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Trump reportedly asked Zelensky why he had not struck Moscow to ramp up pressure on Putin
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Donald Trump has said that US weapons are already “being shipped” to Ukraine as Washington ramps up its military support for Kyiv.
A number of Kyiv’s European allies will purchase Patriot air defence missile systems from the US to assist Ukraine’s defence. Mr Trump is also set to send a batch of offensive weapons to assist Ukraine’s war effort, although the exact makeup of this package is currently unknown.
“They are already being shipped,” Mr Trump said of the Patriots on Monday, adding that they are arriving from Germany.
Just hours later, dozens were injured in Ukraine after Russia launched a 400 drones in a mass air attack across the country. A total of 57 drones and one ballistic missile were reported to have struck 12 locations across the war torn country, according to the Ukrainian air force.
“Unfortunately, 15 people were injured, including one child. All are receiving the necessary medical care,” Volodymyr Zelensky said on X.
“We need to systematically strengthen our defenses: more air defense systems, more interceptors, and more determination — so that Russia feels our response.”
It comes after the US president told Volodymyr Zelensky he should not target Moscow after reportedly privately discussing strikes on the Russian capital with the Ukrainian leader.
EU’s top diplomat has called on Washington to “share the burden” for the purchase of Patriot air defence systems.
“We welcome President Trump’s announcement to send more weapons to Ukraine, although we would like to see the US share the burden,” foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Tuesday.
“If we pay for these weapons, it’s our support,” she added.
Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the air defences are already on their way to Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has named Yulia Svyrydenko as Ukraine’s new prime minister in the latest reshuffle of his cabinet.
Ms Svyrydenko, 39, has been serving as first deputy prime minister and economic development and trade minister since November 2021. She had been appointed to lead the revival of Ukraine’s struggling economy only months before Russia invaded in February 2022 and made her task more difficult.
Mr Zelensky met with Ms Svyrydenko on Monday and discussed the “implementation of agreements with European and American partners regarding support for Ukraine reached during the recent Ukraine Recovery Conference”.
Arpan Rai reports:
Russian forces have captured a settlement of Novokhatske in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
The Independent could not confirm the battlefield report.
But authoritative Ukrainian battlefield map DeepState shows Russian forces advancing into the town as of Tuesday.
A Russian Mi-8 helicopter which went missing on Monday has been found crashed in the country’s Far East with signs of fire damage, state media has reported.
All five people on board were found dead, the Russian Investigative Committee on Transport reported according to state media.
The helicopter was carrying three crew members and two technicians, state news agency Tass said according to The Kyiv Independent.
The aircraft had disappeared during a flight from the settlement of Okhotsk to the city of Magadan, 6,000 kilometres east of Moscow.
In a win-win situation for the EU and the US, Donald Trump has found a way of arming war-hit Ukraine by asking Kyiv’s European allies to donate their weapons and sell them American replacements.
But it remains unclear which of the EU nations will step up to arm Ukraine and donate Patriot anti-missile defence systems from their stockpiles.
Some Patriot missile defence systems should arrive in Ukraine “within days,” Mr Trump said.
The costly Patriot systems are in high demand among US allies and have proven effective at destroying Russian ballistic missiles aimed at Ukraine’s cities.
During his Oval Office meeting with Mr Trump on Monday, Nato chief Mark Rutte mentioned six of the bloc’s countries – Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada – that were willing to participate in the weapons-purchasing scheme.
The US has also signalled willingness under the proposed arrangement with European allies to send additional offensive weapons, said one source familiar with the matter, though Mr Trump has said that Ukraine should refrain from attacking Moscow.
According to at least 10 officials in the US and Europe, how material any support ends up being for Ukraine will depend on coming negotiations about who provides which equipment.
American citizen granted Russian passport after spying for the Kremlin in Ukraine
A US citizen who helped the Kremlin target Ukrainian troops has been granted a Russian passport in Moscow.
Daniel Martindale, with a trim beard and dressed in a suit and tie, smiled as he received his new documents, as seen during a Russian state television broadcast a report on Tuesday.
“I, Daniel Richard Martindale, voluntarily and consciously accepting the citizenship of the Russian Federation, swear to observe the constitution,” he said in Russian.
“The belief that Russia is not just my home, but also my family – I am extremely glad that this is not only in my heart, but also by law.”
Read more here:
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte warned countries such as Brazil, China and India could be hit very hard by secondary sanctions if they continued to do business with Russia.
Mr Rutte made the comment while meeting with senators in the US Congress the day after President Donald Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine and threatened “biting” secondary tariffs of 100 per cent on the buyers of Russian exports unless there is a peace deal in 50 days.
“My encouragement to these three countries, particularly is, if you live now in Beijing, or in Delhi, or you are the president of Brazil, you might want to take a look into this, because this might hit you very hard,” Mr Rutte told reporters, who met with the US leader on Monday and agreed the new steps.
“So please make the phone call to Vladimir Putin and tell him that he has to get serious about peace talks, because otherwise this will slam back on Brazil, on India and on China in a massive way,” Mr Rutte added.
France will not assist in a project announced by Donald Trump under which US weapons would be supplied to Ukraine with funding from European countries, Politico is reporting.
Paris will not be joining the initiative to purchase American weapons due to president Emmanuel Macron’s long-term position that Europeans should build their own defence industrial base through local procurement, two French officials familiar with the matter said.
The French government is looking to increase its own defence spending as it cuts other areas of the budget.
Germany, meanwhile, has taken a different stance. Chancellor Friedrich Merz believes that purchasing US weapons is one of the only ways to quickly arm Ukraine.
The Kremlin has said it will monitor the supply of weapons to Ukraine by the West throughly, adding that the issue is high on the agenda, Russian news agencies reported on Wednesday.
The supplies of weapons to Ukraine is a business and some European countries will pay for the weapons, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
A new phone call between Russian president Vladimir Putin and US president Donald Trump is not planned, but it could be organized quickly, he added.
A meeting of Patriot owner nations and Ukraine donors, who want to help bring new Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine could take place Wednesday next week, a source told Reuters.
It comes after Donald Trump said on Monday that Washington will supply Patriot air defence systems, missiles and other weaponry to Ukraine and that the arms would be paid for by other Nato countries.
Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Canada all want to be part of the initiative to fund the Patriot systems, Nato chief Mark Rutte said on Monday.
France has ruled itself out, according to a report in Politico.
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Ukraine war: Trump says weapons on their way to Kyiv before mass Russian drone attack – The Independent
