Zelensky's right-hand man thanks Trump for reversing Pentagon aid freeze, calls him ‘only leader' who can end Russia's invasion
Andriy Yermak — the equivalent in Ukraine to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles — said the US president's Monday night announcement was 'very well received in Ukraine, especially after very [a] substantial phone conversation' between Trump and Zelensky on Friday.
The Pentagon's sudden decision to halt shipments to Ukraine surprised Kyiv, particularly because it was out of step with Trump's sentiments during the call, which Zelensky heralded as one of the best the two leaders have ever held.
During the conversation, Trump 'indeed said that he's fully supportive of continuation of the aid to Ukraine and indeed, he said that he understands the situation,' according to Yermak, who listened in.
5 Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, speaks during a news conference at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
AP
'He was quite disturbed by recent strikes — they've been happening for more than three years — but by recent strikes, murders with drones and missiles that fall in Ukrainian cities, including the capital of Ukraine,' he added.
'Absolutely, [Trump and Zelensky] are united in this. These two leaders definitely want peace, and they are absolutely against the killing.'
Trump told reporters during a cabinet meeting Tuesday he did not know who at the Pentagon made the unilateral decision to stop the flowing assistance previously approved by Congress.
'I don't know, you tell me,' Trump shot back at a journalist who inquired about the halt.
However, administration officials have told The Post that the move originated, at least in part, with Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, who has a long track record of promoting isolationist policies.
Colby's defenders — including ousted ex-Defense Department adviser Dan Caldwell — have claimed that the decision was made by the president before Trump made clear Tuesday that wasn't the case.
5 President Trump during a Cabinet meeting on July 8, 2025 said he did not know who at the Pentagon ordered a halt in US aid to Ukraine, which he later reversed.
Aaron Schwartz – Pool via CNP / MEGA
Asked how the pause affected Ukraine's defense, Yermak said Kyiv is 'not here to complain.'
'We're here to make things happen. Good deals — that's what matters,' he said. 'But let's be honest: when Russia launches over a hundred Shahed drones] almost every night, along with ballistic and cruise missiles, any delay in deliveries becomes a real concern.'
'It's not about headlines — it's about people waking up to explosions. It's about keeping morale strong.'
Kyiv is now confident that Trump and Zelensky's relationship will continue to grow, particularly as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to 'bulls—' the president, as Trump revealed Tuesday.
'A lot of people are dying and it should end,' the president complained. 'We get a lot of bulls— thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.'
5 Flames and smoke billow from buildings during mass Russian drones and missile strikes on Ukraine's capital of Kyiv on July 4, 2025.
AFP via Getty Images
Yermak called the president's firm words about the Russian leader encouraging.
'We've seen President Trump's recent messaging on Ukraine — and frankly, we're impressed,' he said. 'No exaggeration. The clarity, the leadership, the determination — we truly appreciate it.'
Yermak is optimistic that Trump will continue his support for Ukraine, which may soon be seen again with a pending bill that Kyiv believes would deliver the most impactful Russian sanctions package to date.
'Drawing parallels with golf, this is like a hole-in-one,' Yermak said of the bill sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). 'It's a drive that does not happen frequently, but it hits the hole.'
5 A fire rages after a Russian attack on Odesa, Ukraine on July 7, 2025.
AP
The bill would slap 500% tariffs on countries — including China and India — that still import Russian oil, the key source of Moscow's income.
'We believe that the adoption of this legislation will deprive Russia of around $60 billion by the end of this year,' Yermak said. '… It seems to me that this serves also as a moment to reconsider trade priorities in the world — you know, they are buying these things that help Russia continue the war and kill people.
'Let them (instead) buy American energy resources. That's a win-win situation.'
5 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Donald Trump's relationship has been growing substantially through recent conversations, Kyiv says.
via REUTERS
Yermak went on say that Trump is the 'only leader here, in today's world, who can influence' Russia to end its 40-month-old war on Ukraine.
'We would be happy if in this war with Russia against Ukraine, President Trump helps us to achieve a just and strong, durable peace,' he said. 'His pressure is working, pressure — not only in relation to the military aid, but also, I think, a sanctions pressure.
