Russians are willfully adding Insult to Injury

If it were only a few drones and missiles. If it were only one or two towns. If it were only one or two apartment buildings. If it were only one or two attacks per week. If it were only injured civilians but not a dozen killed and 100-plus injured in Russia’s latest attack.

Each sentence could be followed by words such as tens, dozens, many, hundreds. Russia has stepped up its aerial campaign against Ukrainian towns and civilians to cruel proportions. Every night residents of Kyiv with children of all ages in tow along and the elderly rush to the basement shelters as Russia rains drones and ballistic missiles on unarmed residents’ homes.

Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital with missiles and drones overnight, killing at least a dozen people, including a 6-year-old boy, and wounding 124 others, authorities said Thursday, July 31.

Ten children, the youngest being a 5-month-old girl, were among the wounded, Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said. A large part of a nine-story residential building collapsed after it was struck, he said.

The nighttime attack targeted the Kyiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Sumy, Mykolaiv regions, with Ukraine’s capital being the primary target, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

“Today, the world once again saw Russia’s answer to our desire for peace with America and Europe,” Zelenskyy said. “New demonstrative killings. That is why peace without strength is impossible.”

He called on Ukraine’s allies to follow through on defense commitments and pressure Moscow toward real negotiations.

While Russian cutthroats in uniforms aren’t able to make headway on the ground against the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Moscow is focusing on killing Ukrainians – the elderly, mothers and children – in their residences in hopes of demoralizing the nation. However, numerous comments by officials and the man and woman in the street indicate that Russia can’t meet even this goal.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones struck multiple targets across Russia at the same time, including an industrial facility in the western Russian city of Penza and energy infrastructure in Volgograd Oblast, according to Russian officials and media.

Penza lies roughly 625 kilometers (388 miles) southeast of Moscow and about 600 kilometers (373 miles) from the nearest Ukraine-controlled territory.

Without disclosing the nature of the facility, Penza Oblast Gov. Oleg Melnichenko confirmed the attack, saying that a fire had occurred at an industrial plant.

“There is a fire at the plant, which is being extinguished,” he said.

The strikes come amid Ukraine’s intensified campaign targeting Russian military, industrial, and logistical infrastructure deep inside Russia.

Among recent lighter articles about the Russo-Ukraine War, President Donald Trump has had his fill of Russian x-president Dmitri Medvedev’s lambasting of Ukraine and the White House. Medvedev has been regularly threatening the United States with nuclear annihilation because of the White House’s welcome change of heart about Russia and Putin.

According to several news reports, Trump warned: “Tell Medvedev, the failed ex-president of Russia who still thinks he’s president, to watch what he says,” Trump wrote. “Because he’s stepping into very dangerous territory.”

On July 28, frustrated by Moscow’s relentless, wanton bombardment of civilian centers across numerous cities, Trump said that the new deadline for Russia to agree to a peace deal with Ukraine will expire in “10–12 days from today.”

That same day, Medvedev posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Trump was “heading for war with Russia”: “Trump is playing a game of ultimatums with Russia: 50 days or 10... He must remember two things: Russia is not Israel or even Iran. Every new ultimatum is a threat and a step toward war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don’t go down Sleepy Joe’s path,” Medvedev wrote, referring to ex-president Joe Biden.

On July 31, Trump has made clear that he wants a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine by August 8, the United States told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.

In the wake of this latest deadly attack, Zelenskyy called for a “regime change” in Russia. Noting that “peace without strength is impossible,” Zelenskyy urged Western partners to use all available tools, including the confiscation of Russian assets, to compel Moscow to negotiate.

A “regime change” or the elimination of Putin and his cabal will certainly lead to mass confusion and chaos in Russia, which may be long enough for Ukraine to rebuild its country and for Russians to ponder their future.

What are Ukrainians Fighting For?

Oleksandr Skrypnyk, an investigative, historical journalist in Ukraine, recently came across a quotation that was thought to be lost in time whose significance transcends the past, present and future.

