Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement late Monday that, at Trump's direction, the Department of Defense "is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops."

"We're going to send some more weapons – we have to. They have to be able to defend themselves," Trump said of Ukraine July 7.

Donald Trump has promised to send more weapons to Ukraine after Russia turned down White House calls for a ceasefire and peace talks. The US president said Ukraine is being ‘hit very hard now’ by the Kremlin’s missile and drone strikes, some of which hit the capital Kyiv just hours after he got off the phone with Vladimir Putin.