Will Donald Trump stand with the democracies or side with a despot?
The offer of additional weapons to Ukraine is welcome (report, July 15), even if Europe has to foot the bill, but I still need to be convinced that Mr Trump will fully and unequivocally stand with the democracies against the despot.
David Kenny
Tredunnock, Monmouthshire
SIR – Mr Trump has finally concluded that Vladimir Putin's words can't be trusted. The rest of us knew this more than three years ago, when Putin invaded Ukraine after repeated assurances that he had no such intention.
David Vincent
Cranbrook, Kent
SIR – Donald Trump reportedly wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize. If he were to impose severe sanctions against Russia and provide sufficient military aid for Ukraine, the war could be ended, and the President might get his wish. But this must be done now, not after 50 days (' Trump threatens China over Russian oil ', report, July 15).
Anthony Appleby
Exeter, Devon
SIR – President Trump should realise that China is already in conflict with the West. President Xi is providing economic, technical and military support to Russia. He appears to see the war in Ukraine as a way of weakening the West and distracting America. It is therefore in America's interest to bring the war to a close, ensuring a Russian defeat. Just as Israel has fought Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, America should see defeat of Iran and Russia as necessary steps in its contest with China.
Col Ronnie Bradford (retd)
Vienna, Austria
SIR – Russia will not lose militarily, but only by economic collapse. It is therefore time for the UK and the EU to announce further sanctions, and the seizure of all frozen Russian assets held in London and Europe. This would bring an end to the war much closer.
If the UK and Europe do not step up, I fear we will see the usual European technocratic fudge, inviting further trouble in the future.
David Shadwell
Little Baddow, Essex
SIR – What has happened to the 'coalition of the willing', led by our Prime Minister?
Not so long ago there was talk of putting boots on the ground in Ukraine, yet it now appears that the country must rely on an unpredictable US administration – just as Putin intensifies his bombing.
This seems to be another abject failure of leadership from Sir Keir Starmer.
Piers Pottinger
London SW17
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The Guardian
a few seconds ago
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: US moving ‘with haste' to enable weapons shipments to Kyiv, says Washington
The US is moving to get weapons to Ukraine quickly under President Donald Trump's plan for Europe to buy arms and is weighing selling Patriot air defence systems from its own stocks, Washington's envoy to Nato has said. 'We are all moving with haste to facilitate this and get this done, and, you know, I think things are actually moving very quickly,' the US ambassador to Nato, Matthew Whitaker, told journalists on Thursday. 'But I can't verify a date that this will all be completed.' Trump on Monday announced a deal with Nato chief Mark Rutte for European states in the alliance to buy US weaponry – particularly advanced Patriot systems – and give it to Kyiv, but questions have been raised over where the systems will come from and how soon they can get to Ukraine amid Russian bombardments. Nato's supreme commander in Europe said separately that preparations were under way to ship the first Patriot systems to Ukraine under the scheme. US general Alexus Grynkewich said there was an 'ongoing conversation' about whether the US would sell Patriots already available in its own military stockpiles. The Swiss government, meanwhile, said delivery of US Patriot systems to Switzerland would be delayed as Washington reprioritised to provide more support to Ukraine. The moves came as Trump's effort to take credit for the additional weapons headed to Ukraine at Europe's expense created mild friction in EU-US relations, with the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, saying: 'If we pay for these weapons, it's our support.' Donald Trump's decision to ramp up arms shipments to Ukraine is a signal to Kyiv to abandon peace efforts, Russia said, vowing it would not accept the 'blackmail' of Washington's new sanctions ultimatum. Trump on Monday set a 50-day deadline for Moscow to reach a ceasefire or face sanctions, while also promising more weaponry for Kyiv. Russia's foreign ministry condemned the move, with spokesperson Maria Zakharova saying: 'It is obvious that the Kyiv regime consistently perceives such decisions by the collective west as a signal to continue the slaughter and abandon the peace process.' Russian troops have taken control of three villages in three different parts of the frontline running through Ukraine, the defence ministry claimed on Thursday. Official Ukrainian reports of activity along the 1,000km (600-mile) front disputed part of the Russian account, particularly concerning a key village in the south-east. The Russian defence ministry report named the three captured settlements as Kamianske in the south-eastern Zaporizhzhia region, Dehtiarne in north-eastern Kharkiv region and Popiv Yar in Donetsk region. The battlefield reports from either side could not be independently verified. Ukrainian military spokesperson Vladyslav Voloshyn told the media outlet that holding Kamianske, south-east of the region's main town of Zaporizhzhia, was important to keep that city safe from attack. Russian lawmakers have advanced a bill that would outlaw opening or searching for content online judged 'extremist', such as songs glorifying Ukraine and material by feminist rock band Pussy Riot. Critics say the law, which has drawn a rare backlash from across Russia's political spectrum, would stifle internet freedom. The legislation threatens fines of up to 5,000 rubles ($64) on anyone found to have deliberately searched for or gained access to material listed as extremist by the justice ministry. More than 5,000 entries are on the list, including webpages, political slogans, books, artworks and music albums. Slovakia will stop blocking the approval of the 18th package of European Union sanctions against Russia on Friday, the prime minister said. Robert Fico said on Thursday that Slovakia had achieved as much as it could at this point, after blocking the EU's approval of the sanctions multiple times to demand guarantees against damages it fears from a separate EU plan to end all gas imports from Russia from 2028. EU countries' ambassadors would meet on Friday morning to approve the new sanctions. The European Commission last month proposed the 18th package of sanctions against Russia for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, aimed at Moscow's energy revenue, banks and military industry.
