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The US will have to send more weapons to Ukraine because it is getting “hit very hard now”, Donald Trump has vowed in a major U-turn on military assistance.
“We have to,” Mr Trump said. “They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now. We’re going to send some more weapons – defensive weapons primarily,” he added.
It comes just days after the Pentagon halted shipments to review whether current stockpiles were sufficient for American defence needs.
Meanwhile, Russian former transport minister Roman Starovoit has been found dead hours after he was fired unexpectedly by Vladimir Putin.
“Today, the body of the former minister of transport of the Russian Federation, Roman Starovoit, was found with a gunshot wound in his personal car,” Russia‘s investigative committee said in a statement.
The committee implied that Starovoit took his own life, news which comes hours after Putin fired Starovoit in an unexpected move as Russia’s transport sector faces challenges.
Putin’s decree gave no reason for the dismissal of Starovoit after barely a year in the job. Starovoit was appointed transport minister in May 2024 after spending almost five years as governor of the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.
Analysis: Putin may be mocking Trump over Ukraine – but the US president won’t do anything about it
Alexander Butler8 July 2025 09:00
Weapons U-turn ‘best conversation yet’, says Zelensky
Donald Trump’s U-turn on pausing weapon shipments to Ukraine was probably the “best conversation” the US president has had with Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president said.
“This was probably the best conversation in all this time, it was maximally productive,” Mr Zelensky said. “I am grateful for the readiness to help.”
Alexander Butler8 July 2025 08:51
Trump says US will resume weapon shipments to Ukraine days after pause
President Donald Trump said the United States would resume providing weapons to Ukrainian defense forces, as the country continues to be slammed by ongoing Russian aerial attacks, just days after the Pentagon halted shipments to review whether current stockpiles were sufficient for American defense needs.
Speaking during a dinner Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of their respective staffs, Trump was asked if he planned to send more weapons for use by Kyiv.
He replied affirmatively, telling reporters: “We’re going to send some more weapons.”
Read the full story by White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg here:
Alexander Butler8 July 2025 08:00
US says Trump sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure ‘killing stops’
The Pentagon has confirmed that the Trump administration is sending more weapons to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against Russia’s invasion.
The statement did not acknowledge a halt in the US weapons shipments reported last weekbut underlined Mr Trump’s “America First defence priorities”.
“At President 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. Our framework for POTUS to evaluate military shipments across the globe remains in effect and is integral to our America First defence priorities,” a statement by the defence ministry read.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth accompanied by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon (Getty Images)
Arpan Rai8 July 2025 07:23
Frustrated Trump says he is not ‘happy with Putin at all’
US president Donald Trump, speaking at the start of a dinner he was hosting for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House yesterday evening, vented his growing frustration with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Mr Trump has struggled to find a resolution to the brutal war. “I’m not happy with President Putin at all,” Mr Trump said.
He has threatened, but held off on, imposing new sanctions against Russia’s oil industry to try to prod Putin into peace talks.
The US president maintains he’s determined to quickly conclude a conflict that he had promised as candidate to end of day one of his second term.
Arpan Rai8 July 2025 07:11
Putin’s foreign minister wants Hungary to back war
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said he wants Hungary to unite with Moscow to defend Hungarian minorities in Ukraine.
“Today, Russia and Hungary are openly speaking out in defence of their compatriots. We can unite our efforts in this regard,” Mr Lavrov told Hungarian state newspaper Magyar Nemzet in an interview published yesterday.
Hungary’s populist prime minister Viktor Orbán is widely considered to have the warmest relations with the Kremlin among EU leaders.
The only nation in the European Union to be seen as an ally to Moscow, Hungary has found itself isolated in the EU due to its rogue approach to Russia.
Top EU officials have been boycotting informal meetings hosted by Hungary.
Mr Lavrov used the interview to praise the country for its “pragmatic course” even as it apparently faces “constant pressure from Nato and the EU”.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a press conference following a meeting with Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan in Moscow (Reuters)
Arpan Rai8 July 2025 07:00
Sacked Russian transport minister replaced hours before he was found dead
“Today, the body of the former Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Roman Starovoit, was found with a gunshot wound in his personal car,” Russia‘s investigative committee said in a statement.
