Trump shipping long-range missiles to Ukraine will change face of war' after ‘p****d' Don's patience with Putin runs out
Trump, who appears to be growing increasingly frustrated with tyrant Vladimir Putin, is set to announce an "aggressive' new weapons plan to support Ukraine.
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He has promised to send MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems - which are used to stop incoming missiles - to Ukraine.
But he has also suggested that the US would supply "very sophisticated" military hardware to Ukraine.
Patriot rockets - which act as America's primary air defence system - were successfully used in the Middle East to shoot down missiles that Iran fired at a US airbase in Qatar.
But the military package for Ukraine will also likely include long-range missiles that could reach targets deep inside Russian territory, two sources told Axios.
Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a decorated British Army commander, said the shipment of these long-range missiles would have profound "psychological and physical effects" on Ukraine.
Mr de Bretton-Gordon told The Sun: "These weapons can strike Moscow - over 400 miles from the border. That allows the Ukrainians to strike drone factory production and ammunition sites, and others.
"So this will have both psychological as well as physical effects.
"People in Moscow will realise that they potentially could be targeted.
Trump slams Putin's 'bulls***' and trashes the tyrant's 'meaningless' promises to end Ukraine war in savage attack
"And when you also add to it the American bombings on Iranian sites that were supposed to be impregnable, it shows that American missile and drone technology rather superior to the Russian air defence system."
The former army chief said these weapons will put real pressure on Russia, adding: "The metric has now changed and Trump's decision could make a huge difference."
Ex-military intelligence officer Colonel Philip Ingram told The Sun how these long-range weapons could help strike Russian missile and drone launchpads - the ones that are used to launch nightly attacks on Ukraine.
He said: "The Ukrainians are already attacking to hit Russian military logistics, defence industry bases.
"And with these sophisticated weapons, they will have increased capability of doing so.
"It will impact the ability of the Russians to prosecute these increasingly large drone and rocket attacks on a nightly basis.
"And then that's the best way for the Ukrainians to stop it."
Trump is now set to make a "major statement" on Russia - and is expected to reveal more details about the military package.
More weapons that Kyiv could receive in the coming days include precision-guided GMLRS missiles and thousands of high-explosive Howitzer rounds.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Axios that he is "really p****d at Putin", and that the announcement is going to be really "very aggressive".
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Trump reiterated that he was "very unhappy" with Putin since their phone call two weeks ago made no progress on the Ukraine peace deal - something the US president has pushed for since returning to power.
Instead, Putin has snubbed peace and is instead steadily increasing his overnight bombing raids - which could soon hit 1,000 a day.
Last week, Trump accused Putin of throwing "bullshit" at Washington on Ukraine and making "meaningless" promises.
"We get a lot of bull**** thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth," Trump told reporters during a televised cabinet meeting at the White House.
"He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."
"We're going to send some more weapons [to Ukraine].
"We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves. They're hit very hard now."
Moscow had no immediate reaction to Trump's strongly worded comments about Putin, but the Kremlin said that sending arms to Ukraine only serves to prolong the conflict.
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"It is obvious of course that these actions probably do not align with attempts to promote a peaceful resolution," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying in a briefing.
Putin, who himself proposed direct talks with Kyiv to end the war a few weeks ago, has now suggested that diplomacy will not help Moscow achieve its war goals.
He has instead increased the intensity of his attacks - hammering Ukraine with almost daily drones and ballistic missile blitzes.
Last week, the Russians launched 741 drones and missiles at Ukraine - the biggest single attack of the 40-month war.
Some 400 were fired the next day.
Over the weekend, 600 drones and 26 missiles including Kh-101 cruise missiles were launched in one of the most intense bombing raids since the inception of the war.
Trump also urged Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth to push defence contractors to increase production of armaments.
"We have to step them up, Pete, and let them make it at a much higher rate," he said.
"Putin is not treating human beings right. He's killing too many people. So we're sending some defensive weapons and I've approved that," Trump added.
Experts hope the shipment of these new weapons - and fresh sanctions - could put the Russians back at the negotiating table.
