Trump envoy arrives in Kyiv as US pledges Patriot missiles to Ukraine
Mr Trump teased last week that he would make a 'major statement' on Russia on Monday.
The president made quickly stopping the war one of his diplomatic priorities, and has increasingly expressed frustration about Russian president Vladimir Putin's unbudging stance.
US president Donald Trump confirmed America was sending Ukraine Patriot air defence missiles to help it fend off Russia's intensifying aerial attacks (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Mr Putin 'talks nice and then he bombs everybody', Mr Trump said late on Sunday, as he confirmed America was sending Ukraine badly needed US-made Patriot air defence missiles to help it fend off Russia's intensifying aerial attacks.
A top ally of Mr Trump, Republican senator Lindsey Graham, said on Sunday that the conflict was nearing an inflection point as Mr Trump showed growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back against Russia's full-scale invasion. It was a cause that Mr Trump had previously dismissed as being a waste of US taxpayer money.
Meanwhile, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte was due in Washington on Monday and Tuesday. He planned to hold talks with Mr Trump, secretary of state Marco Rubio and defence secretary Pete Hegseth as well as members of Congress.
Talks during the visit by Mr Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired general Keith Kellogg, would cover 'defence, strengthening security, weapons, sanctions, protection of our people and enhancing co-operation between Ukraine and the United States', the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andrii Yermak, said.
'Russia does not want a ceasefire. Peace through strength is President Donald Trump's principle, and we support this approach,' Mr Yermak said.
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Irish Examiner
21 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
‘New ceasefire agreed' after clashes in Syria
Syrian government officials and leaders of the Druze religious minority have announced a renewed ceasefire after days of clashes that have threatened to unravel the country's post-war political transition. It was not immediately clear if the new agreement – which was announced by Syrian state media and in a video message by a Druze religious leader – would hold. A previous ceasefire announced the day before quickly fell apart. The announcement came after Israel launched a series of rare air strikes in the heart of Damascus, part of a campaign that it said is intended to defend the Druze – who also form a substantial community in Israel – and to push Islamic militants away from its border. Government soldiers stand next to confiscated items stolen during clashes in Sweida city (Omar Albam/AP) The escalating violence has appeared to be the most serious threat yet to the ability of Syria's new rulers to consolidate control of the country after a rebel offensive led by Islamist insurgent groups ousted long-time despotic leader, Bashar Assad, in December, bringing an end to a nearly 14-year civil war. As clashes have raged for days in the southern Syrian city of Sweida between government forces and Druze armed groups, Israel has launched dozens of strikes targeting government troops and convoys, and on Wednesday struck the Syrian Defence Ministry headquarters in the heart of Damascus. That strike killed one person and injured 18, Syrian officials said. Another strike hit near the presidential palace in the hills outside Damascus. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said after the air strike in a post on X that the 'painful blows have begun'. An Israeli military official said the army was preparing for a 'multitude of scenarios' and that a brigade, normally comprising thousands of soldiers, was being pulled out of Gaza and sent to the Golan Heights. Syria's Defence Ministry had earlier blamed militias in the Druze-majority area of Sweida for violating a ceasefire agreement that had been reached on Tuesday, causing Syrian army soldiers to return fire. It said they were 'adhering to rules of engagement to protect residents, prevent harm, and ensure the safe return of those who left the city back to their homes'. Meanwhile, reports of attacks on civilians continued to surface, and Druze with family members in the conflict zone searched desperately for information about their fate amid communication blackouts. The primarily Sunni Muslim leaders have faced suspicion from religious and ethnic minorities, whose fears increased after clashes between government forces and pro-Assad armed groups in March spiralled into sectarian revenge attacks. Hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority, to which Assad belongs, were killed. Israeli soldiers stand guard as Syrian Druze protest near the Israeli-Syrian border (Leo Correa/AP) In Jaramana near the Syrian capital, Evelyn Azzam, 20, said she fears that her husband, Robert Kiwan, 23, is dead. The newlyweds live in the Damascus suburb but Mr Kiwan would commute to Sweida for work each morning and got trapped there when the clashes erupted. Ms Azzam said she was on the phone with Mr Kiwan when security forces questioned him and a colleague about whether they were affiliated with Druze militias. When her husband's colleague raised his voice, she heard a gunshot. Mr Kiwan was then shot while trying to appeal. 'They shot my husband in the hip from what I could gather,' she said, struggling to hold back tears. 'The ambulance took him to the hospital. Since then, we have no idea what has happened.' The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half the roughly one million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War and annexed in 1981. In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the military. In Syria, the Druze have been divided over how to deal with the country's new leaders, with some advocating for integrating into the new system while others have remained suspicious of the authorities in Damascus and pushed for an autonomous Druze region. On Wednesday, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the Israeli army 'will continue to attack regime forces until they withdraw from the area — and will also soon raise the bar of responses against the regime if the message is not understood'.
