Trump’s 17 Patriots: The Air War Against Putin Just Rebooted

This isn’t aid

17 Patriots.

That is the number President Trump used to tell the world about his plan to boost Ukraine’s air defense.

That’s not just ambitious. It’s borderline impossible—because no country is willing to part with its own air-defense systems right now. When the Netherlands stepped up and said it would pay the full cost immediately if anyone was willing to donate a Patriot system to Ukraine, the world responded with silence.

The Dutch then modified their offer: they said, we’ll partner. If any country is willing to donate part of a system—launchers, radars, control stations—they would match it with components of their own. A kind of mix-and-match coalition. After months of effort, they managed to piece together just enough hardware to deliver a single functioning system to Ukraine. Just one. Not even two.

Which makes the number Trump announced—seventeen—staggering. That figure leaves only one real possibility on the table.

Israel.

Estimates vary. Some say Israel has around 12 Patriot batteries, others say six. No one knows for sure. What’s clear is that most of these systems have been sitting idle for years—warehoused as contingency backups while Israel aggressively developed its own homegrown air-defense architecture.

And here’s where Trump’s leverage matters. After he intervened during the Iran-Israel war, he earned political capital in Jerusalem. Israel had already retired its Patriots from active duty. It’s entirely plausible the Trump team convinced Israel to quietly hand over its retired systems—first to Europe, then routed to Ukraine.

Of course, there’s always some theater. These systems have been in storage for so long they’ll need reconditioning—cleaning, testing, component swaps. No one should expect them to be fielded in Ukraine overnight.

Also unclear: are we talking about 17 full batteries? Seventeen fire units—the core configuration for a deployable Patriot system? Or just 17 launchers? The Pentagon isn’t known for clarity on these matters.

But what I am extremely confident of is this: the deal is done. Ukraine is going to get a massive boost to its air-defense capabilities. And it didn’t happen in isolation. It was part of a broader play—one that tells you exactly how Trump operates when he’s cornered: shift the board, change the rules, and starve your enemies of oxygen.

The reason is simple. Trump had a very clear plan to bust the pro-Putin gang inside Washington, D.C., and the MAGA propagandists orbiting them. These were the same people he had fed for years, giving them just enough to stay loyal. But now he needed to quietly cut them off—and he did it with surgical precision.

The national security Republicans—those still holding the line—were trying to push three critical moves through Congress.

• First, they tried to clear around $300 million in Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), hoping it would unlock over $3 billion in PDA stockpile transfers that were stuck in the Biden-era pipeline.

• Second, they pushed for permission to transfer offensive weapons for Ukraine’s F-16s—missiles capable of reaching deeper into Russian territory.

• Third, they aimed to pass the new sanctions bill and send it straight to Trump’s desk.

Trump quietly sidestepped all three. There will be no PDA clearance. There will be no offensive weapons. There will be no new sanctions on Russia.

And he’s not delivering the Patriots as aid, either. This is not a gift. It’s not assistance. It’s sales. Foreign Military Sales.

As soon as that became clear, I started watching three accounts.

1. The Colby guy.

2. The Jewish Space Laser lady.

3. And the guy who went to jail, came back, and now thinks he’s America’s Dugin.

Colby fell in line immediately—showering Trump with praise for his bold strategic pivot. The laser lady flailed for a minute. She started ranting about aid and taxpayer dollars—completely missing the point that this wasn’t aid and no tax money was involved. She posted once, then quickly retreated to the familiar corners of the MAGA circus. The ex-prisoner? Furious. Not because of the policy itself, but because Putin would be furious. That tells you all you need to know.

Trump had seized control of the MAGA narrative. Any attack would now bounce off.

More importantly, he positioned himself to pivot in any direction from here—hawk or dove, victor or peacemaker—while still being able to claim strategic dominance if Putin loses.

Optics are squarely in his favor now. Patriots will reach Ukraine.

For obvious reasons, the next big question will be about Patriot interceptor supply. And the answer is: it will remain a problem—no matter what.

Until the German production line starts churning out new interceptors, the global inventory will continue to shrink. Allies will be forced to shuffle stockpiles from one theater to another just to maintain minimal coverage. It’s not sustainable—but for now, it’s all they’ve got.

From Ukraine’s perspective, though, this is a massive upgrade to their air-defense architecture. The additional units will allow for greater dispersal, wider coverage, and more efficient targeting. Interception rates will rise. So will survivability.

But there’s something even more important: Ukraine is now in a position to revive its “Sambush” tactics.

The Trump administration has reportedly asked Ukraine to avoid striking Russian refineries. That, combined with Trump’s refusal to impose new sanctions on Russia, makes it likely this request will remain in place. And unfortunately, Ukraine may have to accept that constraint—at least for now. I hope the administration eventually lifts it, but the odds aren’t great.

Still, the battlefield calculus is shifting.

German trainers were the ones who taught Ukrainian crews how to execute Sambush tactics using Patriot systems. The doctrine is simple: shoot-and-scoot. Fire from one position, then immediately redeploy before counter-battery fire or airstrikes can locate and destroy the launcher.

The first Patriot systems arrived in Ukraine in April 2023. By the second half of May, Ukrainian forces had already adapted the tactic and made it lethal. In quick succession, they downed a Su-34, a Su-35, two Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare helicopters, and another Mi-8 transport chopper.

The impact was devastating. So devastating, in fact, that the Biden and Scholz administrations stepped in to stop it.

“Ukraine is also barred from using Western air defense systems against attacks from Russian aircraft—it has to wait until bombers release their cruise missiles and these are over Ukrainian territory to combat them,” Bild reported. “The Ukrainian army used the Patriot system independently at least once. The reaction: angry calls from Berlin and Washington and threats to end anti-aircraft missile supplies if such an incident repeats.”

It was sheer madness. Ukraine was told it couldn’t strike Russian jets preemptively. It had to wait until the missiles were in the air—until they crossed into Ukrainian territory—before responding.

A capability born from Ukrainian ingenuity and necessity, one that temporarily neutralized Russia’s airpower edge, was shut down by its own allies.

And after that, the Russian missile barrages grew—in scope, in intensity, and in psychological effect. Ukraine could no longer move its Patriots freely. The “Sambush” was over.

Now, it’s not.

And I’m fairly certain: at some point soon, they’re going to bring it back.

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