Ukraine war briefing: Don't bomb Moscow, Trump says, after reportedly giving Zelenskyy the idea
Ukraine on Tuesday was waiting for further details of the 'billions of dollars' worth of US military equipment promised by Donald Trump, amid confusion as to how many Patriot air defence systems will be sent. On Monday, Trump said an unnamed country was ready to immediately provide '17 Patriots'. Ukraine is believed so far to possess six functioning Patriot air defence 'batteries' – the truck-based radar and launch systems that fire the missiles. It was unclear if Trump was referring to the launch systems, the interceptor missiles that are their ammunition, or whether he understood the difference.
Several European countries said they were willing to buy US arms for Ukraine as outlined by Trump but did not yet know what was being asked of them. Washington officials have suggested that European countries will give up some of their own stocks of weapons for Ukraine and then buy replacements from the US. It would get weapons to Ukraine more quickly, but leave the donor countries waiting for new systems for their own defence.
Some US lawmakers voiced concern that Trump's latest deadline – 50 days this time – for Putin to make peace gives him time to grab even more Ukrainian territory. Thom Tillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina, said: 'The 50-day delay worries me that Putin would try to use the 50 days to win the war, or to be better positioned to negotiate a peace agreement after having murdered and potentially collected more ground. Tillis and Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, lead a US Senate group that facilitates work between Congress and Nato.
Russian drones and missiles attacked widely separated areas of Ukraine, officials said in the early hours of Wednesday, with at least two people reported killed. National emergency services reported two deaths in drone strikes east of the north-eastern city of Kharkiv near the town of Kupiansk. In Kharkiv itself, the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said at least 17 explosions were recorded in a 20-minute drone attack in which three people were injured. The head of the military administration in the south-eastern town of Kryvyi Rih, Oleksander Vilkul, said an extended missile and drones attack knocked out power and water supplies and caused injuries. The Kyiv mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said air defence units had gone into action in the capital.
Earlier, a Russian attack on Tuesday afternoon killed three people in Kupiansk and Sumy, Ukrainian authorities said. Russian officials said a Ukrainian drone attack on the western city of Voronezh wounded 27 people.
The Institute for the Study of war assessed that Ukrainian forces recently advanced in northern Sumy oblast; while Russian forces recently advanced near Kupiansk, Borova, and Toretsk.
The EU was unable to approve a new package of sanctions against Russia on Tuesday as Slovakia demanded more guarantees that it would not be harmed by a separate EU plan to phase out Russian gas. The EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she was 'really sad' the sanctions did not get approved, adding that 'the ball is in Slovakia's court' and she hoped a deal could be reached on Wednesday.
Ukrainians celebrated Melania Trump on social media after Donald Trump suggested the first lady played a key role in pointing out to him Vladimir Putin's duplicity, Luke Harding writes. 'I go home, I tell the first lady: I spoke with Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation. She said: Really? Another city was just hit,' Trump said. One social media user posted a photo of 'Agent Melania Trumpenko' looking surreptitious in a big hat and wearing a blazer with Ukraine's trident insignia. Others depicted her being presented with a Ukrainian military cap and wearing the blue and yellow of Ukraine's flag.
