Russia's Palm Sunday attack against Ukraine triggers calls for more US pressure on Putin
Ukraine, its allies and supporters say the Sumy strike, which killed at least 34 people, including two children, and injured 119, is further evidence that Russia is not committed to any type of ceasefire and needs to be backed into a corner under sanctions.
'Only real pressure on Russia can stop this,' Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted Monday on X.
'Everyone knows: this war was initiated by Russia alone. And today, it is clear that Russia alone chooses to continue it — with blatant disregard for human lives, international law, and the diplomatic efforts of President Trump,' French President Emanuel Macron said in a post on X.
'Strong measures are needed to impose a ceasefire on Russia. France is working tirelessly toward this goal, alongside its partners.'
The Trump administration has sent conflicting messages on the Ukraine-Russia war, with Keith Kellogg, the special envoy to Ukraine, blasting Russia in a post on X for a targeted attack on civilians. That message appeared to contradict Trump's earlier assertions that the Russian strike was a 'mistake'.
'Today's Palm Sunday attack by Russian forces on civilian targets in Sumy crosses any line of decency,' Kellogg wrote. 'There are scores of civilian[s] dead and wounded. As a former military leader, I understand targeting and this is wrong. It is why President Trump is working hard to end this war.'
Russia claimed the strike on Sumy targeted a gathering of senior military officers and accused Kyiv of using civilians as a human shield by holding military meetings in the city's center.
Trump on Sunday said he'd been told the attack, which he described as 'terrible,' had been a mistake.
Asked what he meant when he said it was a 'mistake,' Trump demurred and blamed former President Biden for allowing the war between Russia and Ukraine to start.
'They made a mistake. I believe it was — look, you're gonna ask them,' Trump said. 'This is Biden's war. This is not my war. This is a war that was under Biden. … I'm just trying to get it stopped so that we can save a lot of lives.'
On Monday, Trump put the most blame on Putin for starting the war with Ukraine, but also criticized Zelensky as well as Biden.
'Let's say Putin number one, but let's say Biden, who had no idea what the hell he was doing, number two, and Zelensky,' Trump said.
Trump brushed off a question from a reporter on Zelensky's offer to buy Patriot Air Defense systems and doubled down on criticism against the Ukrainian leader.
'He's always looking to purchase missiles,' Trump said flippantly, appearing to blame Zelensky for Russia's invasion.
Trump may also have been unhappy with remarks by Zelensky in an interview with CBS's '60 minutes.' In the interview, Zelensky criticized Trump and Vice President Vance as not only having a shift in tone on the war, but a 'shift in reality.' Zelensky also said the two are vulnerable to Russia's 'information policy' – its propaganda campaign that seeks to justify its unprovoked war of aggression.
Zelensky took a bold move in making these comments.
Ukraine, and Europe, are highly dependent on America's military power and neither are in a position to make up any shortfall that would come from Trump cutting off support.
Zelensky learned a hard lesson when Trump paused military deliveries and intelligence sharing with Ukraine for nearly two weeks, following the confrontation between the Ukrainian leader, Trump and Vance in the Oval Office at the end of February.
'What happened with pausing weapons supply and intelligence sharing, was critical for us and this can never happen again, because this is crucial, not only for this war but for the future of Europe,' Oleksandra Ustinova, chairwoman of Ukraine's Parliamentary Temporary Special Commission on Arms Control, told The Hill.
Ustinova was in Washington earlier this month reinforcing the argument on Capitol Hill that Kyiv is a reliable partner compared to Russia, and urging Congress to push for more weapons deliveries to Ukraine to strengthen Kyiv's position in negotiations.
'The key message to take from this meeting for us and around Capitol Hill, Ukraine has proved to be a reliable partner for the United States, we've signed every deal that is being asked from us, starting with the Budapest Memorandum when we gave up our nukes,' she said, referring to the 1994 agreement that was supposed to guarantee Ukraine's security in exchange for it forfeiting the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons on its territory.