In a recent Facebook post, Skrypnyk, who articles regarding disclosures of Russian dirty tricks against Ukraine and Ukrainians appear in THE UKRAINIAN QUARTERLY, wrote about the discovery of Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky’s 1844 prayer book. It was lost during World War Two, when the church in Kosteniv, in the Lviv region, was ransacked.

The prayer book contained his handwritten marginal citation, call it an observation, warning, declaration, explanation to his contemporary as well as future Ukrainians about what they are facing at the hands of their enemies.

The citation emphasizes the insurmountable importance of cultural values: “If we are not fighting for our cultural values during war, then what are we fighting for!”

Indeed, what have Ukrainians been fighting for, what have they been defending for centuries against all invaders – Russian and non-Russian. They’ve been fighting for their cultural values, which embody their bloodline, their heritage and legacy, that which makes them Ukrainians.

Metropolitan Sheptytsky understood that, Ukrainian patriots before the spiritual leader of Ukrainians and after him also understood that. Russian cutthroats understand that as well.

In a blog on July 24, 2023, titled “Life Imitating Art or Russian & Nazi Terrorists never Change,” I observed: “Since time immemorial and especially in the past 17 months (29 months now) muscovites/russians regardless of the flag atop the kremlin have endeavored not only to annihilate Ukrainians but also their creations that have attested to where they came from, where they are and where they hope to go.

“We witnessed entire families mercilessly killed by russian cutthroats in uniforms. We’ve also seen them destroy museums, churches, historical books and literature, and artworks. The other day we saw the ruins of a historic sobor in Odesa that was struck by a russian missile (the other day it was the historical Pryvoz marketplace in the Black Sea city). That Ukrainian house of worship was destroyed by stalin, later rebuilt and now destroyed by putin – leaders of the same murderous people.”

I noted then that even Hollywood also took note of this type of war crime, the eradication of a people during wartime: “Here’s how a comparable tragic situation was summarized by George Clooney’s character Lt. Frank Stokes in the 2014 movie The Monuments Men, a movie about a six-man Allied squad that was tasked to locate classical artworks stolen and hidden by the nazis: “You can wipe out an entire generation, you can burn their homes to the ground and somehow they'll still find their way back. But if you destroy their history, you destroy their achievements and it’s as if they never existed. That’s what hitler wants and that’s exactly what we are fighting for.”

To be sure, that’s what putin wants – the total eradication and annihilation of everything Ukrainian. And that’s exactly what we’re fighting for – the preservation of our bloodline.

Negotiations will not Lead to Peace in Ukraine

Despite publicly hankering for negotiations to presumably end its war against Ukraine, the Kremlin has not placed any credence in a successful outcome.

Russian leadership has been going through the motions, teasing the international community, while stalling at every opportunity thus prolonging Russia’s occupation of its ill-gotten lands in Ukraine. There are two reasons why Moscow doesn’t want to see successful negations that will bring its war to an end. One is that the negotiations could lead to a negotiated surrender of Ukrainian territory that it had seized and occupied. 

The latest round of talks between aggressor and victim on Wednesday, July 23, concluded in less than an hour in Turkey. A Kremlin spokesman warned, “Don’t expect miracles from the peace talks.”

And that honest assessment is the second reason why negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv are doomed to failure regardless of how many iterations are planned and executed.

Russia doesn’t want the war to end because its age-old mission is to rebuild and enlarge its empire with the addition of Ukraine regardless of human cost. That in Russians’ demented minds would restore the grandeur of Russia.

Numerous observations about ending the war expressed by Russian officials since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 have underlined Moscow’s inflexible commitment to preserving its stolen property as well as its intention to expand its empire. And they don’t deny it. And they don’t cover up their objective.

Ahead of the latest round of negotiations, Moscow spoke about not shifting from its maximalist demands in ending its war with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a Russian-state media reporter. He said Russian dictator Vladimir Putin remains immovably focused on achieving his goals on the battlefield.

