Macron Opens Iran Talks With Putin in First Call Since 2022
The call is part of an effort to forge a common approach between the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council on Iran, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive information. Paris informed allies including Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of the conversation, two people said.
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Associated Press
35 minutes ago
- Associated Press
US won't send some weapons pledged to Ukraine following a Pentagon review of military aid
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is halting some shipments of weapons to Ukraine amid concerns that its own stockpiles have declined too much, officials said Tuesday, a setback for the country as it tries to fend off escalating attacks from Russia. Certain munitions were previously promised to Ukraine under the Biden administration to aid its defenses during the more than three-year-old war. The pause reflects a new set of priorities under President Donald Trump and came after Defense Department officials scrutinized current U.S. stockpiles and raised concerns. 'This decision was made to put America's interests first following a review of our nation's military support and assistance to other countries across the globe,' White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement. 'The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned — just ask Iran.' That was a reference to Trump recently ordering U.S. . Pentagon stocks of some weapons found to be low, official says The Pentagon review determined that stocks were too low on some weapons previously pledged, so pending shipments of some items won't be sent, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide information that has not yet been made public. The Defense Department did not provide details on what specific weapons were being held back. 'America's military has never been more ready and more capable,' spokesman Sean Parnell said, adding that the major tax cut and spending package moving through Congress 'ensures that our weapons and defense systems are modernized to protect against 21st century threats for generations to come.' The halt of some weapons from the U.S. is a blow to Ukraine as Russia has recently launched some of its biggest aerial attacks of the war, in an escalating bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in peace efforts championed by Trump. Talks between the sides have ground to a halt. The U.S. stoppage was first reported by Politico. To date, the U.S. has provided Ukraine more than $66 billion worth of weapons and military assistance since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022. Over the course of the war, the U.S. has routinely pressed for allies to provide air defense systems to Ukraine. But many are reluctant to give up the high-tech systems, particularly countries in Eastern Europe that also feel threatened by Russia. Elbridge Colby, the Defense Department undersecretary for policy, said officials continue 'to provide the president with robust options to continue military aid to Ukraine, consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end.' 'At the same time, the department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving U.S. forces' readiness for Administration defense priorities,' Colby said in a statement. Trump met with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit last week and had left open the possibility of sending Kyiv more U.S.-made Patriot air defense missile systems, acknowledging they would help the Ukrainian cause. 'They do want to have the antimissile missiles, OK, as they call them, the Patriots,' Trump said then. 'And we're going to see if we can make some available. We need them, too. We're supplying them to Israel, and they're very effective, 100% effective. Hard to believe how effective. They do want that more than any other thing.' Trump administration shifts outlook on Ukraine military aid Those comments hinted at thinking about providing weapons to Ukraine that's begun to change across the administration in recent months. In testimony before lawmakers in June, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he has moved quickly to quash wasteful programs and redirect funding to Trump's top objectives. Hegseth said a negotiated peace between Russia and Ukraine, which has been promoted for months by Trump, makes America look strong, even though Moscow is the aggressor in the conflict. He also said the defense budget includes hard choices and 'reflects the reality that Europe needs to step up more for the defense of its own continent. And President Trump deserves the credit for that.' The defense secretary told lawmakers last month that some U.S. security spending for Ukraine was still in the pipeline, without providing details. But he said such assistance — which has been robust for the past two years — would be reduced. 'This administration takes a very different view of that conflict,' Hegseth said. 'We believe that a negotiated peaceful settlement is in the best interest of both parties and our nation's interests.' The change comes after Hegseth skipped a meeting last month of an international group to coordinate military aid to Ukraine that the U.S. created three years ago. Hegseth's predecessor, Lloyd Austin, formed the group after Russia attacked Ukraine, and Hegseth's absence was the first time the U.S. defense secretary wasn't in attendance. Under Austin's leadership, the U.S. served as chair of the group, and he and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff attended monthly meetings, which were both in person and by video. abandoning the gathering altogether.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Pentagon Under Scrutiny Over Decision to Halt Weapons to Ukraine