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Change NJ, a pro-Ciattarelli super PAC, has already launched digital ads knocking Sherrill for opposing the measure, focusing on the tax provisions. The group also released a memo last week with a poll from its senior adviser and pollster Kellyanne Conway, Trump's former campaign manager. The survey, which tested a range of attacks against Sherrill, found that the best-performing attack highlighted 'her vote to not extend Trump tax cuts, leading to a potential $1,700 tax hike for families, tax hike on small businesses and a cut to the child tax credit,' although critics of the poll note it modeled an electorate more favorable to Republicans. 'This is the most recent, most vivid example of Mikie doing the things in Washington that people are tired of Trenton Democrats doing,' Change NJ spokesman Carlos Cruz said. 'To that end, you should expect to see us talking a lot about it.' Democrats highlight downstream effects of Medicaid spending cuts Hospital associations have also warned that rural hospitals in Virginia will take a major financial hit under the law, because they rely so heavily on Medicaid dollars: People living in rural areas are far more likely to receive their health insurance through Medicaid. Both Spanberger and Sherrill have emphasized those cuts on the campaign trail. Sherrill held events earlier this month at a health care center in Camden, a solar energy business in Southampton Township, and Kean University in Union to highlight the effects of the 'one big beautiful bill,' which Sherrill has called the "Republican Price Hike Bill.' 'This cruel piece of legislation will kick hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans off their healthcare and raise costs for even more, cut food assistance for working families, and increase the cost of utilities and mortgages,' Sherrill said in her statement explaining her vote against the measure. 'At the same time, they are funneling New Jersey's hard-earned tax dollars to Trump's billionaire friends and donors.' Spanberger, for her part, made criticism of Trump's bill a central tenet of a campaign bus tour through Virginia in late June, telling voters during a stop in Fredericksburg before the measure was enacted that she'd already begun 'looking at how we can make sure that, come January, as few people as possible get pushed off of Medicaid.' In video released by her campaign after the House passed its iteration of the bill, she warned that it would constitute a 'massive attack on health care as we know it' and create 'a reality where Virginians cannot afford the care they need,' warning that it would boot people off Medicaid, cause rural hospital closures, increase prescription drug costs and overrun emergency rooms. In both states, Democrats also plan to use the Republicans' support for the bill to make the broader case that they won't stand up to Trump, who lost both states by nearly 6 percentage points. Earle-Sears says 'don't panic' In Virginia, Earle-Sears has both praised Trump's tax-and-spend law and brushed off concerns about the measure. At a press conference one week after the law was enacted, Earle-Sears responded to questions about its impact on rural hospitals and voters' concerns about the law more broadly. 'I would say to Virginia, don't panic,' she said, before adding that 'things are being worked out' and saying that federal and state lawmakers had begun taking actions to counter hits to health care coverage. A week earlier — but still after the bill was enacted — Earle-Sears said during an interview on Newsmax, a conservative television network, that the bill 'does so many great things' amid a broader discussion about her policy plans to create jobs in Virginia. And in June, prior to Trump's bill becoming law, Earle-Sears told a crowd at an event in the rural town of Marion that the state would be able to fill in financial gaps created by cuts to Medicaid with 'rainy day' state budgetary funds. Virginia Democrats have pushed as loudly on instances of Earle-Sears defending the law as they have on Spanberger's criticism of it. 'After supporting and praising these cuts, all Winsome Earle-Sears has to say is 'don't panic,'' Democratic Party of Virginia spokesperson Maggie Amjad said in response to questions about how the party was positioning itself to message on Trump's law in the governor's race. Amjad called the GOP nominee's comments 'dismissive and empty advice.' Responding to questions about Earle-Sears' views on Trump's law — and about Democratic attacks on that response — campaign spokesperson Peyton Vogel wrote in an email that 'Abigail Spanberger may not be aware of this, but we're running for Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.' 'When she and Joe Biden were sending bills that directly impacted the future of our Commonwealth, Governor Youngkin and Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears fought for all Virginians,' Vogel added. 'That's where all of our priorities should be focused, on the people of Virginia. Fear mongering over President Trump's tax cuts is a losing strategy, but we aren't going to get in Abigail's way.' Republicans working for some outside groups wouldn't rule out the idea of ads promoting aspects of Trump's law in the state, as seems to be on the menu in New Jersey, where the pro-Ciattarelli super PAC noted the political value of the tax cut provisions. But Vogel said the Earle-Sears campaign was not planning to feature in any ads, or as part of any paid media, any messaging that defended or touted the "big beautiful bill." 'We are focused on Virginia and Winsome's story,' she said.