“President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a Russian-state media reporter. “The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear," Peskov added.

Russia is open to peace with Ukraine, but achieving its goals first remains a priority, Peskov said Sunday, days after U.S. President Donald Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face tougher sanctions.

According to the Russians, achieving their goals of preserving stolen Ukrainian territory and building the Russian empire is nonnegotiable.

The Russian remarks reflect Moscow’s growing list of maximalist demands presented in its so-called “peace memorandum” during recent negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2.

The document or rather capitulation protocol calls for Ukraine to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea and four partially occupied regions – Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk – and demands full Ukrainian troop withdrawal and demobilization. The Kremlin has also insisted that Ukraine dismantle and destroy all Western-supplied weapons as part of any ceasefire deal.

At that point, the Ukrainian leadership might as well pack up, take down the flag and surrender the keys to Putin.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 450 drones and missiles during the attack, which lasted several hours, with Kyiv, the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, and Kharkiv badly hit.

“Russian strikes are always an assault on humanity — in Kyiv, a kindergarten caught fire, along with residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure. Ordinary apartment buildings were damaged in Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and the region,” Zelensky wrote.

Explosions rocked Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground reported at 2:16 AM local time, with multiple further explosions and the sound of drones lasting until after 5 AM.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice weighed in last week on President Trump’s ultimatum on Russia, suggesting it is a “turning point” in peace efforts in the more than three-year-long war in Ukraine.

“This last week was a turning point,” she said Thursday during a panel moderated by NBC’s Andrea Mitchell at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.

“I think the best news that we could possibly give to the Ukrainian people is that the US and Europe have finally aligned around the idea that Vladimir Putin will not be stopped with words,” Rice continued later, referring to the Russian president. “He will only be stopped if he believes that he can go no further, he can win no further.”

Yet Western analysts and Ukrainian officials say that the President Trump’s 50-day-window is unlikely to deter Putin from accelerating Russia’s summer offensive in the coming weeks. Moreover, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has dismissed Trump’s threatened tariffs as mere bluster.

“Fifty days – it used to be 24 hours,” Lavrov scoffed. “It used to be 100 days; we’ve been through all of this.”

Russia unleashed one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent months hours before Britain and Germany chaired a meeting Monday to discuss President Trump’s plans for NATO allies to provide Ukraine with weapons.

The drone and missile attack on Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, killed two people and wounded 15, including a 12-year-old, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The deadly assault underscored the urgency of Ukraine’s need for further Western military aid, especially in air defense, a week after Trump said deliveries would arrive in Ukraine within days. “Russia’s plan is to intimidate our society,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Moscow seeks to launch 700 to 1,000 drones a day. Over the weekend, German Maj. Gen. Christian Freuding said in an interview that Russia aims for a capability of launching 2,000 drones in one attack.

Imagine TWO THOUSAND drones in one aerial attack against Ukraine. God help Ukraine!

German General: Russians Plan to Launch 2,000 drones vs Ukraine

German General: Russians Plan  to Launch 2,000 drones vs Ukraine

This hasn’t happened yet but neither has tomorrow—yet.

There is sage counsel about threats: If someone threatens to kill you, it's generally advised to take the threat seriously and not dismiss it. While not all threats are immediately followed through, threats of violence should be treated as a potential risk to your safety. Seek help from authorities or trusted individuals, and document the threat. 

The mere revelation of Russia planning to build and launch 2,000 drones against Ukraine at the same time is enough to send all Ukrainians scurrying for help.

The Ukrainian Truth (Українська Правда) reported that Russia intends to simultaneously launch up to 2,000 drones on Ukraine, according to German Maj.-Gen. Christian Freuding.

Freuding made this revelation in the Bundeswehr’s Nachgefragt podcast on Saturday, July 19.

Freuding has information that Russia is significantly expanding its production capacity to enable mass drone deployment in the war against Ukraine. He said Moscow plans to launch 2,000 drones at once, which could overwhelm Ukrainian air defence systems. Two thousand is twice Russia’s last launch record.