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The Guardian
6 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Pete Hegseth is skirting law by bringing back Confederate names of army bases
Since Donald Trump returned to office this year, his secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, has ripped the new names off a series of US army bases and brought back their old traitorous Confederate names. His actions have angered Democrats and even some Republicans in Congress, prompting a rare rebuke of the Trump administration by the Republican-controlled Congress last Tuesday. The GOP-led House of Representatives Armed Services Committee voted on 15 July to block Hegseth from renaming the bases after Confederates. Two Republicans voted with the Democrats on the committee to pass the measure, which was an amendment to the Pentagon's budget bill. 'What this administration is doing, particularly this secretary of defense, is sticking his finger in the eye of Congress,' said Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican representative who voted to stop Hegseth. Hegseth's move elicited bipartisan anger because it flouted the law; Congress passed legislation in January 2021 to create a commission to choose new names for the bases named for Confederates and mandated that its recommendations be implemented by the Pentagon. That law was passed over a veto by Trump in the final days of his first term, and the name changes were later implemented by the Pentagon during the Biden administration. The law is still on the books, and so in order to return to the old Confederate names, Hegseth has openly played games with their namesakes. The secretary claims he has renamed the bases after American soldiers from throughout US history who were not Confederates. But they all conveniently have the same last names as the original Confederate namesakes of the bases. For example, Fort Bragg is now supposedly named for Roland Bragg, who was an army paratrooper in the second world war; Fort Benning is now supposedly named for Fred Benning, a soldier who served in the army in the first world war. Before the House vote, Hegseth's efforts to skirt the law were also challenged in the Senate. In a hearing in June, Angus King, a senator from Maine, told Hegseth that he was returning the bases to the names of 'people who took up arms against their country on behalf of slavery'. Hegseth insisted that the Pentagon had found non-Confederates with the same names to stay within 'the limits of what Congress allowed us to do'. But during the same hearing, Hegseth briefly dropped the pretense that he wasn't returning to the original Confederate names. He argued that 'there is a legacy, a connection' for veterans with the old names. King replied that Hegseth's actions were 'an insult to the people of the United States'. Above all, Hegseth's actions show a troubling ignorance of the lives of the original Confederate namesakes; their easily-researched backgrounds reveal what terrible role models they make for modern American military personnel. Braxton Bragg was one of the most incompetent Confederate generals of the civil war. His subordinates repeatedly and clandestinely tried to get him fired, with one writing to the Confederate secretary of war that 'nothing but the hand of God can save us or help us as long as we have our present commander'. Bragg finally lost his command after he was out-generaled by Union General Ulysses S Grant and his army was routed at the Battle of Chattanooga in 1863. One of the few biographies written about him is entitled Braxton Bragg, the Most Hated Man in the Confederacy. And yet Bragg lives on today as the namesake of the largest and most important military base in the United States Army. Fort Bragg, in Fayetteville, North Carolina was originally built in 1918, as part of a rushed effort by the army to construct new bases after the United States entered the first world war. The site offered the army cheap and abundant land, and it quickly built a base and surrounding military reservation totaling 251 sq miles. Eager to win local white support, the army agreed to name the new base after a Confederate; Bragg was chosen because he was originally from North Carolina. By the time the base was built, the civil war had been over for more than 50 years, yet the south was still in the grips of the 'the Lost Cause' theory of the war, which romanticized the civil war and held that the south had fought for state's rights, not slavery, and that the Confederacy had fielded better officers and men and had only lost because of the overwhelming resources of the north. 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In one speech, he said that his state seceded because of a 'deep conviction on the part of Georgia that a separation from the North was the only thing that could prevent the abolition of her slavery … If things are allowed to go on as they are … we will have black governors, black legislatures, black juries, black everything. Is it supposed that the white race will stand for that?' Benning served in the Confederate army, but it was his political role as a proponent of a southern slavocracy that first brought him fame and prominence. By the 21st century, there were still 10 army bases that were named for Confederates, and the Pentagon repeatedly resisted efforts to change their names, arguing that tradition outweighed the fact that the bases were named for traitors who had fought to preserve slavery. The Confederate base names were finally changed after the 2020 George Floyd protests; Fort Bragg became Fort Liberty, while Fort Benning became Fort Moore, named for Vietnam War hero Hal Moore and his wife, Julia Moore. (Mel Gibson played Hal Moore and Madeleine Stowe played Julia Moore in the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers.) But those new names didn't survive Trump's return to office. Hegseth hasn't stopped with army bases. The Pentagon has announced it will strip the name off the US navy ship Harvey Milk, which was named for the gay rights pioneer who was assassinated in 1978, and rename it for Oscar V Peterson, a sailor who won the Congressional Medal of Honor during the second world war. But one thing is certain: Braxton Bragg's civil war contemporaries would be shocked to discover that a man so widely derided as a loser and a martinet during his lifetime is still at the center of a national debate 160 years after the war ended. 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How Russians dey force Ukrainian children to love Russia
