Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Jul 9: US President Donald Trump has announced the approval of additional defensive weapons for Ukraine and signaled potential new sanctions on Russia, as the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv intensifies.

“We’re sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine, and I’ve approved that,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday, according to reports from Xinhua news agency. The move follows Moscow’s latest territorial advances and heightened Russian military strikes.

Expressing his discontent with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump stated, “I’m not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now,” highlighting the heavy toll the war has taken on both Russian and Ukrainian forces. “They’re getting hit very, very hard,” he said of the Ukrainian military, acknowledging the severe challenges Ukraine is facing on the battlefield.

In a related development, Trump confirmed he is reviewing a bipartisan Senate bill that proposes sweeping sanctions on Russia, suggesting a firmer stance may be in the works as Washington reassesses its approach toward Moscow.

His remarks came just a day after he first publicly confirmed plans to send additional arms to Ukraine. That announcement followed a brief pause in US arms deliveries to Kyiv — a decision that reportedly surprised Ukrainian officials and triggered urgent calls for clarification from the Biden administration’s predecessors.

The US President’s comments reflect mounting frustration over the lack of progress in diplomatic efforts to end the war. Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Trump admitted that his recent phone conversation with President Putin yielded no headway. “We talked about a lot of things, including Iran, and we also talked about the war in Ukraine. I’m not happy about that [situation],” he said. “I didn’t make any progress with him at all.”

The Kremlin confirmed that the two leaders spoke for nearly an hour. According to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, the discussion covered several key issues, including the conflict in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East. Ushakov stated that Putin reiterated Russia’s commitment to ongoing diplomatic efforts, referencing humanitarian agreements reached during earlier Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul.

However, the Russian President also emphasized that Moscow remains committed to achieving its strategic objectives — which it claims are aimed at addressing the root causes of the conflict. “Russia will not back down from these goals,” read a statement from the Kremlin.

The two leaders also reportedly discussed Iran and broader regional security dynamics in the Middle East, suggesting that both countries continue to weigh wider geopolitical implications even as the war in Ukraine grinds on.