The general emphasized the need to develop “smart countermeasures,” as the use of conventional means – in particular, missiles from the Patriot air defence system – is not a logical response to Shahed drones, which cost $40,000-$67,000 while a single Patriot missile costs over $6.7 million.

In Freuding’s assessment, Ukraine needs low-cost counter-drone solutions priced at $2,682-$5,364 to effectively repel large-scale attacks.

Freuding also named strikes deep inside Russian territory – targeting military aircraft, airfields and defence factories – as another necessary response to the drone threat.

He further pointed out that China has ceased supplying drone components to Ukraine and now exclusively exports to Russia.

"Right now, the situation is that China is effectively exporting solely to Russia, while Ukraine has been shut out of this market," Freuding said.

In Cahoots against Ukraine

 In Cahoots vs Ukraine, Russia and North Korea Violate UN Arms Rez 

Russia and North Korea have violated United Nations resolutions regarding arms, troops and refined petroleum shipments throughout 2024 and beyond that are intended for use against Ukraine, a UN report released last week says.

Evidence shows North Korea many times shipped arms and material to Russia, which trained North Korean troops for combat against Ukrainian forces, Seth Bailey, the U.S. State Department's director for Korean and Mongolian Affairs, told U.N. members last Thursday.

In exchange, Russia shipped refined petroleum products, military equipment and military technology to North Korea, Bailey said.

The actions by both nations violate U.N. resolutions, as outlined in a 29-page U.N. report compiled by its Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team and published on May 29.

The report focuses on illegal military cooperation between North Korea and Russia and says the “rapid expansion of military, political and economic cooperation” between the two nations has caused “ongoing flagrant violations” of UN Security Council resolutions.

“Throughout 2024, North Korea and Russia engaged in myriad unlawful activities explicitly prohibited” by the United Nations, the report says.

The violations include the transfer of arms and material, including artillery, ballistic missiles and combat vehicles, from North Korea to Russia via sea, air and rail.

North Korea also sent troops to Russia, which the Russian military trained for direct support in its war against Ukraine, according to the report.

Russia also has shipped refined petroleum products to North Korea that “far exceed the yearly United Nations Security Council-mandated cap,” with payments processed via banking relations between Russia and North Korea.

“These forms of unlawful cooperation between [North Korea]and Russia contributed to Moscow’s ability to increase its missile attacks against Ukrainian cities, including targeted strikes against critical civilian infrastructure,” the report says.

Civilian infrastructure is a euphemism for residential apartments, homes for civilians which are bombed by Russian aerial ordnance, resulting in death and injuries for unarmed civilians.

Russia's assistance has enabled North Korea to fund its military programs and continue developing its ballistic missiles program, which is banned by the United Nations.

North Korea also "gains first-hand experience in modern warfare in return for its military support to Russia against Ukraine," the report says.

Such military support includes the deployment of 11,000 North Korean troops to Russia since October.

“The official confirmation of North Korean military support to Russia by both governments in April 2025 suggests that, at least for the foreseeable future, North Korea and Russia intend to continue and further deepen their military cooperation in contravention of relevant UNSCRs,” according to the report.

Don’t Kid Yourselves – It’s World War Three, Stupid!

For the past 1,238-plus days, since the latest Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian officials, the free world and the Ukrainian diaspora have been tripping over themselves in search of a proper designation for this bloody and merciless event. Everyone ultimately settled on “full-scale invasion” as if the modifier really adds anything to the term invasion. What’s a partial invasion? Russia has lost more than one million of its cutthroats in uniforms, which should be enough evidence about the scale of this newest Russian act of aggression against Ukraine.

In the course of the past three-and-a-half years, officials, pundits and even aggressors have warned that this conflict and Ukrainians’ national resistance could lead to World War Three.

Well, don’t kid yourselves – it’s already World War Three, stupid, to paraphrase James Carville.

