World
Trump pauses all U.S. military aid to Ukraine after angry clash with Zelenskiy
Zelenskiy’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment nor did the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump has paused military aid to Ukraine following his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week, a White House official said, deepening the fissure that has opened between the two one-time allies, Reuters reported.
The move comes after Trump upended U.S. policy on Ukraine and Russia upon taking office in January, adopting a more conciliatory stance towards Moscow – and after an explosive confrontation with Zelenskiy at the White House on Friday in which Trump criticized him for being insufficiently grateful for Washington’s backing in the war with Russia.
“President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution,” said the official on Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The White House had no immediate comment on the scope and amount of aid affected or how long the pause would last. The Pentagon could not provide further details.
Zelenskiy’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment nor did the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington.
On Monday, Trump again said Zelenskiy should be more appreciative of American support after earlier responding angrily to an Associated Press report quoting Zelenskiy as saying the end of the war is “very, very far away.”
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, using an alternative spelling of the Ukrainian leader’s name.
Since Russia’s invasion three years ago, the U.S. Congress has approved $175 billion in total assistance for Ukraine, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, read the report.
The Trump administration inherited $3.85 billion worth of Congressionally-approved authority to dip into U.S. arms stocks for Ukraine, but given the growing row between Washington and Kyiv, it was already unlikely for that assistance to be used.
Monday’s move goes beyond the no-new aid stance Trump had taken since assuming office – and appears to halt deliveries of military equipment approved by Biden including munitions, missiles and other systems.
But Trump also suggested on Monday that a deal to open up Ukraine’s minerals to U.S. investment could still be agreed despite his frustration with Kyiv, as European leaders floated proposals for a truce in Russia’s war with its neighbor.
The Trump administration views a minerals deal as America’s way of earning back some of the tens of billions of dollars it has given to Ukraine in financial and military aid since Russia invaded three years ago.
When asked on Monday if the deal was dead, Trump said at the White House: “No, I don’t think so.”
Trump described it as a “great deal for us” and said he would give an update on the situation on Tuesday night when he addresses a joint session of Congress.
In an interview on Fox News, Vice President JD Vance called on Zelenskiy to accept the minerals deal.
“If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine,” Vance said.
Zelenskiy has made clear that a ceasefire must carry explicit security guarantees from the West to ensure that Russia, which holds about 20% of its land, does not attack again. Trump has refused to give any such guarantees, Reuters reported.
Beyond the military portion, U.S. assistance to Ukraine also includes budgetary assistance, largely delivered through a World Bank trust fund, and other funds that had been delivered through the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has been throttled by the Trump White House.
The U.S. decision left many questions unanswered, including whether munitions for the already delivered weapons systems can now be supplied or if the U.S. would still share intelligence with Ukraine on target identification and missile launches.
Key members of congressional oversight committees were not notified of the decision, including those on the Senate Armed Services Committee, a person with knowledge told Reuters.
Razom for Ukraine, a Ukrainian advocacy group, condemned the White House’s decision on aid. “By abruptly halting military assistance to Ukraine, President Trump is hanging Ukrainians out to dry and giving Russia the green light to keep marching west,” the group said in a statement.
Prior to the White House’s decision to halt its aid, European nations were rallying around Zelenskiy and trying to hatch a peace plan.
Privately, and sometimes publicly, officials are fuming at what they see as a betrayal of Ukraine, which had enjoyed staunch support from Washington since Russia’s invasion.
France, Britain and potentially other European countries have offered to send troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire – something Moscow has already rejected – but say they would want support from the U.S., or a “backstop.”
“There are clearly a number of options on the table,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman said.
World
Israel built and defended a secret base in Iraq for Iran war, WSJ reports
World
Trump releases government UFO files, more expected
At the order of U.S. President Donald Trump, the Defense Department on Friday released dozens of previously classified files on alleged UFO sightings to provide what it called “unprecedented transparency” to the American people, though analysts said many of the documents had already been made public.
The disclosure of documents, photos and videos of “unidentified anomalous phenomena” will be followed by future releases as more materials are declassified, the Defense Department said in a statement, Reuters reported.
Trump was the latest president to release U.S. government reports on UFOs, a disclosure process that began in the late 1970s. Experts said the batch of around 160 files released on Friday contained new videos of known sightings but gave no conclusive evidence of alien technology or extraterrestrial life.
The files include a 1947 report of “flying discs” as well as grainy photos of “unidentified phenomena” taken from the moon’s surface by the 1969 Apollo 12 lunar mission and a transcript of the Apollo 17 crew describing unidentified objects seen from the moon in 1972.
‘BRIGHT PARTICLES’ DURING APOLLO 17
Apollo 17 mission pilot Ronald Evans reported “a few very bright particles or fragments or something that go drifting by as we maneuver,” based on the transcript.
“Roger. Understand,” mission control replied.
“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation – and it’s time the American people see it for themselves,” Hegseth said in a statement.
The records release is likely to fuel fresh debate over government secrecy and the possible existence of life in the cosmos.
“Whereas previous Administrations have failed to be transparent on this subject, with these new Documents and Videos, the people can decide for themselves, “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?” Trump said in a statement. “Have fun and enjoy!”
The move was welcomed by U.S. Representatives Tim Burchett and Anna Paulina Luna, both proponents of declassifying UFO files. Luna said an additional tranche of material was expected in about 30 days.
“The files show that UAP are not simply a matter of speculation or public curiosity,” Harvard University astrophysicist Avi Loeb said in an email to Reuters. “The government has collected records.”
The images from Apollo 12 and 17 were fascinating but could be the result of asteroid impacts on the lunar surface, Loeb said.
DISTRACTION FROM POLITICAL PROBLEMS?
Some critics cast the UFO disclosures as a distraction from Trump’s political woes, including the unpopular U.S. military campaign against Iran and public pressure to release further files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I really don’t care about the UFO files. I just don’t. I’m so sick of the ‘look at the shiny object’ propaganda,” former Republican U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X.
UAP investigator Mick West said the administration of former President Joe Biden disclosed much of the same information as Friday’s release.
“They’re evidence of us not being able to identify a small white dot that’s a long distance away,” the Sacramento, California-based analyst said of the new UAP videos and images.
Independent journalist Leslie Kean said the release showed there was still a lot of government information on UAP that should be disclosed. Kean co-authored a 2017 New York Times story on a secret Pentagon UAP program, which prompted Congress to push for declassification of UFO documents.
“I think we’ve already proven the existence of UAP, but that doesn’t mean we’ve proven they’re alien or extraterrestrial or that we know what they are,” said Kean.
World
Trump says United States will get uranium from Iran
One of Trump’s central objectives in launching military strikes against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a nuclear weapon.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States would get enriched uranium from Iran, as the two countries struggle to reach an agreement on ending the Gulf war, Reuters reported.
“We’re going to get it,” Trump told a reporter as he left a White House event.
One of Trump’s central objectives in launching military strikes against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a nuclear weapon. Iran has yet to hand over more than 900 pounds (408 kg) of highly enriched uranium.
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