US to send 'more weapons' to Ukraine: Trump
Trump's announcement followed Washington saying last week that it was halting some weapons shipments to Kyiv, leaving Ukrainian officials caught off guard and scrambling for clarity.
A pause poses a potentially serious challenge for Kyiv, which is contending with some of Russia's largest missile and drone attacks of the more than three-year war.
"We're going to have to send more weapons -- defensive weapons primarily," Trump told journalists at the White House.
"They're getting hit very, very hard," he said of Ukraine, while adding that he was "not happy" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has shown little willingness to end the conflict despite pressure from Trump.
The US president's pledge to ship more arms to Ukraine came after Moscow said Monday that its forces captured its first village in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region after advancing towards it for months.
Russia launched a fresh large-scale drone and missile barrage before the announcement, including on Ukraine's military recruitment centres.
Kyiv also said it carried out a drone attack on a Russian ammunition factory in the Moscow region.
- 'Difficult' situation -
Russia said its forces captured the village of Dachne in the Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial mining territory that has come under mounting Russian air attacks.
Last month, Moscow said its forces had crossed the border into the Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its campaign.
Russian forces appear to have made crossing the regional border a key strategic objective in recent months, and deeper advances there could pose logistical and economic problems for Ukraine.
Kyiv has so far denied any Russian foothold in Dnipropetrovsk.
Ukraine's military said earlier Monday its forces "repelled" attacks in Dnipropetrovsk, including "in the vicinity" of Dachne.
Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions -- Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea -- that Moscow has publicly claimed as Russian territory.
Describing the situation in Dnipropetrovsk as "difficult" for Kyiv's forces, Ukrainian military expert Oleksiy Kopytko said Russia hopes to create some kind of buffer zone in the region.
"Our troops are holding their ground quite steadily," he told AFP.
- Counting on partners -
The White House said last week that it was halting some key weapons shipments to Ukraine that were promised under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden, without providing details on which weapons programmes were affected.
It said the decision was taken after a review of US defence needs and of its military assistance to foreign countries.
Kyiv has long feared halts to US aid after Trump returned to the White House in January, having criticised the tens of billions of dollars in support and weapons sent by Biden.
Under the Biden administration, Washington committed to providing more than $65 billion in military assistance to Ukraine.
Trump has announced no new military aid packages for Kyiv since taking office for the second time.
The Republican president instead has pushed the two sides into peace talks, including in phone calls with Putin. The Russian leader has rejected pleas for a ceasefire and demanded that Ukraine cede more territory if it wants an end to the war.
Ahead of Trump's remarks on Monday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said air defence remained the "top priority for protecting lives", and his country was counting on partners to "fully deliver on what we have agreed".
Explosions were heard overnight to Tuesday in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, mayor Oleksandr Senkevych wrote on Telegram, adding that the "threat of drones" was ongoing.
Mykolaiv regional governor Vitaliy Kim said a fire broke out in the city's outskirts due to shelling and a 51-year-old man was wounded.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
17 minutes ago
- West Australian
Australian news and politics live: Labor focused on cost-of-living relief after RBA decision to hold rates
Scroll down for the latest news and updates. US President Donald Trump has indicated a potential 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals, which are among Australia's largest exports to the US. However, he said manufacturers would be given time to relocate production to America to avoid the tariff. The US president also mentioned that copper could face a 50 per cent tariff. Speaking to reporters before a cabinet meeting, Mr Trump said drug manufacturers would receive a grace period to move their operations to the US. 'We're going to give (drug manufacturers) about a year, a year and a half to come in, and after that, they're going to be tariffed,' he said. Read the full story here. As digital payments rise, Australia plans to mandate cash acceptance for essential goods and services starting in 2026. Currently, businesses can refuse cash, but that will soon change. It comes as the New Zealand First party introduced a bill requiring businesses to accept cash payments for purchases under NZ$500. Housing Minister Clare O'Neil says 'that's something that the Government is actually looking at at the moment. The Treasurer announced we're going to mandate that businesses across the country for essential goods and services do need to continue to accept cash,' while speaking to Sunrise. 'The Government absolutely recognises for lots of Australians it's important to them. We see a lot of elderly people who for them cash is their mainstay.' 'It's important we operate in an economy where people have choices. We're looking at the exact implementation of this at the moment. We think cash is actually still really important.' Housing Minister Clare O'Neil has acknowledged the disappointment felt by millions of Australians after the Reserve Bank's surprise decision to keep interest rates on hold at 3.85 per cent. 'Millions of Australians were hoping for a rate cut yesterday and as you say, that is very much what all of were predicting. But the RBA has chosen to keep rates on hold. What the RBA told us yesterday is this is about pace not direction. The RBA has already cut interest rates twice this year and kind of indicating that they want to keep moving on that but they're being very cautious,' she told Sunrise on Wednesday. Ms O'Neil stressed that the government's main focus remains easing cost-of-living pressures, highlighting new supports like increased childcare benefits, bill supplements, and wage rises for minimum wage earners. She added, 'It shows we're over the worst of the cost of living issues facing the country but we've still got a long way to go. The Government is firmly focused on that task.' 'I want my community and people around the country not to be struggling in the way they are, so of course I was hoping for an interest rate decrease from the Reserve Bank, but we are very respectful of the independence of this institution. There's a good reason we don't put politicians in charge of setting interest rates.'
ABC News
26 minutes ago
- ABC News
More than 160 still missing from Texas floods that have killed more than 100
More than 160 people are believed to still be missing in Texas in the aftermath of the flash floods that killed more than 100 over the July Fourth weekend. Governor Greg Abbott said on Tuesday that many of those still missing had been staying in the state's Hill Country but had not registered at a camp or hotel. The governor spoke at a news conference after taking a helicopter tour of the affected area. "We will not stop until every missing person is accounted for," Mr Abbott said. The lowlands along the Guadalupe River in central Texas are filled with youth camps and campgrounds that are especially popular around summer holidays, which has made it more difficult to know how many people are missing. The big jump in the number of missing came after authorities set up a hotline for families to call. The 161 missing were believed to be in Kerr County, where most of the victims have recovered, Mr Abbott said. Mr Abbott said US President Donald Trump had pledged to provide whatever relief Texas needed to recover from the flooding. He read out what he said was a text from US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr in which Mr Kennedy pledged to declare a public health emergency. Mr Abbott said of Mr Trump: "He could not stop talking about how sad he was for all the little girls who have lost their lives." The president plans to visit the state on Friday. AP
News.com.au
34 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Trump threatens fresh tariffs of up to 200pc on key Australian exports
Donald Trump says he might slap tariffs of 200 per cent on pharmaceuticals and 50 per cent on copper - two of Australia's key exports. Australia is among the top copper producers in the world, but the bulk of exports go to southeast Asia. Last year Australia exported just $55m in copper to the US. Pharmaceuticals is another matter, with Australia's exports to the US totalling north of $2bn in 2024. The US President announced the new levies at a cabinet meeting overnight. 'I believe the tariff on copper - we're going to make it 50 per cent,' Mr Trump told reporters, with officials later adding it would come into effect by August. The timeline for the new rate on pharmaceuticals could be later, Mr Trump said. 'We're going to give (drugmakers) about a year, a year and a half to come in, and after that, they're going to be tariffed,' he said. 'They're going to be tariffed at a very, very high rate, like 200 per cent. 'We'll give them a certain period of time to get their act together.'