'Indeed, today, he's the only leader who can make Putin move not just to this imitation of the negotiations, but real negotiations.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kugler to step down from Fed board on Aug. 8, allowing Trump to fill her seat early
Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler said Friday she will resign from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors effective Aug. 8, meaning President Trump could have a replacement in her seat earlier than expected. The term of Kugler, who was appointed by President Biden, was due to expire on Jan. 31. "It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,' Kugler wrote in a resignation letter to Fed Chair Jerome Powell. 'I am especially honored to have served during a critical time in achieving our dual mandate of bringing down prices and keeping a strong and resilient labor market.' Kugler was not present at this week's meeting of the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee, due to what was described by the Fed as "personal matter." The Fed voted at that meeting to keep rates unchanged and two Fed governors dissented from that decision — the first time that has happened since 1993. Kugler, who has served as a Fed governor since Sept. 13, 2023, also submitted her letter of resignation to Trump. She will return to Georgetown University as a professor this fall. 'I appreciate Dr. Kugler's service on the Board and wish her very well in her future endeavors,' said Powell. 'She brought impressive experience and academic insights to her work on the Board.' Trump and the White House have been considering candidates to replace Powell as chair once the chairman's term ends next May, and one of those names could be appointed to fill Kugler's seat as a prelude to becoming chair. The people that have Trump have considered include National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. One sitting Fed governor, Fed governor Christopher Waller, is also considered among the possible choices to replace Powell eventually. Bessent, who is leading the search for Powell's replacement, has already sketched out a scenario where the White House appoints someone to fill Kugler's seat and that person can then be in the running to succeed Powell next May. The White House also hopes that Powell decides to leave the Fed Board of Governors when his chairmanship is up, which would open up a second seat that Trump can fill. Powell has not yet said whether he intends to do that; his term as a Fed governor is up not up until 2028. The opportunity for the White House to fill Kugler's seat earlier than expected comes as Trump applies pressure on Powell and the Fed board to lower rates by as many as 3 percentage points. Trump said in a social media post Friday that the Federal Reserve Board should 'ASSUME CONTROL." The president urged the Fed board, which Powell chairs, to "DO WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS HAS TO BE DONE' if Powell won't support lower interest rates. Waller and Michelle Bowman, the two Fed governors who argued for a quarter percentage point rate reduction at the Fed's last meeting on Wednesday, explained Friday in statements why they broke with Powell. Both cited worries about the labor market as a reason to start cutting again. 'I believe that the wait and see approach is overly cautious, and, in my opinion, does not properly balance the risks to the outlook and could lead to policy falling behind the curve,' Waller said in his statement. The statements from Waller and Bowman came just 30 minutes before July's jobs report released Friday morning, which showed the US economy added fewer jobs than expected last month. Traders raised their odds of a rate cut at the Fed's September meeting to 80% following the release of that weaker-than-expected labor reading, after lowering them below 40% on Thursday. Trump seemed to praise the Fed governors after their statements were released, adding in a separate Truth Social post: 'STRONG DISSENTS ON FED BOARD. IT WILL ONLY GET STRONGER!' There are seven seats on the Fed Board of Governors and all seven hold spots on the FOMC, the powerful body that decides whether rates go up or down. Another five spots on the FOMC are held on a rotating basis by regional Fed presidents who are based around the country. Whoever is US president gets to nominate all Fed governors, who then need Senate approval to be confirmed, and serve 14-year terms while the regional Fed presidents are picked by banks in their districts. Trump spent much of Friday criticizing Powell on social media, even mentioning him in a post about firing the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics following a weak July jobs report. 'Jerome 'Too Late' Powell should also be put 'out to pasture,'' Trump said. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US defense bill proposes examination of Apple display supplier
By Stephen Nellis SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -A measure added into a massive U.S. defense spending bill in recent weeks will, if passed, ask the Pentagon to determine whether one of Apple's display suppliers should be listed as a Chinese military company. Being on the list does not block companies from doing business in the U.S. but will in coming years block them from being part of the U.S. military's supply chain. The bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, was approved in July by key committees in both houses of the U.S. Congress. The final bill, considered a "must-pass" because it funds the U.S. military, is expected to become law later in the year. When the bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, a newly added amendment for the first time asked the U.S. Defense Department to consider whether BOE Technology Group Co, listed on Apple's official suppliers list, should be added to a list of firms that allegedly aid China's military. BOE and Apple did not respond to requests for comment. Craig Singleton, a China expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think-tank, said Beijing had offered billions of dollars in subsidies, tax breaks and loans to help firms such as BOE dominate global panel production. "This creates a single‑source vulnerability that could be easily exploited to disrupt or degrade U.S. military operations, not to mention undermine commercial supply chains, during a conflict or period of heightened bilateral tension with Beijing," Singleton added. A study published last month by New York-based NERA Economic Consulting and commissioned by BOE's U.S. subsidiary found that the display industry, which includes major Korean players such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, remains highly competitive, with no single player capable of significantly affecting global prices. "There is no credible risk of a supply chain disruption by mainland China display manufacturers," the report said.
