Trump Stiffs Ukraine on Arms
News leaks this week say the Administration is denying Ukraine much-needed weapons. Our sources tell us they include Patriot air-defense missiles, Hellfire missiles, some 8,500 Howitzer rounds and other ammunition. Some were already in Poland awaiting delivery. So this is a conscious decision to deny Kyiv weapons it was counting on before Russia's summer assaults. It's a hostile act that favors Vladimir Putin.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
27 minutes ago
- The Hill
Raskin on Trump ‘ugly' remark: Not everyone can live up to his ‘exquisite' level of ‘handsomeness'
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a vocal critic of President Trump, shot back with sarcasm after the president seemingly called him 'ugly' in a post online. 'I suppose I don't like being called ugly by Donald Trump, but not everybody can live up to his exquisite levels of handsomeness and personal physical grace,' Raskin told MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell on 'The Last Word.' 'And so that — I would consider myself probably in the large majority of American men who simply can't live up to the exquisite standards that he's set, and his extraordinary popularity with American women,' he quipped. His remarks came after Trump, in a post on Truth Social, called the Maryland lawmaker a 'third rate Democrat politician' and said Raskin 'has no idea what is in our fantastic Tax Cut Bill, nor would he understand it if he did.' 'This DOPE has been consistently losing to me for YEARS, and I love watching his ugly face as he is forced to consistently concede DEFEAT TO TRUMP — And tonight should be another of those nights,' the president added. 'Raskin is a bad politician, and a TOTAL LOSER!' The lawmaker is no stranger to attacks after serving as impeachment manager during Trump's second impeachment trial following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. He also sat on the select committee investigating the riots. The back-and-forth came as the House GOP was considering the Senate-passed version of the 'big, beautiful bill.' The lower chamber advanced the spending package early Thursday after overcoming a dramatic procedural vote overnight. Democrats have been vehemently opposed to the reconciliation package, with Raskin posting on social platform X Wednesday that 'House Democrats have been 100% united in standing up for all Americans and saying no to the GOP's job-killing, health care-destroying, debt-exploding tax bill.' On Thursday, he went a step further, calling the bill a 'tax scheme.' 'The GOP's tax scheme strips health care coverage from millions of Americans, including at least 245,000 Marylanders,' he wrote on X. 'I'm voting 'hell no.'' The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
CBS News
28 minutes ago
- CBS News
Baltimore City leaders call for end of BGE's 'Operation Pipeline' program, multi-year rate hikes
Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen and other city leaders are calling for a halt to Baltimore Gas and Electric's 'Operation Pipeline' program. The program aims to upgrade hundreds of miles of natural gas pipes and equipment across Maryland by replacing cast iron and bare steel pipes with new, more durable lines. In 2023, the Maryland Public Service Commission approved BGE's multi-year rate hike plan, which authorized a series of rate increases between 2024 and 2026. The plan, in part, will pay for the upgrades. But city leaders argue the program is driving up customer bills and increasing the company's profits. This isn't the first time city leaders have called for an end to the rate hikes. An analysis released by the Office of the People's Counsel in February found that spending on gas infrastructure is fueling the hikes, and projected even higher winter bills in the future if the company continues its current level of capital investment. The report says gas utilities will spend about $744 million on gas infrastructure in 2025. Shortly after the OPC's report was released, the Baltimore City Council passed a resolution calling on the PSC to stop the multi-year rate hikes, arguing that the infrastructure upgrades should not be paid for by taxpayers. Maryland sees rising utility costs BGE raised their rates on January 1, increasing the average residential gas bill by 9% and the electric bill by 7%. During the winter, Maryland households reported some of their highest gas bills ever. But BGE said that while the pipeline upgrades are a part of the cost increases, a 30% rise in natural gas prices over the past year, and increased spending on energy efficiency programs mandated by the state also play a factor.
San Francisco Chronicle
30 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
How Ukraine can cope with the US pause on crucial battlefield weapons
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The decision by the United States to pause some weapons shipments to Ukraine has come at a tough time for Kyiv: Russia's bigger army is making a concerted push on parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line and is intensifying long-range drone and missile attacks that increasingly hammer civilians in Ukrainian cities. Washington has been Ukraine's biggest military backer since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022. But the Trump administration has been disengaging from the war, and no end to the fighting is in sight, despite recent direct peace talks. Specific weapons needed from U.S. Amid recurring concerns in Kyiv about how much military support its allies can supply and how quickly, Ukraine has raced to build up its domestic defense industry. The country's output has gradually grown, especially in the production of more and increasingly sophisticated drones, but Ukraine needs to speedily scale up production. Crucially, some high-tech U.S. weapons are irreplaceable. They include Patriot air defense missiles, which are needed to fend off Russia's frequent ballistic missile attacks, but which cost $4 million each. That vital system is included in the pause, and many cities in Ukraine, including Kyiv, could become increasingly vulnerable. A senior Ukrainian official said Thursday that Patriot systems are 'critically necessary' for Ukraine, but U.S.-made HIMARS precision-guided missiles, also paused, are in less urgent need as other countries produce similar assets. 'Other countries that have these (Patriot) systems can only transfer them with U.S. approval. The real question now is how far the United States is willing to go in its reluctance to support Ukraine,' he told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of sensitivity of the subject. The official said that Patriot missiles exist in sufficient numbers globally, and he said that accessing them requires political resolve. 'There are enough missiles out there,' he said, without providing evidence. He also stated that Ukraine has already scaled up its domestic production of 155 mm artillery shells, which were once critically short, and is now capable of producing more than is currently contracted. 'Supplies from abroad have also become more available than before,' he said. Backup plan Amid at times fraught relations with U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been enlisting greater European help for his country's arms manufacturing plans. European countries don't have the production levels, military stockpiles or the technology to pick up all the slack left by the U.S. pause, but Zelenskyy is recruiting their help for ambitious joint investment projects. Draft legislation to help Ukrainian defense manufacturers scale up and modernize production, including building new facilities at home and abroad, will be put to a vote in the Ukrainian parliament later this month, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced this week. Zelenskyy said last month that major investments will go to the production of drones and artillery shells. 'The volume of support this year is the largest since the start of the full-scale war,' he said about commitments from foreign countries. Under Trump, there have been no new announcements of U.S. military or weapons aid to Ukraine. Between March and April, the United States allocated no new help at all, according to Germany's Kiel Institute, which tracks such support. For the first time since June 2022, four months after Russia's full-scale invasion, European countries have surpassed the U.S. in total military aid, totaling 72 billion euros ($85 billion) compared with 65 billion euros ($77 billion) from the U.S., the institute said last month. Big battlefield problem Without Patriot missiles, as well as the AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile and shorter-range Stinger missiles that are also included in the pause, Ukrainian cities likely will take a bashing as more Russian missiles pierce air defenses. On the front line, Ukrainian troops haven't recently voiced complaints about ammunition shortages, as they have in the past. They have always said that during the war, they have never had as much ammunition to as their disposal as Russian forces. The army faces a different problem: It's desperately short-handed. It's turning to drones to compensate for its manpower shortage, and analysts say the front isn't about to collapse. 'This is war — and in war, steady deliveries are always crucial,' he said. ___ Barry Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. ___
