Trump envoy arrives in Kyiv as US pledges more Patriot missiles to Ukraine
KYIV Ukraine AP U S President Donald Trump s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia retired Lt Gen Keith Kellogg was in Kyiv on Monday a senior Ukrainian official explained as anticipation grew over a manageable shift in the Trump administration s framework on the three-year war Trump last week declared he would make a major comment on Russia on Monday Trump made briskly stopping the war one of his diplomatic priorities and he has increasingly expressed frustration about Russian President Vladimir Putin s unbudging stance on U S-led peace efforts Trump has long boasted of his friendly relationship with Putin and after taking office in January repeatedly commented that Russia was more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal At the same time Trump accused Zelenskyy of prolonging the war and called him a dictator without elections But Russia s relentless onslaught against civilian areas of Ukraine wore down Trump s patience In April Trump urged Putin to STOP launching deadly barrages on Kyiv and the following month announced in a social media post that the Russian leader has gone absolutely CRAZY as the bombardments continued I am very disappointed with President Putin I thought he was somebody that meant what he commented Trump explained late Sunday He ll talk so beautifully and then he ll bomb people at night We don t like that The European Union can t buy Patriot missiles Russia has pounded Ukrainian cities including the capital Kyiv with hundreds of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles that Ukraine s air defenses are struggling to counter June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three years with people killed and wounded the U N human rights mission in Ukraine announced Russia launched times more drones and missiles in June than in the same month last year it declared At the same time Russia s bigger army is making a new effort to drive back Ukrainian defenders on parts of the -kilometer -mile front line Trump ratified the U S is sending Ukraine more badly needed Patriot air defense missiles and that the European Union will pay the U S for the various pieces of very sophisticated weaponry While the EU is not allowed under its treaties to buy weapons EU member countries can and are just as NATO member countries are buying and sending weapons Germany has offered to finance two new Patriot systems and is awaiting official talks on the possibility of more governing body spokesperson Stefan Kornelius commented Monday in Berlin German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was traveling to Washington on Monday to meet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Germany has already given three of its own Patriot systems to Ukraine and Pistorius was quoted as saying in an interview with the Financial Times that it now has only six Trump ally says war at inflection point A top ally of Trump Republican Sen Lindsey Graham of South Carolina stated Sunday that the conflict is nearing an inflection point as Trump shows growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back against Russia s full-scale invasion It s a cause that Trump had previously dismissed as being a waste of U S taxpayer money In the coming days you ll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves Graham declared on CBS Face the Nation He added One of the biggest miscalculations Putin has made is to play Trump And you just watch in the coming days and weeks there s going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table Kirill Dmitriev Putin s envoy for international funding who took part in talks with U S executives in Saudi Arabia in February dismissed what he stated were efforts to drive a wedge between Moscow and Washington Constructive dialogue between Russia and the United States is more effective than doomed-to-fail attempts at pressure Dmitriev explained in a post on Telegram This dialogue will continue despite titanic efforts to disrupt it by all doable means NATO chief visits Washington NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was due in Washington on Monday and Tuesday He planned to hold talks with Trump Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as members of Congress Talks during Kellogg s visit to Kyiv will cover defense strengthening protection weapons sanctions protection of our people and enhancing cooperation between Ukraine and the United States revealed the head of Ukraine s presidential office Andrii Yermak Russia does not want a cease fire Peace through strength is President Donald Trump s principle and we sponsorship this approach Yermak explained Russian troops conducted a combined aerial strike at Shostka in the northern Sumy region of Ukraine using glide bombs and drones early Monday morning killing two people the regional prosecutor s office announced Four others were injured including a -year-old it explained Overnight from Sunday to Monday Russia fired four S- missiles and Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine the air force commented It declared that drones were intercepted and more were either jammed or lost from radars mid-flight The Russian Defense Ministry meanwhile mentioned its air defenses downed Ukrainian drones over Russian regions on the confines with Ukraine as well as over the annexed Crimea and the Black Sea Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this analysis Follow AP s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https apnews com hub russia-ukraine Source