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Open Championship at Dublin's Portmarnock remains firmly on the cards as feasibility work continues
Speaking ahead of The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush, R&A Chief Executive Mark Darbon confirmed that the governing body continues to work on the feasibility study into the suitability of the north Dublin links. "First one would say is that I've got one venue on my mind this week and it's Portrush, given it is my first Open Championship, and looking forward to delivering what we hope will be a successful event," explained Mr Darbon, who said in April that the R&A was "really optimistic" about the prospect of hosting The Open in Dublin. "Yes, we are thinking about Portmarnock. We think it's a wonderful links golf course, and we've been really encouraged by the support that we've had in principle from the Irish government to work with us to understand whether we can stage an Open Championship there in the future. "We're knee-deep in the feasibility work to help us answer that question fully. We expect to have a clearer picture by the back end of this year." A crowd of 278,000 is expected at Royal Portrush this week, which is the biggest attendance at an Open held outside St Andrews. However, whether Turnberry returns to the rota while Trump is in power remains to be seen, as a decision on the 2028 staging is still to be made. "I think we've been extremely clear on our position, as in respect of Turnbury," Mr Darbon explained. "We love the golf course, but we've got some big logistical challenges there. You see the scale of the setup here, and we've some work to do on the road, rail, and accommodation structure around Turnberry, and we've explicitly not taken it out of our pool of venues. "But we need to address those logistical challenges." Mr Darbon's predecessor, Martin Slumbers, said last November that the Trump issue was central to the R&A's decision. "We will not be taking any events there until we are comfortable that the whole dialogue will be about golf," Slumbers said. "That situation is something we're still not comfortable with at the moment, but that could evolve in the coming years." Asked about those remarks and whether Trump's presence in the White House was relevant to their decision, Mr Darbon said: "It's a somewhat hypothetical question in there. Unless we address the logistical challenges, it's difficult for us to go back. "I met a couple of months ago with Eric Trump and some of the leadership from the Trump Golf organisation and from Turnberry. "We had a really good discussion. I think they understand clearly where we're coming from. We talked through some of the challenges that we have, so we've got a good dialogue." As for Muirfield, which hasn't hosted The Open since 2013, Mr Darbon explained that there were logistical challenges there too. "We love the golf course at Muirfield," he said. "We're in a discussion with the venue right now. "There's some things that we need to evolve at Muirfield — the practice ground, in particular, is a challenge for us to host the modern Open, and this is work we need to do, and if they need to facilitate some of the infrastructure that we require decent cabling to enable the scale of the production that we have these days. "But it's good dialogue, and we'd love to be back here in the future. As I've said, no, it's not just about a number of fans, but there are some other things that go into staging the championships, practice ground and the wider infrastructure." As for LIV Golf's reapplication for Official World Ranking points, Mr Darbon confirmed that it was being studied by the OWGR technical group, but he had not examined in detail the changes proposed by the Saudi-funded league to improve its chances of being awarded points. "We actually had an OWGR board meeting yesterday," he said. "An application has been received. I think that's a good thing. "There's a robust process that now exists. The bid will be assessed by the technical committee and then ultimately determined by the board. "I think Trevor Immelman (Chairman of the OWGR) released a statement regarding that recently, and I'm sure he'll talk about that in more detail to come. "I haven't reviewed the technical submission in any detail. That's the process that we'll go through now, so difficult (to say what's being proposed by LIV).'
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Trump criticises own supporters in Epstein documents row
President Donald Trump has lashed out at his own supporters as he tries to clamp down on criticism of his administration's handling of much-hyped records in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation. 'Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bullshit' hook, line, and sinker,' Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. 'They haven't learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years.' 'Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore! Thank you for your attention to this matter,' he went on. The schism between the Republican president and some of his most loyal supporters centres on his administration's handling of the Epstein case. Last week, the Justice Department and the FBI acknowledged that Epstein did not maintain a 'client list' and they said no more files related to the wealthy financier's sex trafficking investigation would be made public despite promises from Attorney General Pam Bondi that had raised the expectations of conservative influencers and conspiracy theorists. Mr Trump has since defended Ms Bondi and chided a reporter for asking about the documents. Mr Trump and many figures in his administration, including FBI director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, have spent years stoking dark and disproved conspiracy theories, including embracing QAnon-tinged propaganda that casts Mr Trump as a saviour sent to demolish the 'deep state'.
