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Newsweek
13 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Melania Trump Attacked in Russian State Media
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Russian newspaper has disparaged Melania Trump as Kremlin-backed media speculate about whether the first lady is behind President Donald Trump's Ukraine policy. Pro-Kremlin newspaper Vzglyad said "it would be better for him [Trump] to buy her shoes than to sell Patriots (missiles) to Kyiv" in an op-ed Monday that described the first lady as a "danger to Russia." Russian state TV has also taken aim at Melania Trump, saying she is responsible for the U.S. president's apparently tougher stance toward Putin which has seen him pledge more weapons for Kyiv and threaten more sanctions on Moscow. Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email outside of regular office hours. First lady Melania Trump departs the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump on July 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. First lady Melania Trump departs the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump on July 11, 2025 in Washington, It Matters After months of expressing how Trump can serve Moscow's interests, Kremlin propagandists have changed their tone, especially after the U.S. president pledged more weapons for Ukraine and threatened more sanctions on Moscow. A focus for Kremlin media in recent days has been Trump's comments about his unhappiness with Putin, as well as his references to remarks Melania Trump made about the Russia-Ukraine conflict. What To Know In an article on Monday headlined, "Melania Trumpenko's danger to Russia underestimated," Vzgylad referred to the moniker given to the first lady over her alleged "significant" role in her husband's policy with regards to Ukraine. The paper described how the U.S. president had told reporters how his wife would tell him another city in Ukraine had been shelled soon after he had spoken with Putin. Modified photos of the first lady with attached Ukrainian iconography on her clothing have formed social media memes in recent days. "It would be better for him to buy her shoes than to sell Patriots to Kyiv. It would be cheaper," the paper added referring to the missile system that President Trump said can be provided to Ukraine. Russian state TV has also taken a swipe at the first lady. In front of revealing years-old images of Melania Trump which Russian TV has used before to disparage her, anchor of 60 Minutes, Olga Skabeyeva, described the first lady as a "Ukrainian agent." Skabeyeva then outlined U.K. newspaper reports that she was behind her husband's tougher line on Putin, in the clip posted by Russia watcher Julia Davis. One of her guests, Moscow-based political scientist Malek Dudakov downplayed her role and said that the couple "has certain marital problems," and "doesn't even live with Trump." In May, the White House described claims by political biographer Michael Wolff that the couple was separated as "blatant lies and fabrications." What People Are Saying Russian newspaper Vzglyad: "Melania Trumpenko's danger to Russia is way or another, Melania is now a symbol of new hope for Ukrainians." Russian state TV anchor Olga Skabeyeva: "Melania Trump whom conspiracy theorists previously considered to be a Kremlin became a Ukrainian agent, Melania Trumpenko." Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, per USA Today: "I go home, I tell the first lady, 'You know, I spoke to Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation.' And she said, 'Oh really? Another city was just hit,'" What Happens Next While Ukraine has welcomed Trump's pledge for weaponry and Patriot missile defense systems to Ukraine through NATO, Russia continues to bombard Ukrainian cities. Meanwhile, the prospect of peace talks, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested could take place this week, remain unlikely amid reports that Putin retains his maximalist demands in the war he started.
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Russia launches a major aerial attack on Kyiv hours before high-level talks on support for Ukraine
Russia unleashed one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent months, only hours before the U.K. and Germany chaired a meeting to discuss President Trump's plans for NATO allies to provide Ukraine with weapons. The attack killed two people and wounded 15, including a 12-year-old, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. In Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi district, a drone struck the entrance to a subway station where people had taken cover. Videos posted on social media showed the station platform engulfed by smoke, with dozens of people inside. Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said the station had to be ventilated in what he called an 'enhanced mode.' The heaviest strikes hit Kyiv's Darnytskyi district, where a kindergarten, supermarket and warehouse facilities caught fire. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot arrived in Kyiv on Monday and visited some of the damage. The hours-long drone and missile assault on Kyiv overnight into Monday underscored the urgency of Ukraine's need for further Western military aid, especially in air defense, a week after Trump said deliveries would arrive in Ukraine within days. The virtual meeting of high-level military officials Monday was led by British Defense Secretary John Healey and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and NATO leader Mark Rutte, as well as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, attended the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. Moscow has intensified its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate as Russian drone production expands. Ukraine's new Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal urged allies to speed up deliveries of American air defense systems under the plan put forward by Trump. 'I request the U.S. to make these weapons available for purchase, and our European partners to extend all the needed financing for their procurement,' Shmyhal, who until recently served as prime minister, said as the meeting began. Trump's arms plan, announced a week ago, involves European nations sending American weapons, including Patriot air defense missile systems, to Ukraine via NATO — either from existing stockpiles or buying and donating new ones. In an shift of tone toward Russia, Trump last week gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face tougher sanctions. At Monday's meeting, Healey was expected to urge Ukraine's Western partners to launch a '50-day drive' to get Kyiv the weapons it needs to fight Russia's bigger army and force Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, the U.K. government said in a statement. NATO's Grynkewich told The Associated Press on Thursday that 'preparations are underway' for weapons transfers to Ukraine while U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said he couldn't give a time frame. Germany has said it offered to finance two new Patriot systems for Ukraine and raised the possibility of supplying systems it already owns and having them replaced by the U.S. But delivery could take time, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested, because 'they have to be transported, they have to be set up; that is not a question of hours, it is a question of days, perhaps weeks.' Other Patriot systems could come thanks to Switzerland, whose defense ministry said Thursday it was informed by the U.S. Defense Department that it will 'reprioritize the delivery' of five previously ordered systems to support Ukraine. While Ukraine waits for Patriots, a senior NATO official said the alliance is still coordinating the delivery of other military aid — such as ammunition and artillery rounds — which includes aid from the U.S. that was briefly paused. