Bolduan on Monday.
“I think that is what could move Putin to the negotiating table, which is what we want on our side,” he continued.
Trump announced Monday he brokered a deal to send more weapons to Ukraine without burdening the United States. Under the deal, weapons would be sourced from NATO allies in Europe who just agreed to step up their defense spending at a summit President Trump hailed as a success.
While Trump said these deals would include Patriot missile defense batteries critical for Ukraine to guard its skies under increasing Russian bombardment, there was little information on what other weapons systems Trump would be greenlighting for countries to purchase or what would be prioritized.
“It’s everything. It’s Patriots. It’s all of them. It’s a full complement with the batteries,” Trump said, adding that the batteries could arrive in Ukraine within days.
Trump on Monday also threatened Putin with sanctions if there is no deal to end the war in Ukraine in 50 days — which Stavridis said earlier Monday he had been hoping to see.
“That sanctions bill that Lindsey Graham is pushing — that will have the effect of keeping Putin backing up,” Stavridis said, referring to the Republican senator from South Carolina. “That’s what we need to see.”
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