USA Today
22 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump smartly responds to brutal jobs report by firing the job numbers person
Our bold president is changing that outdated form of thinking, instilling in all of us the belief that we can believe whatever we want to believe. In the wake of a brutal report showing U.S. job growth slowing and unemployment rising, President Donald Trump did what any sensible leader would do: He fired the person responsible for the report. I applaud Trump's decision, part of his ongoing war with numbers he doesn't like. For far too long, Americans have allowed 'low' or 'bad' numbers – from grades to bank accounts to performance reviews – to dictate how they feel about themselves. Our bold president is changing that outdated form of thinking, instilling in all of us the belief that we can believe whatever we want to believe, ignoring dumb liberal concepts like 'facts,' 'numbers' and 'reality.' The Aug. 1 jobs report (allegedly) showed that employers added only 73,000 jobs in July. Also, as USA TODAY reported: 'Job gains for May and June were revised down by a whopping 258,000, portraying a much weaker labor market than believed in late spring and early summer.' Opinion: Trump brings back dreaded Presidential Fitness Test. Let's see him run a mile. How dare stupid 'numbers' throw a wrench in Trump's Golden Age I was specifically told by none other than President Trump that we are entering a Golden Age, that America is the 'hottest' country in the world, and our economy has never been better. So, like Trump, I choose to believe these numbers are not real, much like I choose to believe the numbers on my Marxist liberal bathroom scale are not real shortly before I throw it out the window. Opinion: Trump's mental decline is on vivid display as he rages about Epstein, windmills Hours after the jobs report was released, Trump threw Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Erika McEntarfer metaphorically out the window, writing on Truth Social in a completely sane and rational manner: 'I was just informed that our Country's 'Jobs Numbers' are being produced by a Biden Appointee, Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, who faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala's chances of Victory. This is the same Bureau of Labor Statistics that overstated the Jobs Growth in March 2024 by approximately 818,000 and, then again, right before the 2024 Presidential Election, in August and September, by 112,000. These were Records — No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes. McEntarfer said there were only 73,000 Jobs added (a shock!) but, more importantly, that a major mistake was made by them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two months. Similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative. The Economy is BOOMING under 'TRUMP' despite a Fed that also plays games, this time with Interest Rates, where they lowered them twice, and substantially, just before the Presidential Election, I assume in the hopes of getting 'Kamala' elected – How did that work out? Jerome 'Too Late' Powell should also be put 'out to pasture.' Thank you for your attention to this matter!' I, for one, welcome Trump's era of only believing numbers that are good Those evidence-free claims make perfect sense and sound totally legit. It also does not seem at all hypocritical that the White House, in June, proudly boasted about BLS data showing core inflation holding steady. Those were good numbers, so the people distributing get them get to keep their jobs. Duh. It's high time American numbers and the people who use them recognize they will be held accountable for making President Trump look bad. (I'm looking at you, polling numbers.) The last thing our economy needs is a bunch of negative numbers accurately portraying the state of things. The Trump administration is all about positivity, and anyone who says otherwise will be fired IMMEDIATELY! Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @ and on Facebook at