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. Zelensky said Saturday that his officials have proposed a new round of peace talks this week. Russian state media on Sunday reported that no date has yet been set for the negotiations, but said that Istanbul would likely remain the host city. The Kremlin spokesman said Sunday that Russia is open to peace with Ukraine, but achieving its goals remains a priority. The overnight Russian barrage of Kyiv began shortly after midnight and continued until around 6 a.m. Residents of the capital were kept awake by machine-gun fire, buzzing drone engines and multiple loud explosions. It was the first major attack on Kyiv since Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, arrived in the city last Monday. Russia halted strikes on Kyiv during his visit. Russia's Ministry of Defense said its attack used drones and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. It said that the barrage successfully targeted airfield infrastructure and Ukraine's military-industrial complex. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 426 Shahed and decoy drones overnight Monday, as well as 24 missiles of various types. It said 200 drones were intercepted with 203 more jammed or lost from radars. Ukraine, meanwhile, continued to deploy its domestically produced long-range drones. Russia's Ministry of Defense said that its forces shot down 74 Ukrainian drones overnight, with almost a third of them destroyed close to the Russian capital. Twenty-three drones were shot down in the Moscow region, the ministry said, 15 of which were intercepted over the city itself. Burrows and Novikov write for the Associated Press. Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. AP writers Jill Lawless in London, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Stephen McGrath in Bucharest, Romania contributed to this report.
UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
At least 1 killed, 9 injured as Russia, Ukraine trade aerial attacks
A woman walks near a badly damaged residential building in Kyiv on Monday in the aftermath of an airborne assault on the Ukrainian capital overnight that killed at least one person and injured nine. Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA July 21 (UPI) -- At least one person was killed and nine were injured in Kyiv and flights were disrupted in Moscow after Ukraine and Russia traded drone and missile attacks overnight. Six districts of the Ukrainian capital were targeted, including Darnytskyi, where a kindergarten, a supermarket, warehouses and other non-residential buildings were set ablaze, and Shevchenkivskyi, where a multi-story residential building was damaged, said Kyiv City Military Administration head Timur Tkachenko. He said the blast wave and flying debris smashed windows and damaged apartments and the entrance to the Lukyanivska metro station. An administrative building was partially destroyed and warehouses were on fire in the Solomyanskyi district. The Holosiivskyi, Dniprovskyi and Svyatoshynskyi districts sustained minor damage from falling debris, Tkachenko said. The Ukrainian Air Force said 450 drones and missiles were sent into Ukraine by Russian forces, with Kharkiv and the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk and surrounding region also sustaining significant damage However, the air force claimed air defenses shot down all but 23. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack continued throughout the night with attack drones also intercepted over the Sumy, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Poltava and Kherson regions. "Russian strikes are always an assault on humanity," he said in a post on X. Meanwhile, Ukraine launched its own attacks, striking deep into Russia with long-range drones for a fifth straight night, sparking "travel chaos" at Moscow's airports, two of which temporarily suspended flights. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there had been no injuries or major damage but that air defenses had now shot down 49 drones between Friday evening and Monday morning, with the Russian Defense Ministry claiming many more downed over provinces bordering Ukraine, but also deeper inside Russia. The airborne offensive saw cancellations and flight delays at Moscow airports that forced thousands of travelers to wait in long lines or spend the night on terminal building floors. The latest round of attacks came as French Foreign Minister Jean Noel-Barrot arrived in Kyiv for a two-day visit for talks on further assistance for Ukraine with Zelensky, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. In a social media update Monday, Zelensky said he and Noel-Barrot discussed defense assistance, particularly the need for air defense systems, training and the outcomes of meetings with partners at Ramstein -- the 56-country Ukraine Contact Group set up in 2022 to provide military support. "We are ready to expand joint defense production. There are decisions by French companies to start manufacturing drones in Ukraine, which is highly valuable. We also talked about sanctions against Russia and negotiations regarding Ukraine's accession to the European Union," said Zelensky. British Defense Secretary John Healey and German counterpart Boris Pistorius were expected to urge a meeting of the contact group Monday -- which the pair are jointly chairing -- to back a "50-day push" to get as many weapons and ammunition as possible into Ukraine in order to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate. "Last week, President Trump announced a new plan for large-scale NATO weapons transfers and committed to getting these 'quickly distributed to the battlefield," Healey told the virtual meeting. "Alongside this, the US has started the clock on a 50-day deadline for Putin to agree to peace or face crippling economic sanctions. As members of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, we need to step up in turn with a '50-day drive' to arm Ukraine on the battlefield and force Putin to the negotiating table," Healey said.
