Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump pledges more weapons for Kyiv while sacked ex-Russian minister found dead
"We have to," Mr Trump said, speaking to reporters at the White House. "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,' the US president said.
This comes as 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.
Trump reverses decision and sends more weapons to Ukraine days after ordering pause
Donald Trump has said the US will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, just days after ordering a pause in critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Mr Trump said Ukraine was getting hit very hard by Russia and needed to be able to defend itself. The US would be sending primarily defensive weapons, he said.
"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,' the US president said.
The latest remarks by Mr Trump appeared to be an abrupt change in posture after the Pentagon announced last week that it would hold back delivering to Ukraine some air defence missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons because of what US officials said were concerns that stockpiles have declined too much.
The Pentagon has not issued a comment on whether the paused weapons shipments to Ukraine would resume.
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