Reuters
a few seconds ago
- Reuters
Trump nominating former Delta pilot to international aviation post
WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is nominating former Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), opens new tab pilot Jeffrey Anderson to serve as U.S ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the White House said on Thursday. The nomination comes as some U.S. senators want the Trump administration to advocate at ICAO for raising the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots from 65 to 67. The United States has not had a permanent ambassador at the Montreal-based United Nations civil aviation body since July 2022 when C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger, the commercial pilot who safely landed an Airbus A320 on New York's Hudson River in 2009 after hitting a flock of geese, stepped down.
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
Only a quarter of Americans say Trump's policies have helped them, new poll finds
Only about a quarter of Americans believe President Donald Trump 's policies have helped them, according to a new poll. A majority of Americans believe Trump has fallen short on key issues such as the economy and immigration. These are issues he campaigned on and led former Vice President Kamala Harris on in polls during the 2024 election cycle. A poll released by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research Thursday found 49 percent of Americans feel Trump's policies have done more harm than good, while only a quarter believe his policies have helped and another quarter think they have not been impacted by them. 'As it sits today, I don't know his policies have made much of a difference in my day-to-day life,' Landon Lindemer, a 29-year-old from Atlanta who voted for Trump three times, told the AP. Most Americans, 58 percent, disapprove of how Trump is handling his job as president, while 40 percent approve. Trump has been carrying out his campaign promises of the mass deportation of immigrants and in securing the U.S.- Mexico border. There have been zero Customs and Border Protection encounters at the southern border so far this month, according to government data. NBC News reports, citing government data, 56,397 migrants are currently in ICE detention, and tens of thousands of deportations have occurred since February. According to the new poll, 55 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump's immigration policies, while 43 percent approve. An even bigger chunk of Americans, 60 percent, disapprove of Trump's economic polices, while just 38 percent approve. Inflation rose slightly last month as Trump's sweeping global tariffs started to slowly affect the economy. The consumer price index ticked up by 0.3 percent in June. This put the 12-month inflation rate at 2.7 percent, according to government data. The Federal Reserve, which manages the country's monetary policy, has an inflation rate target of 2 percent. But job growth was better-than-expected in June. Most Americans also disapprove of Trump's handling of natural disaster relief, 55 percent. On the administrations other policies Americans disapprove of: the situation in the Middle East, 55 percent, taxes, 56 percent, government spending, 61 percent, trade negotiations with other countries, 61 percent, and health care, 62 percent. The poll was conducted between July 10 and 14, after Trump signed his 'big, beautiful bill' that extended his 2017 tax cuts and increased border security spending while cutting welfare programs such as Medicaid and SNAP. The U.S. bombed three of Iran's nuclear sites last month, which the Trump administration touted as a victory in an effort to keep Tehran's hands off nuclear weapons. But Trump has struggled to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Gaza war, which started after Hamas' deadly October 7, 2023, attack. The poll also came after Trump and first lady Melania Trump traveled to central Texas to survey the destruction and meet with community members and local officials in the aftermath of the deadly July 4 flash floods along the Guadalupe River. Reports found the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent a fraction of the personnel to the flood site that the state had deployed, and federal workers ran into red tape while trying to assemble resources due to new guidelines implemented by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
