EA-Times Radio VideoCast: Ukraine — Will Trump Finally Learn Putin Won’t Stop Invasion?
Tuesday’s Coverage: US to Resume Arms Supplies to Kyiv
Map: Institute for the Study of War
Amid the current focus on Pentagon stocks, the US Army plans to spend more than $1.3 billion on Patriot air defense missile systems in Fiscal Year 2026.
The Army has raised its intended purchases of interceptors from 3,376 to 13,773.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has met Donald Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg in Rome:
I had a substantive conversation with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg @generalkellogg. I thanked him for participating in the Ukraine Recovery Conference, where the General leads the U.S. delegation.
We discussed weapons supplies and strengthening air… pic.twitter.com/nIHPaPktrA
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 9, 2025
A one-year-old boy has been murdered by a Russian drone strike on the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.
Dmytro was staying with his great-grandmother in the village of Pravdyne.
Ukraine’s Ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, is being recalled after four years in her post.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the rotation was a normal move, as several ambassadors to G7 and G20 countries are changing position, “Every diplomat has a rotation cycle.”
But some Trumpists have assailed Markarova. House Speaker Mike Johnson accused her of supporting the Democratic Party and its candidate Kamala Harris in last year’s Presidential election. Others called for her dismissal after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky visited an artillery shell factory in Pennsylvania last September — Johnson asserted that no Republicans were invited.
Zelensky and Donald Trump discussed Markarova’s rotation during their phone call last Friday.
Meeting in the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky have “discussed the ongoing conflict and the urgent need for a just and lasting peace”.
The Pope’s office said in a statement:
During the cordial conversation, the importance of dialogue as the preferred means of ending hostilities was reaffirmed.
The Holy Father expressed his sorrow for the victims and renewed his prayers and closeness to the Ukrainian people, encouraging every effort aimed at the release of prisoners and the search for shared solutions….
The Holy Father reiterated the willingness to welcome representatives of Russia and Ukraine to the Vatican for negotiations.
Zelensky posted:
The proposal to hold meetings at the level of leaders at the Vatican remains open and entirely possible, with the goal of stopping Russian aggression and achieving a stable, lasting, and genuine peace. At present, only Moscow continues to reject this proposal, as it has turned down all other peace initiatives.
I’m grateful for the meeting and a very substantive conversation with @Pontifex. We value all the support and every prayer for peace in Ukraine.
The proposal to hold meetings at the level of leaders at the Vatican remains open and entirely possible, with the goal of stopping… pic.twitter.com/nHtWWl5AbL
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 9, 2025
Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans has called on Ukraine’s partners to act following Russia’s record drone and missile assault.
Saying that “Russian terror does not stop”, Brekelmans posted, “Ukraine wants to negotiate for peace. Russia wants to continue the war for imperialism. All of Ukraine’s partners must provide more support—and significantly increase the pressure on Putin.”
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russia is responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing 298 passengers and crew.
The Russian military provided the missile which Ukrainian separatists used in the attack on the jet.
In a separate case, the ECHR said Russia had violated international law during its invasion of Ukraine.
The 17-judge panel found Russian forces and authorities committed “extrajudicial killing of civilians and Ukrainian military personnel” outside of combat, “torture”, “forced labor”, “unlawful and arbitrary detention of civilians”, and looting.
Russia also violated the European rights convention through “the transfer to Russia and, in many cases, the adoption there of Ukrainian children”.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cut off deliveries of arms to Ukraine without notifying the White House, five sources have told CNN.
Hegseth did not consult Secretary of State Marco Rubio or Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg. Both officials learned of the pause from media reports, said the sources.
At least five civilians have been killed and 39 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past 24 hours.
Three people were killed and eleven wounded in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.
In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, one person was murdered and four injured in assaults on Kharkiv city and eight surrounding settlements. Several houses, power lines, and farm infrastructure were damaged.
In the Kherson region in the south, one civilian was killed and 17 slain.
Other casualties were reported in the Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, and Sumy regions.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted:
Instead of peace efforts, Russia launched a record nearly 750 drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight. This growing terror underscores the urgent need to bolster our air defense, including investments in interceptor drones, increase pressure on Russia, and cut its oil revenues. pic.twitter.com/g8irUCUmhm
— Andrii Sybiha (@andrii_sybiha) July 9, 2025
Addressing the German parliament, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to continue supporting Ukraine “even against the pressure of the political left and the pro-Russian right in this house”.
