Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump left ‘blindsided’ by Pentagon’s decision to halt weapons to Kyiv as he pledges more arms

Europe’s human rights court is expected to rule today on Russia’s actions in Ukraine, including human rights violations during the full-scale invasion and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.

The judgment will be the first time an international court adjudicates Russian culpability for the wider conflict in Ukraine dating from 2014.

Judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg will rule on four cases, brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia, but any decision will be largely symbolic as the court’s governing body expelled Moscow in 2022.

However, families of the victims of the MH17 disaster see the decision as an important milestone in their 11-year quest for justice.

“It’s a real step in understanding who was really responsible,” Thomas Schansman, who lost his 18-year-old son Quinn in the tragedy, told The Associated Press.

The Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17, 2014, using a Russian-made Buk missile fired from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels. All 298 passengers and crew were killed, including 196 Dutch citizens.

In May, the UN’s aviation agency found Russia responsible for the disaster.

Ukraine’s military estimates Russia has suffered nearly 1,030,000 casualties since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In a post on social media the General Staff of the Armed Forces said they estimated Russia has lost about 1,029,660 personnel since 24 February 2022.

Russia launched a record 728 drones against Ukraine and 13 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said this morning.

Ukrainian air defence systems destroyed 718 of the drones and seven missiles, the air force said on the Telegram messaging app.

President Donald Trump’s decision to send more weapons to Ukraine came after he privately expressed frustration with Pentagon officials for announcing a pause in some deliveries last week – a move he felt wasn’t properly coordinated with the White House, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The Trump administration is in the eye of a storm after the Pentagon announced last week that it would hold back some air defence missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons pledged to Ukraine because of what US officials said were concerns that American stockpiles were running short on supply.

Mr Trump marked a U-turn on Monday and said the US will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, effectively reversing the move.

Two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity about the sensitive internal discussions, said there was some internal opposition among Pentagon brass to the pause – coordinated by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby – before it was announced.

One of the people described Trump as being caught “flat footed” by the announcement. The White House did not respond to queries about whether Mr Trump was surprised by the Pentagon pause.

On Tuesday, a British court found three men guilty of arson in the March 2024 plot that prosecutors said was masterminded by Russia’s intelligence services — part of a campaign of disruption across Europe that Western officials blame on Moscow and its proxies. Two other men, including Earl, previously pleaded guilty to organizing the arson.

The fire is one of more than 70 incidents linked to Russia that The Associated Press has documented since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Four European intelligence officials told AP they’re worried the risk of serious injury or even death is rising as untrained saboteurs set fires near homes and businesses, plant explosives or build bombs. AP’s tracking shows 12 incidents of arson or serious sabotage last year compared with two in 2023 and none in 2022.

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson denied that defence secretary Pete Hegseth acted without consulting the president.

“It is the job of the Secretary of Defense to make military recommendations to the commander-in-chief. Secretary Hegseth provided a framework for the President to evaluate military aid shipments and assess existing stockpiles. This effort was coordinated across government. The Department will continue to give the President robust options regarding military aid to Ukraine, consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end and putting America first,” Mr Wilson said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The Pentagon, which announced last week that it would hold back some air defence missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons pledged to Ukraine because of what US officials said were concerns that American stockpiles were in short supply.

Mr Trump said on Monday that the US will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, effectively reversing the move.

Donald Trump has called out Vladimir Putin’s “bulls***” whilst discussing the ongoing Russian war and Ukrainian peace talks.

Speaking to reporters following a meeting with his Cabinet on Tuesday (8 July), the US president said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now,” noting that Russian and Ukrainian soldiers were dying in their thousands.

“We get a lot of bulls*** thrown at us by Putin… He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless,” he added.

The US president also said he was considering “very strongly” whether to give his backing to a bill in the Senate that would impose harsh sanctions on Moscow over the war.

The Pentagon said late on Monday that at Donald Trump’s direction, it would resume weapons shipments to Ukraine “to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops”.

The weapons pause announced last week impacted shipments of Patriot missiles, precision-guided GMLRS, Hellfire missiles and Howitzer rounds and more, taking not only Ukrainian officials and other allies by surprise but also US lawmakers and other parts of the Trump administration, including the State Department.

Still, spokesperson Sean Parnell added that its review for Mr Trump to evaluate military shipments worldwide continues as part of “America First” defence priorities.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether defence secretary Pete Hegseth consulted with the White House prior to pausing weapons shipments and whether or not those shipments have now resumed.

It’s also unclear which weaponry would now be sent, though Mr Trump said that the US will primarily be assisting Ukraine with defensive weapons.

US president Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg will attend an international aid conference on Ukraine in Rome on 10-11 July, an Italian government source has said said, a day after Donald Trump said the US would resume sending weapons to Kyiv.

The US attempts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine through diplomacy have largely stalled and Mr Trump said Russian president Vladimir Putin did not appear to be looking to stop the conflict, after the two spoke late last week.