Vladimir Putin launched one of the largest air assaults of the war overnight, just hours after admitting to Donald Trump that Russia would not abandon its war aims in Ukraine. Some 550 missiles and drones were fired over more than 11 hours, most targeting Kyiv. Residents who endured another sleepless night were advised to keep their windows shut as smoke and dust from the blasts turned the air toxic.
The civilian death toll would have been catastrophic had 90 per cent of the incoming missiles and drones not been intercepted. But Ukrainians will not be able to count on such protection for much longer as the Trump Administration halted air defence deliveries this week.
The move caught Ukraine’s leadership off guard as they learned of the weapons freeze from the media on Tuesday. Just last week, Trump held what appeared to be a promising meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky at a Nato summit in The Hague, where they discussed selling more US weapons to Ukraine, including Patriot air defence systems. What Zelensky did not know was that the pause in weapons deliveries was already being planned.
White House officials claimed that the decision was made in the national interest, ‘to put America first’, citing depleted US stockpiles after years of military aid under Joe Biden. The pause has stopped the delivery of interceptors for Patriot air defence systems, precision-guided artillery shells and bombs, anti-tank weapons and missiles intended for F-16 fighter jets, including those that were already en route. Some of the weapons had reached Poland when they were turned back.
Ukraine’s defence ministry said it received no official warning and requested an urgent phone call with US officials. Zelensky has spoken with Trump today to ask why previously approved deliveries, authorised by Congress last year, have been scrapped.
It may be a good day for Zelensky since Trump was visibly frustrated after his conversation with Putin yesterday. The US President admitted he could not convince Putin to stop the war. With Russia’s latest attack underscoring that point, Zelensky may have found the words to persuade Trump to reconsider.
Still, none of Russia’s recent strikes seem to have convinced Trump to send more Patriots to Ukraine. Putin launched a record 5,300 Shahed drones last month alone, compared with just 300 the previous June. The bombardments have not only grown in frequency but have become more deadly. According to the UN human rights office, nearly 1,000 civilians were killed and almost 5,000 injured between December and May – a 37 per cent jump compared with the same period the previous year.
Yet no matter how atrocious the attacks are, and despite Zelensky having done everything Trump asked (signing the minerals deal and agreeing to an unconditional ceasefire months ago), the US still chose to cut off previously funded weapons, exposing Ukrainian civilians to Russian attacks and depleting Ukrainian soldiers of already scarce artillery shells needed to stop the Russian offensive. The Trump Administration may have found the quickest way to end the war – by making it easier for Russia to win.
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