'They are trying to exhaust our air defense and this is why it's critical for us, from our American partners – because nobody else can provide those – to protect our civilians while negotiations are going on,' Ustinova continued.
'We're fully supportive of negotiations. We are the number one country in this world who want this war to be over. But we want a full ceasefire, not a partial one that Putin can benefit from.'
The Sumy attack was one of the deadliest strikes on civilians throughout the war and that followed a Russian strike on April 4 against Zelensky's hometown of Kryvyi Rih that killed 20 people, including nine children.
But these atrocities are unlikely to dramatically change Trump's position or provide impetus for Europe to do more than what it is already doing, said Linas Kojala, CEO of the Geopolitics and Security Studies Center based in Lithuania.
'This is unfortunately just a confirmation of the interpretation of the reality on the ground that Russia does not try to achieve any sort of ceasefire, that it still continues its push to occupy more territories, and does not regard any lives as sacrosanct,' he said.
Kojala said there are some positive signals from the Trump administration that the U.S. is not immediately or completely abandoning Ukraine, that intelligence sharing is still being provided and sanctions on Russia are still in place and apparently at full force.
'At least on the practical level, Ukraine is not yet pressured by the U.S. to lose this war by not getting access to things that they've gotten previously,' he said. 'So that's the only kind of thing that I could point to as a positive one.'
Kojala said it would take Europe between two and 10 years to try and scale up to reach the capacity of support the U.S. provides, citing only a few specific examples – U.S. intelligence capabilities, the use of Starlink satellites for communications and operations, American leadership in NATO and the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
'If we lose all of it today, that's irreplaceable,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Europe reacts with mix of relief and concern to US trade deal
By Philip Blenkinsop and Sudip Kar-Gupta BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European governments and companies reacted with both relief and concern on Monday to the framework trade deal struck with U.S. President Donald Trump, acknowledging what was seen as an unbalanced deal but one that avoided a deeper trade war. The agreement, announced on Sunday between two economies that account for almost a third of global trade, will see the U.S. impose a 15% import tariff on most EU goods - half the threatened rate but much more than what Europeans hoped for. Many of the specifics of the deal were not immediately known, however. "As we await full details of the new EU–U.S. trade agreement, one thing is clear: this is a moment of relief but not of celebration," Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever wrote on X. "Tariffs will increase in several areas and some key questions remain unresolved." Trump said the deal, including an investment pledge topping the $550 billion deal signed with Japan last week, would expand ties between the trans-Atlantic powers after years of what he called unfair treatment of U.S. exporters. It will bring clarity for European makers of cars, planes and chemicals. But the EU had initially hoped for a zero-for-zero tariff deal. And the 15% baseline tariff, while an improvement on the threatened rate of 30%, compares to an average U.S. import tariff rate of around 2.5% last year before Trump's return to the White House. European Commission chief Von der Leyen, describing Trump as a tough negotiator, told reporters on Sunday that it was "the best we could get". European stocks opened up on Monday, with the STOXX 600 at a four-month high and all other major bourses also in the green. Tech and healthcare stocks led the way. "The 15% rate is better than the market was fearing," said Jefferies economist Mohit Kumar. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the deal, saying it averted a trade conflict that would have hit Germany's export-driven economy and its large auto sector hard. MORE CLARITY, BUT 'NOT THE END OF THE STORY' French government ministers said on Monday that the deal had some merits - such as exemptions they hoped to see for some key French business sectors such as spirits - but was nevertheless not balanced. Industry minister Marc Ferracci stressed more talks - potentially lasting weeks or months - would be needed before the deal could be formally concluded. "This is not the end of the story," he told RTL radio. European companies, meanwhile, were left wondering whether to cheer or lament the accord. "Those who expect a hurricane are grateful for a storm," said Wolfgang Große Entrup, head of the German Chemical Industry Association VCI. "Further escalation has been avoided. Nevertheless, the price is high for both sides. European exports are losing competitiveness. U.S. customers