Donald Trump was caught off-guard by the Pentagon’s decision to announce a pause in some weapons deliveries last week to Ukraine, three people aware of the situation have said.
One of the people described Mr Trump, who privately expressed frustration with Pentagon officials, as being caught "flat footed" by the announcement.
The Trump administration is in the eye of a storm after the Pentagon announced last week that it would hold back some air defence missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons pledged to Ukraine because of what US officials said were concerns that American stockpiles were running short on supply.
Mr Trump marked a U-turn on Monday and said the US will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, effectively reversing the move, as he showed signs of growing frustration with the Russian leader.
In a televised meeting of top officials, Mr Trump said: “We get a lot of bull**** 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”.
On the war front, Polish and allied aircraft were activated in the early hours today after Russia launched air strikes hitting western Ukraine, officials said.
Key Points
- Trump was not consulted by Pentagon on abrupt move to halt weapons to Ukraine
- Trump says he gets a 'lot of bull**** thrown by Putin'
- Russia says drones headed for Moscow destroyed
- Poland scrambles aircraft as Russia launches strikes on Ukraine
Ukrainian soldier dies weeks after release from Russian captivity - report
05:27 , Arpan RaiA Ukrainian soldier has died of injuries sustained under torture less than a month after his release from Russian captivity, a Ukrainian media outlet, Suspilne, has reported.
Valery Zelensky, 57, spent 39 months in Russian captivity and was part of the landmark thousand for thousand prisoner deal on 25 May. He died just 22 days later.
Mr Zelensky’s unit delivered weaponse to Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, his daughter told the the outlet. His family thought he was missing in action. Upon returning, he met his grandson for the first time.
Doctors initially treated him for suspected pancreatic issues, before his condition severely deteriorated. A medical report listed extensive injuries, according to the Kyiv Independent.
A number of Ukrainian soldiers have died following their return from Russian captivity after the UN commission reported last year that prisoners of war were facing “brutal treatment inflicting severe pain and suffering during prolonged detention, with blatant disregard for human dignity.”
Three killed in Ukrainian attack on beach in Russia's Kursk
05:16 , Arpan RaiA Ukrainian drone attack on a beach in the Russian city of Kursk killed three people, including a Russian serviceman engaged in rescue operations, and injured seven, acting regional Governor Alexander Khinshtein said early this morning.
The attack had been carried out deliberately in an area frequented by families in the region that borders Ukraine, Mr Khinshtein said.
Five of the seven injured, including a 5-year-old child, were in a serious condition in hospital.
He said one of the dead was a member of Russia's National Guard who had been trying to evacuate people from the scene.
"He had arrived at the beach with his comrades after people began reporting about the drone attack," the acting regional governor said. "The senior sergeant had begun to evacuate people when a second explosion occurred. Unfortunately, he did not survive."
Mr Khinshtein also said a Ukrainian drone had attacked a hospital in the town of Rylsk, closer to the Ukrainian border than the city of Kursk, injuring two people, blowing out windows and setting a roof ablaze.
Kremlin: 'We believe the US sanctions on Russia are illegal'
05:02 , Arpan RaiThe Kremlin has commented on US president Trump’s involvement between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow hinted at a change in its relationship with the US, with the potential of beginning trade trade and economic relations.
They also called US sanctions on Russia “illegal”, decrying them for harming both Russian and American businesses.
"But at the moment, the United States is implementing a number of restrictions. We believe that these sanctions are illegal, and they harm not only our entrepreneurs, but also the entrepreneurs of the United States," Dmytry Peskov said.
Trump says US will be sending more weapons to Ukraine
04:52 , Arpan RaiTrump says he gets a 'lot of bull**** thrown by Putin'
04:50 , Arpan RaiUS president Donald Trump continued his tirade against his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as he faced delay in ending the Ukraine war while Moscow amped up attacks on its smaller neighbour.
In a televised meeting of top officials, Mr Trump said: “We get a lot of bull**** 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”.
The US president said he is “looking at it very strongly” to impose further sanctions on Russia, without sharing further details but added that any action would come as “a little surprise”.
He has threatened, but held off on, imposing new sanctions against Russia's oil industry to try to prod Putin into peace talks.
Russia says drones headed for Moscow destroyed
04:50 , Arpan RaiRussia's air defence units destroyed two drones that were heading towards Moscow, the mayor of the Russian capital Sergei Sobyanin said this morning.
Mr Sobyanin did not report any damage in his post on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia halted flights for about half an hour overnight at the Sheremetyevo international airport outside Moscow, to ensure air safety, it said on Telegram.
Trump was not consulted by Pentagon on abrupt move to halt weapons to Ukraine
04:49 , Arpan RaiPresident Donald Trump's decision to send more weapons to Ukraine came after he privately expressed frustration with Pentagon officials for announcing a pause in some deliveries last week – a move he felt wasn’t properly coordinated with the White House, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The Trump administration is in the eye of a storm after the Pentagon announced last week that it would hold back some air defence missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons pledged to Ukraine because of what US officials said were concerns that American stockpiles were running short on supply.
Mr Trump marked a U-turn on Monday and said the US will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, effectively reversing the move.
Two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity about the sensitive internal discussions, said there was some internal opposition among Pentagon brass to the pause – coordinated by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby – before it was announced.
One of the people described Trump as being caught "flat footed" by the announcement. The White House did not respond to queries about whether Mr Trump was surprised by the Pentagon pause.
Poland scrambles aircraft as Russia launches strikes on Ukraine
04:45 , Arpan RaiPolish and allied aircraft were activated in the early hours today to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched air strikes targeting western Ukraine, near the border with the Poland, the Operational Command of the Polish armed forces said this morning.
At 0215 GMT, most of western Ukraine had been under air raid alerts for nearly three hours following Ukrainian Air Force warnings of Russian missile and drone attacks.
