Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump administration downplays concerns over weapons halt as Kyiv summons US envoy

US president Donald Trump’s decision to halt critical weapons shipment to Ukraine has been met with some pushback from Republican and Democratic boosters on Capitol Hill, as his lawmakers called on him to help Kyiv defend against “brutal invading dictator”.

In a letter to Mr Trump yesterday, Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa, requested a briefing from the White House and the Pentagon to explain the pause.

Mr Fitzpatrick is a co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus. “We must build up our own defense industrial base here in the US while simultaneously providing the needed assistance to our allies who are defending their freedom from a brutal invading dictator,” the Pennsylvania representative said in a post on X. “To not do both is unacceptable.”

Ohio Rep Marcy Kaptur, another co-chair of the Ukraine Caucus, blasted the move that came just days after Russians forces launched one of the biggest air assaults on Ukraine since it launched the war more than three years ago.

“US made air defence systems, including the Patriot platform, are the centerpiece of Ukraine’s defences against Russian strikes. They work. They save lives every day,” the Ohio Democrat said.

“But there are no parallel defensive alternatives for Ukraine if the US stops supplying these vital munitions.”

Ukrainian blog DeepState, which uses open-source data to map the frontline, said the Russian military in June had seized 556 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory, which it said was the largest monthly loss of ground since November.

Russian forces, which have numerical superiority, cut the main road linking Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in May, complicating Ukrainian movements and resupply efforts.

“The Russian advance is being contained, but their crossing of the Pokrovsk-Kostyantynivka highway is a strategic and logistical setback,” said Viktor Trehubov, a spokesperson for the Khortytsia group of forces.

Heavy Russian losses have prevented Russian advances toward Kostiantynivka via Chasiv Yar, or along the western Pokrovsk front. “Now they are attempting (to advance) further away from populated areas,” Trehubov said.

DeepState also reported that Russian advances in June near Pokrovsk and nearby Novopavlivka accounted for more than half of all Russian gains along the entire frontline in all of Ukraine.

Trehubov said Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka remain Ukrainian logistical hubs, despite setbacks and drone activity which make some defensive fortifications less effective.

“(Drones) hinder logistics for both sides but don’t make it impossible. Drones after all are not invulnerable,” he said.

The European Union’s top diplomat urged China’s foreign minister on Wednesday to end restrictions on rare earths exports and warned that Chinese firms’ support for Russia’s war in Ukraine posed a serious threat to European security, the EU said.

The statement from the EU’s diplomatic service came after Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s high representative for foreign policy, met Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in Brussels.

Ms Kallas “called on China to put an end to its distortive practices, including its restrictions on rare earth exports, which pose significant risks to European companies and endanger the reliability of global supply chains”, the EU said.

She also “highlighted the serious threat Chinese companies’ support for Russia’s illegal war poses to European security”.

The top EU official called on China “to immediately cease all material support that sustains Russia’s military industrial complex” and support “a full and unconditional ceasefire” and a “just and lasting peace in Ukraine”.

China says it does not provide military support to Russia for the war in Ukraine. But European officials say Chinese companies provide many of the vital components for Russian drones and other weapons used in Ukraine.

Ukraine has summoned the acting US envoy to Kyiv to warn the Trump administration that any “delay or procrastination” in supplying the war-hit nation with weapons will only benefit Russia.

The US has blocked a number of planned shipments to Ukraine that included Patriot air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, Hellfire missiles and Howitzer rounds, warning that its own domestic stockpiles were running low.

In a statement, it said deputy foreign minister Mariana Betsa expressed gratitude to deputy chief of mission John Ginkel for US support, but warned that a cut-off in aid, particularly air-defence systems, would embolden Russia.

“The Ukrainian side emphasised that any delay or procrastination in supporting Ukraine’s defence capabilities will only encourage the aggressor to continue the war and terror, rather than seek peace,” it said.

Officials at the Pentagon have attempted to minimise concerns around the White House announcement on halting aid shipments for Ukraine, saying that “robust” options were still lined up.

“The department of defence continues to provide the president with robust options regarding military aid to Ukraine, consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said at a news briefing.

“I think that for a long time, four years under the Biden administration, we were giving away weapons and munitions without really thinking about how many we have,” Mr Parnell said.

He added: “And I think that this president was elected on putting this country first and defending the homeland.”