Nation states have been lining up behind Russia and Ukraine with a range of military and non-military aid. Understand that there’s a substantial difference between the two sides and their allies with one being the perpetrator and the other victim. In its age-old efforts to invade, subdue, occupy, subjugate and annihilate Ukraine and Ukrainians, not only is Moscow coldheartedly mobilizing its own people as inevitable frontline cannon fodder, but it is securing political and military aid from foreign criminal locations. The drones and missiles used against Ukrainian residential buildings and unarmed civilians are manufactured in Iran. The Ukrainian Quarterly reported in the past that Russia and Iran have agreed to help one another by eliminating each other’s enemies Ukraine and Israel. Iran’s loathsome participation in this war begs the question why not launch an Operation Crossbow raid on the Iranian drone factories?

According to published reports, these are the countries of dubious reputations that more or less support Russia’s war against Ukraine: Belarus, China, Iran and North Korea. The war against Ukraine has also given rise to the concept of the “Axis of Upheaval” in which the participating countries are seen as seeking to challenge the existing international order and potentially align with Russia’s goals. In other words, countries that associate with Iran – and there are many such terrorist nations and alliances such as the Taliban and Al-Qaeda – are chomping at the bit in anticipation of doing Moscow’s bidding to harm the United States.

The idea of a Third World War has understandably scared the free world, however, just as in 1939, it must muster the strength and determination to defeat the contemporary evil that resides in the Kremlin for peace to return to Europe.

One beneficial development that could bring the war to an end and the evacuation of murderous, thieving Russian soldiers is what seems to be the end of the honeymoon between Washington and Moscow. President Donald J. Trump’s recent well publicized change of heart about his erstwhile best friend Russian dictator Vladimir Putin should reinforce in the doubting Thomases’ minds that the Russian leader at least is deceitful and should not be trusted.

I’ve written about this in previous blogs.

Furthermore, in recent days, stories in a variety of mainstream media revealed that the First Lady Melania Trump, who grew up in Soviet-dominated Slovenia, to her credit finally convinced her husband about Putin’s dark side. After all, she probably told him, how can you engage in conversations after conversations with Putin, publicly praise his credibility and promises, only to be slapped in the face by his almost simultaneous bombardment of Ukrainian civilian targets, schools and hospitals?

It was a relief to hear President Trump declare that Putin isn’t a nice person, that “I'm not happy with him, I can tell you that much right now. This is killing a lot of people,” and he’s throwing around a lot of “bullshit.”

Trump warned Putin that he has 50 days to stop the war or else the United States would institute severe, debilitating sanctions against Russia. Trump also raised the ante by suggesting to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he should also consider bombing Saint Petersburg, which is an exceptionally bitter and painful idea for all Russians because the second largest Russian city is the heart and soul of the country. It's also Putin’s hometown.

Russia’s reply came in two parts. The verbal one reaffirms that Moscow is adamant about its demands. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has listed Moscow’s oft-repeated demands for a peace deal that would end its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, including Kyiv’s demilitarization and neutrality, international recognition of territory occupied by Moscow, and the lifting of sanctions.

“These provisions must be included in a legally binding agreement for peaceful settlement,” Lavrov told Hungarian publication Magyar Nemzet in an interview.

Lavrov said an end to the security threat posed to Russia by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) expansion, including its potential inclusion of Ukraine, was essential. He demanded the demilitarization of Ukraine to ensure Kyiv’s neutrality. Lavrov also said his country wants protections for ethnic Russians and Russian culture in Ukraine, which he accused Kyiv of “destroying” since 2014. Quite the contrary, Russian language and culture is alive and well in Ukraine – more than the Ukrainian language and culture is in Russia.

He demanded “international legal recognition of the new territorial realities,” citing Russian occupation of Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. And Lavrov also called for “lifting sanctions on Russia, rescinding all lawsuits against Russia, and returning the illegally seized Western-based assets.”

These demands would turn Ukraine into a captive nation of Russia again.

The second reply came in the form of new overnight bombardment of Ukrainian cities, according to Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian media.