He expressed concerned that “the means of diplomacy have been exhausted” amid Vladimir Putin’s refusal of a ceasefire and escalating strikes on Ukrainian civilians.
When a criminal regime openly questions another country’s right to exist with military force and sets out to destroy the political order of freedom on the entire European continent, the federal government I lead will do everything in its power to prevent this.
Air defenses downed 296 of the record-setting 728 drones launched by Russia overnight, and 415 were lost to electronic counter-measures.
All 13 missiles were intercepted.
His announcement came just before Russia set an overnight record with the firing of 728 drones and 13 missiles.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on Wednesday morning, summarizing the damage, “This is a telling attack – and it comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all.”
He called for toughened sanctions on Moscow:
Our partners know how to apply pressure in a way that will force Russia to think about ending the war, not launching new strikes. Everyone who wants peace must act.
A new massive Russian attack on our cities. It was the highest number of aerial targets in a single day: 741 targets – 728 drones of various types, including over 300 shaheds, and 13 missiles – Kinzhals and Iskanders. Most of the targets were shot down. Our interceptor drones… pic.twitter.com/Lxa5TdYVXT
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 9, 2025
Trump had confirmed the reversal of last week’s cutoff of arms deliveries to Ukraine by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his director of policy planning Elbridge Colby.
He continued to vent his frustration with Putin after their phone call last Thursday, in which the Russian leader maintained his rejection of a ceasefire and ultimata for Ukraine’s surrender.
However, he was non-committal about further sanctions against Russia, saying only, “I’m looking at it.”
And he spoke of only 10 Patriot missiles — not missile systems — for Ukraine. The total halted at the Poland-Ukraine border by Hegseth’s suspension was 30.
President Trump: “We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.” pic.twitter.com/VMnXSTuCiK
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 8, 2025
Ukrainian officials expressed their gratitude while noting the “minuscule” number of Patiots, needed amid Russia’s record-setting missile and drone attacks.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said it is seeking to clarify the details, as it had not received official notification of Trump’s policy. The Ministry noted that and it is “critically important” for Kyiv to have “stability, continuity and predictability” in the provision of arms, especially air defense systems.
Spinning the Suspension
Officials critical of the suspension told the media over the weekend that a “review” by Colby, a long-time critic of aid to Ukraine, had exaggerated the purported shortage of arms in US stocks. A Pentagon assessment found some stocks of precision-guided munitions were at reduced levels, but did not reach a critical minimum.
Officials supporting Colby’s position pushed back on Tuesday. They asserted that the US has only about 25% of the Patriot missiles needed for the Pentagon’s military plans, after expending stockpiles in the Middle East in recent months. The sources declared concerns that potential US operations could be jeopardized.
Contradicting the first set of officials, they insisted that the stockpile had been below the floor of the global munitions tracker for “several years”. The review was started in February, when Hegseth’s first suspension of deliveries was overturned.
The review accelerated when the Trump Administration deployed more Patriots in the Middle East to support attacks on Yemen’s Houthi insurgency and to aid Israel. After the Administration’s bombing of Iranian nuclear sites on June 23, the US fired close to 30 Patriot missiles against Iran’s token retaliation strikes on an American base in Qatar.
The officials appeared to confirm that the decision to cut off the arms, even as they were in Poland, was made without consultation of other agencies and possibly the White House.
Colby’s recommendation was approved by Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, the former Chief Executive Officer of Cerberus Capital Management. Hegseth signed off on Feinberg’s determination.
Officials said Trump, who spoke to Zelensky on Friday, had promised to find additional supply channels. “Two defense officials” said he is considering the despatch of a Patriot system.
“Not Enough to Defend Our Cities”
Yuriy Sak, an advisor to Ukraine’s Strategic Industries, said:
At this stage it isn’t about the quantities. It’s about the US’s willingness to continue to support Ukraine. The few days where there was a pause caused a nervous breakdown for many here in Kyiv.
But he added, “Today it’s 10. Tomorrow maybe it’s 20. It’s a positive sign but is not enough for us to defend our cities.”
Without referring to the Patriots, Zelensky said in his nightly address to the nation:
Today, I instructed Ukraine’s Minister of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief to intensify all contacts with the American side. We now have the necessary political statements and decisions, and we must implement them as quickly as possible to protect our people and our positions.
Today, I instructed Ukraine’s Minister of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief to intensify all contacts with the American side. We now have the necessary political statements and decisions, and we must implement them as quickly as possible to protect our people and our positions.… pic.twitter.com/CEeAC5Cmxk
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 8, 2025