
Trump admin halts some weapons shipments to Ukraine ‘to put America's interests first'
The White House on Tuesday confirmed that 155mm artillery rounds, Patriot air defense, Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, Stinger, AIM-7 and Hellfire missiles bound for Ukraine will not be shipped following a Pentagon assessment.
The White House has confirmed that the US has halted shipments of some weapons to Ukraine.
ZUMAPRESS.com
'This decision was made to put America's interests first following a [Department of Defense] review of our nation's military support and assistance to other countries across the globe,' White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Post.
'The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned — just ask Iran,' she added.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

an hour ago
Zelenskyy brings Europe's top leaders with him to meet Trump on ending Russia's war
WASHINGTON -- Ukraine's future could hinge on a hastily assembled meeting Monday at the White House as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy brings with him an extraordinary cadre of European leaders to show U.S. President Donald Trump a united front against Russia. The European political heavy-hitters were left out of Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday, and they look to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow. By arriving as a group, they hope to avoid any debacles like Zelenskyy's February meeting in the Oval Office, where Trump chastised him for not showing enough gratitude for American military aid. The meeting also is a test of America's relationship with its closest allies after the European Union and United Kingdom accepted Trump's tariff hikes partly because they wanted his support on Ukraine. Monday's showing is a sign both of the progress and the possible distress coming out of the Alaska meeting as many of Europe's leaders are descending on Washington with the explicit goal of protecting Ukraine's interests, a rare and sweeping show of diplomatic force. 'It's important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, and therefore for all of Europe,' Zelenskyy said on X. The night before the meeting, however, Trump seemed to put the onus on Zelenskyy to agree to concessions and suggested that Ukraine could not regain Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, setting off an armed conflict that led to its broader 2022 invasion. "President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight," he wrote Sunday night on social media. 'Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!' Zelenskyy appeared to respond with his own post late Sunday, saying, 'We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably.' He went on to say that 'peace must be lasting,' not as it was after Russia seized Crimea and part of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine eight years ago, and 'Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack.' The sitdown in Alaska yielded the possible contours for stopping the war in Ukraine, though it was unclear whether the terms discussed would ultimately be acceptable to Zelenskyy or Putin. Planning to join Zelenskyy in America's capital are European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. On the table for discussion are possible NATO-like security guarantees that Ukraine would need for any peace with Russia to be durable. Putin opposes Ukraine joining NATO outright, yet Trump's team claims the Russian leader is open to allies agreeing to defend Ukraine if it comes under attack. Trump briefed Zelenskyy and European allies shortly after the Putin meeting, and details from the discussions emerged in a scattershot way that seemed to rankle the U.S. president, who had chosen not to outline any terms when appearing afterward with Putin. 'BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA,' Trump posted Sunday on social media. The president also bemoaned media coverage of his summit with Putin and said on Truth Social: "I had a great meeting in Alaska." Following the Alaska summit, Trump declared that a ceasefire was not necessary for peace talks to proceed, a sudden shift to a position favored by Putin. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that a ceasefire was still possible but that 'the best way to end this conflict is through a full peace deal." European officials confirmed that Trump told them Putin is still seeking control of the entire Donbas region, even though Ukraine controls a meaningful share of it. And Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said the U.S. and its allies could offer Ukraine a NATO-like commitment to defend the country if it came under attack as the possible security guarantee. "How that's constructed, what we call it, how it's built, what guarantees are built into it that are enforceable, that's what we'll be talking about over the next few days with our partners who are coming in from overseas,' Rubio told NBC's 'Meet the Press.' Rubio said on Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures' that such a commitment 'would be a very big move" by Trump. He expects the delegations will 'spend six, seven hours talking about these things, maybe more, and try to get to a point where we have something more concrete.' Monday's meeting will likely be very tough for Zelenskyy, an official close to the ongoing talks said. That official spoke on condition of anonymity to