By and Jamie Tarabay Save Lawmakers, former diplomats and experts questioned the Trump administration's decision to halt the supply of some air-defense weapons to Ukraine, saying the move risks prolonging the war with Russia and leaving the country more vulnerable to stepped-up missile and drone barrages. They also challenged the administration's argument that US stockpiles are running low. While those numbers are classified, the weapons Ukraine needs most aren't urgently required elsewhere and there was no immediate need to deny the country weapons that were already on their way, they said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Republicans tear into Pentagon's Ukraine weapons freeze
Republican lawmakers are slamming the Trump administration's decision to halt some U.S. missile and munitions shipments to Ukraine, warning it risks emboldening Russia at a pivotal point in the war. Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, said he would be 'aggressively looking into this matter' following the White House's acknowledgment that the Pentagon froze deliveries of critical air defense weapons due to concerns over shrinking U.S. stockpiles. 'We must build up our own defense industrial base here in the U.S. while simultaneously providing the needed assistance to our allies who are defending their freedom from a brutal invading dictator,' the Pennsylvania representative said in a post on X. 'To not do both is unacceptable.' Fitzpatrick later requested an emergency briefing from the White House and Pentagon. Lawmakers of varying political stripes called the holdup of weapons approved during the Biden administration a breach of Trump's renewed commitment to Kyiv at last week's NATO summit, where the president floated selling Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine. POLITICO first reported the news on Tuesday, and since then, Kyiv has summoned a U.S. diplomat to explain the hold. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said he is probing 'very intensely' whether the Pentagon's freeze is a breach of Ukraine aid legislation that Congress passed in 2024. He also argued the pause is coming 'at the wrong time,' weakening Trump's efforts to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine. 'If you want to get him to the negotiating table in good faith, you have to put leverage and pressure on him, and that would be Lindsey Graham's economic sanctions and the flow of weapons,' McCaul said. 'If you take the flow of weapons out, yeah, then you're not, you don't have the leverage over Putin to negotiate.' Democrats — who during Trump's first term pressed for his impeachment over holding up money to arm Ukraine to secure information on the dealings of his main Democratic rival, Joe Biden, and his family — assailed the aid holdup. But some top lawmakers weren't ready to pin the blame on Trump himself. Rather, they singled out senior Pentagon officials who have been skeptics of further aid to Ukraine. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called out Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, a longtime proponent of shifting U.S. military resources away from Ukraine in order to beef up Taiwan's defenses. She argued the pause undermines Trump's commitments at NATO and urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is simultaneously serving as White House national security adviser, to enforce a strategy. "The Trump administration's mixed messaging is undermining its own agenda to bring Putin to the negotiating table, and this move under Secretary Hegesth's leadership will only make a just and lasting peace harder to obtain," Shaheen said in a statement. "Now is not the time for rogue actors undermining our national security interests.' Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a senior Senate Armed Services Committee member, called the rationale behind the freeze 'fallacious and maybe even disingenuous.' He said he and colleagues in both parties were surprised by the news — and that Ukrainians will suffer. 'They're going to lose more lives, more people will be maimed and injured — more homes, hospitals, schools will be destroyed,' he said in an interview. 'The Russians … are not even making a pretense of going after military targets.' Other top Republicans were less troubled by reports of the stalled weapons shipments. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), who chairs the panel that controls much of the Pentagon budget, said he still needed to examine what munitions Ukraine has in its inventory, but suggested supply concerns might be warranted. 'I think part of it is the supply. So we've been running through a lot of Standard Missiles, the whole Patriot system,' Calvert said. 'The other part of it is that the Europeans are beginning to pick up the slack. 'I don't know what they have in inventory right now, the Ukrainians. I'll find that out,' he said. House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said he hadn't been informed of a pause on munitions shipments, but he noted the Trump administration has 'done it several times.' 'I don't know that he paused it for any purpose other than something regular that they do,' Rogers said of Trump. 'I don't have any reason to be upset about it until I learn more.' Trump's allies on Capitol Hill defended the move. House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast (R-Fla.) said he hadn't heard of a specific delay but said there's a 'constant check and balance' in terms of what gets sent to Ukraine. 'You always want to make sure that your supply line is smooth, but if you're constantly making the checks, then it keeps them constantly vigilant,' Mast said. 'If you weren't constantly doing this, then all of a sudden, they're going to get themselves wrapped around the axle when you really do check it. So I think in the end, it makes for a smoother system.'