are paying the tariffs," he said. Stellantis shares were up 3.5% and car parts maker Valeo jumped 4.7% while German pharma group Merck KGaA rose 2.9%, in a sign of relief for those sectors. Among the many questions that remain to be answered, however, is how the EU's promise to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S. and steeply increase energy purchases can be turned into reality. It was not immediately clear if specific pledges of increased investments were made or whether the details still must be hammered out. And while the EU pledged to make $750 billion in strategic purchases over the next three years, including oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and nuclear fuel, the U.S. will struggle to produce enough to meet that demand. While U.S. LNG production capacity is due to almost double over the next four years it will still not be enough to ramp up supplies to Europe, and oil production is expected to be lower than previously forecast this year. Despite the lingering unknowns, analysts stressed the deal still helped decrease uncertainty. Oil prices rose on Monday, as did the euro. "Now that there is more clarity, you would think that not only in the United States, but around the globe, there will be a little bit more willingness to look at investment, to look at expansions, and to look at where the opportunities are," said Rodrigo Catril, senior currency strategist at National Australia Bank. Sign in to access your portfolio
Los Angeles Times
23 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Newsom responds to Trump's gutter politics
SACRAMENTO — In fighting President Trump, Gov. Gavin Newsom reminds me of actor Gene Hackman's hard-nosed character in the movie 'Mississippi Burning.' Hackman plays a take-no-prisoners FBI agent, Rupert Anderson, who is investigating the disappearance of three young civil rights workers in racially segregated 1964 Mississippi. His partner and boss is stick-by-the-rules agent Alan Ward, played by Willem Dafoe. The 1988 film is loosely based on a true story. The two agents eventually find the victims' murdered bodies and apprehend the Ku Klux Klan killers after Anderson persuades Ward to discard his high-road rule book in dealing with uncooperative local white folks. 'Don't drag me into your gutter, Mr. Anderson,' Ward sternly tells his underling initially. Anderson shouts back: 'These people are crawling out of the SEWER, MR. WARD! Maybe the gutter's where we oughta be.' And it's where they go. Only then do they solve the case. Newsom contends Trump is playing gutter politics by pressuring Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the GOP-controlled Legislature to redraw the state's U.S. House seats in an effort to elect five additional Republicans in next year's midterm elections. House seats normally are redrawn only at the beginning of a decade after the decennial census. Democrats need to gain just three net seats to retake control of the House and end the GOP's one-party rule of the federal government. Trump is trying to prevent that by browbeating Texas and other red states into gerrymandering their Democrat-held House districts into GOP winners. Republicans currently hold 25 of Texas' 38 House seats. Democrats have 12. In California, it's just the opposite — even more so. Out of 52 seats, Democrats outnumber Republicans 43 to 9, with room to make it even more lopsided. 'We could make it so that only four Republicans are left,' says Sacramento-based redistricting guru Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data Inc. Mitchell already is crafting potential new maps in case Newsom follows through with his threat to retaliate against Texas by redrawing California's districts to help Democrats gain five seats, neutralizing Republican gains in the Lone Star State. Newsom and the Legislature would be seizing redistricting responsibility from an independent citizens' commission that voters created in 2010. They took the task away from lawmakers because the politicians were acting only in their own self-interest, effectively choosing their own voters. As they do in Texas and most states, particularly red ones. But the governor and Democrats would be ignoring California voters' will — at least as stated 15 years ago. And Newsom would be down in the political gutter with Trump on redistricting. But that doesn't seem to bother him. 'They're playing by a different set of rules,' Newsom recently told reporters, referring to Trump and Republicans. 'They can't win by the traditional game. So they want to change the game. We can act holier than thou. We could sit on the sidelines, talk about the way the world should be. Or we can recognize the existential nature that is the moment.' Newsom added that 'everything has changed' since California voters banned gerrymandering 15 years ago. That's indisputable given Trump's bullying tactics and his inhumane domestic policies. 'I'm not going to be the guy that said, 'I could have, would have, should have,'' Newsom continued. 