“The department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach towards achieving this objective while also preserving US military readiness and defence priorities,” he said.

Additionally, remarks from the US state department were also aimed at alleviating the concerns that a slowdown in US military aid is a “one event”.

”…this is not a cessation of us assisting Ukraine or of providing weapons. This is one event, and one situation, and we’ll discuss what else comes up in the future,” said spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

US president Donald Trump’s decision to halt critical weapons shipment to Ukraine has been met with some pushback from Republican and Democratic boosters on Capitol Hill, as his lawmakers called on him to help Kyiv defend against “brutal invading dictator”.

In a letter to Mr Trump yesterday, Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa, requested a briefing from the White House and the Pentagon to explain the pause.

Mr Fitzpatrick is a co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus. “We must build up our own defense industrial base here in the US while simultaneously providing the needed assistance to our allies who are defending their freedom from a brutal invading dictator,” the Pennsylvania representative said in a post on X. “To not do both is unacceptable.”

Ohio Rep Marcy Kaptur, another co-chair of the Ukraine Caucus, blasted the move that came just days after Russians forces launched one of the biggest air assaults on Ukraine since it launched the war more than three years ago.

“US made air defence systems, including the Patriot platform, are the centerpiece of Ukraine’s defences against Russian strikes. They work. They save lives every day,” the Ohio Democrat said.

“But there are no parallel defensive alternatives for Ukraine if the US stops supplying these vital munitions.”

At least five people were injured, including a seven-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl, in a Russian attack on the southern Ukraine port of Odesa overnight, Ukrainian authorities said this morning.

A multi-storey residential building and other civilian infrastructure were damaged, regional governor Oleh Kiper said. The attack completely destroyed six apartments and another 36 were partially damaged, he said.

“The children, who were poisoned by combustion products, were hospitalised,” Mr Kiper said. The other three injured people, all adults, received medical aid on the site.

The full scale of the attack was not immediately known.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine posted on its Facebook page photos showing rescuers carrying children in the dark out of a multi-storey apartment building on fire and firefighters fighting the blaze.

The Service said that 50 people were evacuated from the building. The fire has been extinguished since, Mr Kiper said.

Ukrainian blog DeepState, which uses open-source data to map the frontline, said the Russian military in June had seized 556 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory, which it said was the largest monthly loss of ground since November.

Russian forces, which have numerical superiority, cut the main road linking Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in May, complicating Ukrainian movements and resupply efforts.

“The Russian advance is being contained, but their crossing of the Pokrovsk-Kostyantynivka highway is a strategic and logistical setback,” said Viktor Trehubov, a spokesperson for the Khortytsia group of forces.

Heavy Russian losses have prevented Russian advances toward Kostiantynivka via Chasiv Yar, or along the western Pokrovsk front. “Now they are attempting (to advance) further away from populated areas,” Trehubov said.

DeepState also reported that Russian advances in June near Pokrovsk and nearby Novopavlivka accounted for more than half of all Russian gains along the entire frontline in all of Ukraine.

Trehubov said Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka remain Ukrainian logistical hubs, despite setbacks and drone activity which make some defensive fortifications less effective.

“(Drones) hinder logistics for both sides but don’t make it impossible. Drones after all are not invulnerable,” he said.

In a blow to Ukraine’s war efforts, the Pentagon is pausing shipments of weapons to the country again after more than three years of deliveries meant to bolster the country’s defences against invading Russian forces.

The Trump administration’s decision comes as Ukraine is facing intensified attacks by Russia against its civilians, and withholding that assistance could reduce Kyiv’s ability to counter deadly incoming ballistic missile attacks.

The US is Ukraine’s largest military aid supplier, providing 64.5 per cent of the support it has received so far.

With a handful of weapons transfers being halted by Washington, which countries are Ukraine’s next largest supporters?

Following the US is the UK at 14.5 per cent, then Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, and a host of further European countries.

The UK has committed to spending £18 billion on Ukraine, including £13bn on military support and £5bn on non-military.

The EU, meanwhile, has provided huge tranches of humanitarian and financial support, but as an economic bloc it does not provide direct military support.

Ukraine has been supplied with British Storm Shadow missiles, F-16 fighter jets built in the US, Leopard 2 tanks from Germany – despite years of hesitation from Berlin – British challenger tanks, and Polish drones.