WASHINGTON — The United States is selling weapons to its NATO allies in Europe so they can provide them to Ukraine as it struggles to fend off a recent escalation in Russia’s drone and missile attacks, President Donald Trump and his chief diplomat said.

The arrangement allows Ukraine to get weapons it needs in its war with Russia while providing a way for Europe to increase its defense spending as promised.

Republican defense hawks are riding high after a series of events abroad prompted President Donald Trump to lean away from his more quasi-isolationist roots in his first term. His bombing of Iran, increased aggression toward Russia,

Marco Rubio and Sergei Lavrov exchanged new ideas for ending the Ukraine conflict amid Trump's consideration of increased sanctions against Russia and military aid to Ukraine

President Trump said Monday his administration will send more defensive weapons to Ukraine amid its war with Russia, days after pausing some weapons shipments.

WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump for the first time since returning to office will send weapons to Kyiv under a presidential power frequently used by his predecessor, two sources familiar with the decision said on Thursday, a move suggesting new interest by the president in defending Ukraine.

Following the Pentagon announcing a pause on weapons, the U.S. president said Ukraine must defend itself from Russia.

Flattery and pressure — coupled with President Trump’s growing dissatisfaction with President Vladimir V. Putin — have helped build momentum for new economic punishments.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the United States and Russia have exchanged new ideas for Ukraine peace talks after he met with his Russian counterpart in Malaysia.

Former Vice President Mike Pence says he thinks isolationists “may have lost some of their footing” in President Donald Trump’s administration, as he praised Trump’s tougher talk toward Russia’s Vladimir Putin and his decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities.

The Russian leader is convinced that Moscow’s battlefield superiority is growing, and that Ukraine’s defenses may collapse in the coming months, according to people close to the Kremlin.