'I'm not going to be passive at this moment. I'm not going to look at my kids in the eyes and say, 'I was a little timid.'' Newsom's own eyes, of course, are on the White House and a potential 2028 presidential bid. He sees a national opportunity now to attract frustrated Democratic voters who believe that party leaders aren't fighting hard enough against Trump. Newsom continued to echo Hackman's script Friday at a news conference in Sacramento with Texas Democratic legislators. Referring to Trump and Texas Republicans, Newsom asserted: 'They're not screwing around. We cannot afford to screw around. We have to fight fire with fire.' But yakking about redrawing California's congressional maps is easy. Actually doing it would be exceedingly difficult. 'Texas can pass a plan tomorrow. California cannot,' says Tony Quinn, a former Republican consultant on legislative redistricting. Unlike in California, there's no Texas law that forbids blatant gerrymandering. California's Constitution requires redistricting by the independent commission. Moreover, a 1980s state Supreme Court ruling allows only one redistricting each decade, Quinn says. Trying to gerrymander California congressional districts through legislation without first asking the voters' permission would be criminally stupid. Newsom would need to call a special election for November and persuade voters to temporarily suspend the Constitution, allowing the Legislature to redraw the districts. Or the Legislature could place a gerrymandered plan on the ballot and seek voter approval. But that would be risky. A specific plan could offer several targets for the opposition — the GOP and do-gooder groups. In either case, new maps would need to be drawn by the end of the year to fit the June 2026 primary elections. Mitchell says polling shows that the independent commission is very popular with voters. Still, he asserts, 'there's something in the water right now. There's potential that voters will not want to let Trump run ramshackle while we're being Pollyannish.' 'The reality is that a lot of Democrats would hit their own thumb with a hammer if they thought it would hurt Trump more.' Mitchell also says that California could out-gerrymander Texas by not only weakening current GOP seats but by strengthening competitive Democratic districts. Texas doesn't have that opportunity, he says, because its districts already have been heavily gerrymandered. Democratic consultant Steve Maviglio says Newsom is 'trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube' and doubts it will work. 'Unilaterally disarming was a mistake. 'But Newsom's not wrong. They play hardball. We don't.' Newsom and California Democrats should fight Trump and Texas Republicans in the MAGA gutter, using all weapons available. As Hackman's character also says: 'Don't mean s— to have a gun unless you (sic) ready to use it.' The must-read: Texas Republicans aim to redraw House districts at Trump's urging, but there's a risk The TK: The Age-Checked Internet Has Arrived The L.A. Times Special: Trump's top federal prosecutor in L.A. struggles to secure indictments in protest cases Until next week,George Skelton —Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
The Hill
23 minutes ago
- The Hill
Senate GOP quietly urges House to shift approach on shutdown talk
Senate Republicans say President Trump has made it clear that he doesn't want a government shutdown, and they're urging House GOP lawmakers to tone down their approach to the Sept. 30 funding deadline. House Republicans jammed Senate Democrats in March with a partisan funding bill, which Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) reluctantly voted for to avoid a shutdown. But the political dynamics are different now. Schumer is under heavy pressure to fight harder against Trump and his MAGA-allies, heightening the chance of a shutdown if Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) tries to use the same playbook. 'I know that our side won't want a shutdown, Trump hates that and rightly so,' said a Republican senator, who requested anonymity to discuss conversations with the White House. The senator said 'the fate of the approps bills' to fund the government in fiscal year 2026 will be the focus of the GOP conference before it leaves for a four-week August recess. A second Republican senator who requested anonymity said that Trump, who dined with Senate Republicans at the White House recently to celebrate the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, has made it clear to his allies on Capitol Hill that he wants to avoid a shutdown in the fall. The president is focused on landing trade deals and touting the accomplishments included in the massive tax and spending package Congress passed before July 4. This is a big reason why Senate Republicans have sought common ground with Democrats on the annual appropriations bills, hoping to put behind them the bruising partisan battles over the reconciliation bill and a measure that clawed back $9 billion in PBS, NPR and global aid funding. The