speak openly about thinking within Ukraine and between allies. Zelenskyy needs to prevent a scenario in which he gets blamed for blocking peace talks by rejecting Putin's maximalist demand on the Donbas, the official said. It is a demand Zelenskyy has said many times he will never accept because it is unconstitutional and could create a launching pad for future Russian attacks. If confronted with pressure to accept Putin's demands, Zelenskyy would likely have to revert to a skill he has demonstrated time and again: diplomatic tact. Ukrainian leadership is seeking a trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump and Putin to discuss sensitive matters, including territorial issues. After enduring a public tirade by Trump and Vice President JD Vance in February, Zelenskyy worked to repair relations with the U.S. Constant diplomatic communication and a 15-minute meeting at the Vatican in April on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral helped turn the tide. Trump appeared at the time to be swayed by Zelenskyy's conditions for peace. But Trump says he cares primarily about ending the war, an ambition that led him after his meeting with Putin to discard the need for a ceasefire. European allies also have worked with Trump, reaching a deal in July for NATO allies to buy weapons from the U.S. for Ukraine. Ahead of Monday's meeting, France's Macron stressed the importance of building up Ukraine's military and the need to show Putin that Europe interprets his moves as a threat to other nations. 'If we are weak with Russia today, we'll be preparing the conflicts of tomorrow and they will impact the Ukrainians and — make no mistake — they can impact us, too,' Macron said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Zelenskiy, flanked by Europe, heads to Washington as Trump presses for Russia deal
By Max Hunder KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders will meet Donald Trump in Washington on Monday to map out a peace deal amid fears the U.S. president could try to pressure Kyiv into accepting a settlement favourable to Moscow. The European leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland and NATO hope to shore up Zelenskiy at a crucial diplomatic moment in the war and prevent any repetition of the bad-tempered Oval Office encounter between Trump and Ukraine's leader in February. Trump will meet first with Zelenskiy at 1:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (1715 GMT) in the Oval Office and then with all the European leaders together in the White House's East Room at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), the White House said. After rolling out the red carpet for Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, Trump said an agreement should be struck to end the 42-month-long war which has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions. "Russia is a very big power, and they're not," Trump said of Ukraine afterwards. However, Zelenskiy has already all but rejected the outline of Putin's proposals at that meeting, including for Ukraine to give up the rest of its eastern Donetsk region, of which it currently controls a quarter. "We need real negotiations, which means we can start where the front line is now," the Ukrainian leader said in Brussels on Sunday, adding that his country's constitution made it impossible for him to give away territory. More concerning for him is the fact that Trump, who previously favoured Kyiv's proposal for an immediate ceasefire to conduct deeper peace talks, reversed course after the summit and indicated support for Russia's favoured approach of negotiating a comprehensive deal while fighting rumbles on. "I am grateful to the President of the United States for the invitation. We all equally want to end this war swiftly and reliably," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app after arriving in Washington late on Sunday. "Russia must end this war — the war it started. And I hope that our shared strength with America and with our European friends will compel Russia to real peace." The outline of Putin's proposals, reported by Reuters earlier, appears impossible for Zelenskiy to accept. Ukrainian forces are deeply dug into the Donetsk region, whose towns and hills serve as a crucial defensive zone to stymie Russian attacks. As part of any peace deal, Kyiv wants security guarantees sufficient to deter Russia, which took Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014 and launched a full invasion in 2022, from attacking again. Fearing that they would be shut out of the conversation after a summit to which they were not invited, European leaders held a call with Zelenskiy on Sunday to align on a common strategy for the meeting with Trump on Monday. The presence of six allies to back Zelenskiy may alleviate painful memories of Zelenskiy's last Oval Office visit. "It's important for the Europeans to be there: (Trump) respects them, he behaves differently in their presence," Oleksandr Merezhko, a Ukrainian lawmaker from Zelenskiy's ruling party, told Reuters. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to CBS, dismissed the idea that the European leaders were coming to Washington to protect Zelenskiy. "They're not coming here tomorrow to keep Zelenskiy from being bullied. They're coming here tomorrow because we've been working with the Europeans," he said. "We invited them to come." Relations between Kyiv and Washington, once extremely close, have been rocky since Trump took office in January. However, Ukraine's pressing need for U.S. weapons and intelligence sharing, some of which have no viable alternative, has forced Zelenskiy and his allies on the continent to appease Trump, even when his statements appear contradictory to their objectives. On the battlefield Russia has been slowly grinding forward, pressing home its advantages in men and firepower. Putin says he is ready to continue fighting until his military objectives are achieved. Ukraine hopes that the changing technological nature of the war and its ability to inflict massive casualties on Moscow will allow it to hold out, supported by European financial and military aid even if relations with Washington collapse. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Secret White House spreadsheet ranks US companies based on loyalty to Trump
Donald Trump has drawn up a scorecard for corporate America, ranking companies based on their loyalty to his administration. The highly unusual list ranks 533 businesses and trade organisations based on their efforts to champion the US president's 'one big beautiful bill', according to reports. Companies that have fared well deployed a variety of tactics – often trumpeting the benefits of an individual policy, such as Uber's celebration of Mr Trump's 'no tax on tips' proposal. The scorecard, which Axios said will aid decision-making on corporate requests, comes as part of Mr Trump's 'America First' agenda and protectionist policies. The chart allegedly ranks enterprises' levels of support as either strong, moderate or low based on a series of factors. Actions that affect a company's rating are said to include social media posts, adverts, press releases, video testimonials, attendance at White House events and other engagements related to 'OB3' – the administration's nickname for the president's set-piece tax and spending legislation. According to Axios, businesses seen as 'good partners' on the White House list include DoorDash, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Uber, AT&T, Cisco, Airlines for America and the Steel Manufacturers Association. AT&T recently announced 'plans to more quickly build fiber infrastructure thanks to pro-investment policies in the one big beautiful bill act passed by Congress'. Meanwhile Airlines for America – which represents major US airlines including United and Delta – lauded the bill's $12.5bn (£9.2bn) investment in air traffic control. The spreadsheet is said to be an evolving document, to which businesses' support for other presidential initiatives can be added. The ranking 'helps us see who really goes out and helps vs those who just come in and pay lip service,' an official told the news outlet. 'If groups/companies want to start advocating more now for the tax bill or additional administration priorities, we will take that into account in our grading,' the official added. It is not clear which businesses rank low on the list but those likely to have taken a hit may include clean energy companies, who heavily criticised the bill's rollback of green incentives. Mr Trump has also clashed with Wall Street in recent weeks. The president this week hit out at David Solomon, the Goldman Sachs chief executive, saying the bank had been wrong to predict that imposing US tariffs would hurt the US economy. Posting on Truth Social, Mr Trump said the investment banker should focus on being a DJ – one of his former hobbies – and 'not bother running a major financial institution'. The president has also butted heads with the leaders of JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America, claiming the banks had refused to accept more than $1bn in deposits. Mr Trump has signed an executive order requiring banks not to discriminate against clients on political grounds, in a move that could cause further headaches for the industry. The White House has made public a parallel list tracking the so-called Trump effect, referring to announcements of investments in US manufacturing, production and innovation during the president's second term. It comes as the president is increasingly seeking to exert control over corporate America through protectionist measures, offering tax relief to businesses that bring jobs back to the US and threatening to impose tariffs on those that do not. Business leaders have scrambled to pay homage to the president, offering the US government stakes in their companies and even bestowing personal gifts on the president in a bid to avoid sanctions. Last week, US chip manufacturer Nvidia agreed for the US government to take 15pc of the company's revenues generated in China as part of an agreement to restart exports to Beijing. The unprecedented pact came after Mr Trump barred sales of Nvidia's H20 technology in China earlier this year to boost his tit-for-tat trade war with Beijing, wiping billions of dollars from the $4tn company's value in the process. Tim Cook, the Apple chief executive, last week agreed to invest $100bn in American manufacturing after the president pledged to impose 100pc tariffs on foreign microchip imports. The tech giant's commitment to US manufacturing – as well as Mr Cook's gift of a glass plaque with a 24-carat gold base – earned the company a reprieve from Mr Trump. The president said: 'If you've made a commitment to build (in the US), or if you're in the process of building (in the US), as many are, there is no tariff.'