Russia again launched a massive overnight assault on Ukrainian cities just hours after Trump’s 50-day ceasefire ultimatum, raising questions about the credibility of his threats and the future of the conflict. The bombing, however, reconfirmed Moscow’s intention to subjugate and annihilate all things Ukrainian. Trump’s latest tactic, a threat to impose 100% tariffs on Russia unless it agreed to a ceasefire within 50 days, has been largely dismissed by Kremlin officials as political theater. Russian state media and high-profile allies like Dmitry Medvedev openly mocked the threat, with one official calling it a distraction from Trump’s domestic political controversies.

Despite Trump’s threat, Russia went ahead with the latest large-scale attack Monday night into Tuesday, firing about 400 Shahed drones and one ballistic missile across multiple Ukrainian cities, including Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, and Vinnytsia, according to the Daily Beast. Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted most of the drones, but more than 50 got through, damaging infrastructure and killing at least two civilians. A 17-year-old boy was among those critically injured, according to regional authorities.

If Putin and his gang do agree to a negotiated peace, which for all intents and purposes would be as meaningless as it was in the past, Kyiv and Washington must insist that Russia evacuates all of its criminal cutthroats from Ukraine back to Russia, that it never returns to Ukraine, that it stops interfering in Ukraine’s internal and external policies, and that it respects Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and border.

Russian Bullshit Produces $500 million Aid Package for Ukraine 

In the wake of President Donald J. Trump’s angry condemnation of Russia’s persistent throwing bullshit on America’s foreign policies, the Senate has approved $500 million in security assistance for Ukraine within the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The NDAA is an annual policy bill that also authorizes funding levels and provides authorities for the U.S. military. It ensures that American forces have the necessary resources to carry out their missions and is closely watched by weapons makers like Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co. 

The NDAA, passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee with a vote of 26-1 on Wednesday, July 9, includes a provision to extend the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through 2028, increasing authorized funding to $500 million from $300 million in 2025. The initiative aims to bolster Ukraine’s defense capabilities as it battles Russian forces which invaded in February 2022. It comes a week after the Pentagon temporarily paused military equipment heading Ukraine and after Trump’s calling out of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin for constantly lying about his intention to end the war against Ukraine.

At a Cabinet meeting and encounters with reporters earlier this week, Trump admitted his change of heart regarding Putin. He was quoted as saying Tuesday, July 8, that he’s “not happy” with his Russian counterpart, saying Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine is “killing a lot of people” on both sides. Actually, Russia’s bombardment of residential locations has killed significantly more civilians than Ukraine’s drone attacks against Russian targets.

“I'm not happy with him, I can tell you that much right now. This is killing a lot of people,” Trump said of Putin during a meeting with his Cabinet.

Trump again expressed frustration with Putin’s resistance to a peace deal, complaining that the Russian dictator was throwing “a lot of bullshit” at the US. “I’m not happy with Putin,” he said during a Cabinet meeting. “I’m very unhappy with them.”

A congressional aide said on the condition of anonymity while briefing on the bill that “It’s not nearly enough in terms of scale. But the intent is to show that we believe Ukraine requires additional support.” 

The White House confirmed the pause, though it has since disputed that one ever took place, alongside the Pentagon. Shortly after it occurred, Trump said the US would actually keep supporting Ukraine’s military.

“At President Trump’s direction, the Department of Defense is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement.

The assistance aims to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s ongoing invasion, which began in 2022. Ukraine continues to face heavy drone and missile attacks. June 2025 saw the highest civilian death toll in three years, with 232 people killed, according to the UN. The US, through this bill, is continuing its long-term support for Ukraine’s defense efforts.

Trump told NBC News that Patriot air defense systems will be sent to Ukraine via NATO. “We’re going to be sending Patriots to NATO, and then NATO will distribute that,” Trump said, as quoted by the BBC. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had asked for ten such systems and had a “positive dialogue” with Trump. These systems are key to shooting down incoming Russian missiles and drones.