senator said that higher spending levels in the Senate appropriations bills offer a 'better path' to avoiding a government shutdown in the fall because they are less likely to provoke opposition from Democrats. The Senate's Interior and Environment appropriations bill for 2026, for example, provides $41.45 billion in total funding, including $3.27 billion for the National Park Service and $6.17 billion for the Forest Service. It passed out of committee with overwhelming bipartisan support, 26 to 2. The House Interior, Environment and Related Agencies bill, by comparison, provides $38 billion in funding, which is $2.9 billion below the level enacted in 2025. It also includes 72 controversial policy riders that would restrict the issuance of rules to protect sage grouse, prohibit the implementation of an updated public lands rule and dictate the timing of offshore and onshore fossil-fuel extraction leases. The House measure passed out of committee on a partisan 33-28 vote. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee, complained last week that bipartisanship has been 'thwarted' on the House side. 'It's not a negotiation,' he said, arguing that the legislation being drafted by Republican House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (Okla.) 'does not look to being bipartisan in a way that both Democrats and Republicans can come together.' Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) says that Senate Republicans want to avoid a last-minutes standoff with Democrats over funding that could threaten a shutdown. The Senate GOP leader warned in an interview with the Ruthless Podcast that Schumer is unlikely to swallow a partisan funding deal sent over from the House shortly before the Sept. 30 deadline, noting that the Democratic leader 'got just blown up' for voting for the partisan year-long funding bill the House passed in March. 'I think [Democrats are] going to be under an enormous amount of pressure come fall, which is why … we need to do everything we can – House Republicans, Senate Republicans, President Trump and his team – to … set it up for success, to keep the government up and funded,' Thune said. 'And then … Chuck Schumer … what's he going to do? Is he going to bow to the Democratic base, or do the responsible thing and keep the government open? That's the decision,' he added. A Democratic senator who requested anonymity to comment on discussions within the Democratic caucus said that Schumer is coming under heavy pressure from liberal colleagues to insist on a bipartisan funding stopgap. And they're urging him to reject any partisan funding measure akin to what the House jammed the Senate with in March. 'We all want to pursue a bipartisan, bicameral appropriations process. That's how it's always been done successfully and we believe that should happen. However, the Republicans are making it extremely difficult to do that,' Schumer told reporters after meeting with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) last week to discuss strategy. Asked what he would do if the House sent another partisan continuing resolution to the Senate shortly before the funding deadline, Schumer said: 'We're for a bipartisan, bicameral bill. That's what's always been done. The onus is on the Republicans to make that happen.' Senate Republicans have heard that message loud and clear and they want to avoid sticking Trump with a shutdown in the fall. An element of the Senate Republican strategy is to pass several of the regular appropriations bills for fiscal year 2026 before the end of September to promote a sense of optimism that Republicans and Democrats can work together to fund the government. GOP senators hope that, in turn, would reduce the temptation for the House to simply send to the Senate a stopgap funding measure that cuts deeply into Democratic priorities, as Johnson did in March, and dare Schumer to shut down the government. By passing a few spending bills this week or in early September, Senate negotiators would be in a better position to insist that House GOP leaders meet them halfway. The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday, 90 to 8, to proceed with its version of the military construction and Department of Veterans Affairs Appropriations bills. Thune is trying to attach to that measure a bill funding the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration and another funding the departments of Commerce and Justice, science programs and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Thune tried to attach the legislative branch appropriations bill to the package but Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) objected, insisting on the measure getting a stand-alone vote. The Senate will resume voting on nominees Monday while Thune attempts to get all 99 other senators to sign off on a time agreement for expanding the appropriations package beyond military construction and Veterans Affairs. 'We want to get as many bills considered in this tranche as possible,' Thune told reporters last week.