For occupied areas of eastern Ukraine, dem dey teach pikin early to love Russia. For one nursery school for Luhansk, ova 70 young children line up and hold one long black and orange Russia military banner for di shape of letter Z, wey be di symbol of Russia invasion of Ukraine. Across di city, seven small girls dey jump up and down and point to Russian flag to di song, "I am Russian" wey dey play from loudspeakers. Wen di music come stop, dem go shout to gada: "I be Russian." For one occupied town wey dem dey call Anthracite, nursery school pikin dem don make trench candles and blankets for Russian sojas. Na all part of one campaign wey no just wan erase Ukraine national identity, but also wan turn young Ukrainians against dia own kontri. To do dat wit children, you need teachers and many Ukrainian teachers don run, di goment for Moscow don dey offer lump amount of 2m roubles (£18,500) to Russian teachers wey like relocate to di occupied parts of Ukraine. Di biggest and most powerful Russian organisation wey get hand inside na Yunarmia (Youth Army). Dem dey linked wit di Russian defence ministry and dem dey accept members wey dey as young as eight years old. Dem dey work throughout Russia and now get branches for di occupied areas of Ukraine. Fidal Bikbulatov wey dey run di Yunarmia section for di occupied areas for di Zaporizhzhia region for south-east Ukraine. Bikbulatov bin dey deployed from Russia Bashkortostan wia e bin dey head di "Youth Guard" division of di ruling United Russia party. Education, military training dey part of how Russia dey indoctrinate Ukraine children Di EU don sanction Yunarmia and Bikbulatov gan-gan say dem dey "militarize Ukrainian pikin dem". Yunarmia also dey targeted by UK sanctions say dem dey part of Russia campaign to "brainwash" Ukrainian pikin dem. No be only Yunarmia dey rum am. Oda Russian sponsored organisations wey don enta include "Movement of di First Ones" and "Warrior", wey be network of centres for "di military and athletic training and patriotic education of young pipo" wey di orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin set up. Dis groups dey arrange competitions like di Zarnitsa games wey get im origin for di Soviet era wia dem dey make Ukrainian pikin dem to demonstrate "general military literacy, knowledge of Russian statehood and military history, firearms firing skills". As di pikin dem dey grow for dia schooling, dem dey teach dem in Russian, wit Russian curriculum and textbooks wey justify di Russia war against Ukraine. One of di books show Ukraine as Western invention wey dem create to spite Russia and argue say human civilisation for end if Russia no invade Ukraine for 2022. Lisa wey go school for occupied Donetsk say students dia bin dey forced to attend events wey celebrate Russia and di USSR. Lisa say, "wen dem bin dey prepare one kain parade. Me, my whole class and di whole of my year bin dey forced to go evri weekend, go train. We bin need to hold posters. I no fit say no, no be my choice. Dem tell me say I need to do am if I wan graduate". She add say, "evri time lessons start, our teachers go make us stand up put hand for chest and listen to di Russian anthem wey she also make us cram join." Lisa now dey stay for di US and don dey post her experiences for TikTok. Serving Russian sojas also get role for di campaign of indoctrination, say dem dey go schools to teach "bravery lessons". Dem dey glorify dia work for di war and show Ukrainian forces as violent, unruly neo-Nazis. Pavel Tropkin, wey be official for di ruling United Russia party wey no base for di occupied part of Kherson region tok say, dis teachings "na so di pikin dem go fit understand di objectives" of wetin di Kremlin dey call "di special military operation" for Ukraine. Outside school, dem dey carry Ukrainian children to go see specially organised exhibitions wey dey glorify Russia and di "special military operation". One centre wey dey run dis kain trips dey host exhibitions wey dem dey call "Russia - My History" and "Special Military Operation Heroes" for Melitopol for Zaporizhzhia region. Di trips no dey end dia. Di Kremlin don also launch one big campaign wey go carry Ukrainian pikin dem on tours to go Russia as part of efforts to ginger pro-Russian thinking. Russia culture minister, Olga Lyubimova claim say ova 20,000 pikin dem from di occupied Ukrainian territories go Russia for one programme wey dem dey call "4+85". According to Russian goment concert agency Rosconcert, wey dey run di programme, dem wan "join di new generations into di unified Russian society". But Russia "integration" campaign big pass just indoctrination. Thousands of Ukrainian children wey dem carry go Russia for di three years of di full scale war, dem no allow dem come back. Ukrainian goment say ova 19,000 Ukrainian children don dey deported by force to Russia. UK goment say say like 6,000 Ukrainian pikin na im dem don move to network of "re-education camps" for Russia. International humanitarian law ban activities like dis. For example, di Fourth Geneva Convention tok say occupying power no suppose enlist children "for formations or organizations subordinate to it" and say dem fit apply "no pressure or propaganda wey go aim to secure voluntary enlistment" of locals for occupied areas to join dia armed or auxiliary forces. For 2023, di ICC put out arrest warrant for President Putin and part of di reason na di unlawful deportation of children. Putin and im goment deny di charges. For dis war wey dem dey run for Ukraine, Russia no dey only come for territory, dem dey also try stamp diaselves for di pipo wey dey live for dia, no mata how young dem be.