Starovoit was replaced with his deputy, Andrei Nikitin. A Kremlin spokesperson said: “At present, in the president’s opinion, Andrei Nikitin’s professional qualities and experience will best contribute to ensuring that this agency, which the president described as extremely important, fulfils its tasks and functions.”
The investigative committee implied that Starovoit took his own life, news which comes hours after Putin fired Starovoit in an unexpected move as Russia’s transport sector faces challenges. Russia’s aviation sector is short of spare parts and Russian Railways, the country’s largest employer, has grappled with soaring interest costs as high rates – needed to curb higher inflation exacerbated by the war – take their toll.
Putin’s decree gave no reason for the dismissal of Starovoit after barely a year in the job. Starovoit was appointed transport minister in May 2024 after spending almost five years as governor of the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.
File: Russian minister of transport Roman Starovoit attends a meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow (Reuters)
Arpan Rai8 July 2025 06:38
At least 11 dead and over 80 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine
Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least 11 civilians and injured more than 80 others, including seven children, in the onslaught yesterday, officials said.
One person was killed in the southern city of Odesa, another person was killed and 71 were injured in northeastern Kharkiv and falling drone debris caused damage in two districts of Kyiv, the capital, during nighttime drone attacks, Ukrainian authorities said.
Russian short-range drones also killed two people and injured two others in the northern Sumy region, officials said. Sumy is one of the places where Russia has concentrated large numbers of troops.
Also, seven people were killed and nine people were injured in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, regional head Vadym Filashkin said. He didn’t specify the weapons used.
Regional officials in Kharkiv and southern Zaporizhzhia said at least 17 people were injured.
More Russian long-range drone strikes on Monday targeted military mobilisation centres for the third time in five days, in an apparent attempt to disrupt recruitment, Ukraine’s Army Ground Forces command said.
According to the Ukraine Air Force, Russia fired more than 100 drones at civilian areas of Ukraine overnight.
Russia recently has intensified its airstrikes on civilian areas after more than three years of war. In the past week, Russia launched some 1,270 drones, 39 missiles and almost 1,000 powerful glide bombs at Ukraine, the war-hit country’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Firefighters put out a fire following a Russian attack in Odesa in Ukraine (Telegram/ Ukrainian Emergency Service)
Arpan Rai8 July 2025 06:04
Ukraine seeks more military help from US and Europe
The strain of keeping Russia’s invasion at bay, the lack of progress in direct peace talks, and last week’s halt of some promised US weapons shipments has compelled Ukraine to seek more military help from the US and Europe.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukraine had signed deals with European allies and a leading US defence company to step up drone production, ensuring Kyiv receives “hundreds of thousands” more this year.
“Air defence is the main thing for protecting life,” Mr Zelensky wrote on Telegram on Monday. That includes developing and manufacturing interceptor drones that can stop Russia’s long-range Shahed drones, he said.
Extensive use of drones has also helped Ukraine compensate for its troop shortages on the frontline.
Arpan Rai8 July 2025 05:36
UK sanctions Russians over chemical weapons in Ukraine
Britain targeted two Russian individuals and one Russian entity as part of its chemical weapons sanctions regime, in its latest effort to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine.
The British government said it had imposed asset freezes and travel bans on Aleksey Viktorovich Rtishchev and Andrei Marchenko, the head and deputy head of Russia’s radiological chemical and biological defence troops, for their role in the transfer and use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
It said the Joint Stock Company Federal Scientific and Production Centre Scientific Research Institute of Applied Chemistry was sanctioned for supplying RG-Vo riot control agent grenades to the Russian military.
The grenades have been used as a method of warfare against Ukraine in contravention of the Chemical Weapons Convention, the British government said.
Prime minister Keir Starmer at the 10 Downing Street in central London (AFP via Getty Images)
Arpan Rai8 July 2025 05:28