Trump directs administration to ‘pause’ military aid to Ukraine
Annabelle Gordon for The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump directed his administration to “pause” military aid to Ukraine after the contentious Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Feb. 28, two White House officials told ABC News.
A White House official said Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace and added, “We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”
The move came hours after Trump told ABC News that Zelenskyy needed to be “more appreciative.”
Senior Politics Correspondent Rachel Scott asked Trump on Tuesday: “What do you need to see from President Zelenskyy to restart these negotiations?”
“Well, I just think he should be more appreciative because this country has stuck with them through thick and thin,” the president responded.
It’s difficult to know exactly how the pause could impact the flow of previously granted aid.
In the last few months of former President Joe Biden’s administration, it announced four Presidential Drawdown Authority packages to Ukraine.
The packages totaled $3 billion in weapons from the Pentagon’s inventory, and they were meant to be provided to Ukraine as quickly as possible following the announcements in December and January.
About 90% of arms committed to Ukraine by past PDA packages have already been delivered to the country, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
That includes the vast majority of critical munitions and anti-armor systems, they say, adding that most of the what’s left to go through the pipeline are armored vehicles that take longer to refurbish, with all PDA equipment previously on track for delivery by August 2025.
However, a steady flow of arms is still set to move from the U.S. to Ukraine for at least the next several years due contracts Kyiv signed with private American companies for newly produced weapons. Many if not most of those contracts have been paid.
The Trump administration could still attempt to disrupt those shipments through the use of emergency authorities, but there’s no indication it is trying to do that at present.
Additionally, there is still a chance for negotiations to resume between the U.S. and Ukraine, as Vice President JD Vance implied during an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity” on Monday.
Vance was asked if the administration would welcome Zelenskyy back if he were willing to come back to the negotiating table. Vance said yes — if Zelenskyy were willing to “engage seriously.”
“I think that if he called and had a serious proposal for how he was going to engage in the process — look, there are details that really matter, that we’re already working on with the Russians,” Vance said.
“He needs to engage seriously on the details,” he added, though it was unclear if he was strictly referring to the raw minerals deal that the U.S. is pursuing with Ukraine, land concessions or other details that may be impacting negotiations.
“I think once that happens, then absolutely, we want to talk,” the vice president said.
Also in dispute is the amount of aid that the U.S. has already given Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly claimed, inaccurately, that the United States has spent some $350 billion toward Ukraine, while other sources put the figure well under $200 billion, including bilateral aid.
ABC News’ Shannon Kingston, Luis Martinez and T. Michelle Murphy contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Many residents of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon are expected to return to their homes in the coming days and weeks, with most of the fighting in both areas paused under Israeli ceasefire agreements with Hamas and Hezbollah.
Under Israel’s multi-phased deal with Hamas, some hostages held in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have started to be released. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to continue amid the first phase of the deal, which was slated to last about six weeks.
Israeli troops to remain in Syria for ‘unlimited period of time’
The IDF will remain on the summit of Hermon and in the security zone for an indefinite period, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.
“The IDF will remain on the summit of Mount Hermon and in the security zone for an unlimited period of time to ensure the security of the residents of the State of Israel. We will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria — from here to the Sweida-Damascus axis, and we will not be dependent on others for our defense,” Katz said.
Israel warns Lebanese residents to avoid areas near border
Israel issued a warning to Lebanese residents on Tuesday, telling them to avoid multiple areas near the Israeli border as it redeploys in various locations in southern Lebanon.
At least 22 were killed over the weekend.
“The deployment process is taking place gradually and in some sectors it is being postponed and requires more time in order to ensure that Hezbollah is not able to re-establish its strength in the field,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
”Hezbollah, as usual, puts its narrow interests above the interests of the Lebanese state and tries through its mouthpieces to heat up the situation, despite being the main reason for the destruction of the south,” the IDF said.
Palestinians on returning home: ‘It feels like we’re reborn!’
Emotional scenes played out all over the Gaza Strip on Monday as families and friends reunited for the first time in over 15 months after the Israeli military allowed movement between northern and southern Gaza.
A sea of people swept the shoreline heading north along the sandy remains of the coastal highway. Many traveled on foot trudging through sand, a Palestinian flag flickering in the wind above them.
“It feels like we’re reborn!” Om Wael, a grandmother from Gaza City, told ABC News as she carried her granddaughter in her arms, with a look of joyful determination on her face.
“Even if our home is flattened, we’re so happy to return to our city, to our homes, unharmed. Thank God,” she said.
Mirvat Ajur, 29, from the Daraj neighborhood in central Gaza City, told ABC News that she walked for about five hours until she reached central Gaza.
“It was a difficult journey, but the people were very happy, singing, clapping and dancing in joy at returning to their homes,” she said.
Approximately 300,000 people made the journey home, according to figures released by Gazan authorities. Samira Halas, 55, was among them.
“I know that my home is damaged and burned, but I want to return to it,” Halas, from Gaza City’s Shuja’iyya neighborhood, told ABC News, describing the destruction she saw upon her return “like an earthquake had hit it.”
“I want to live in those burned and destroyed rooms,” she continued. “I am like a fish dying far from the sea.”
-ABC News’ Ruwaida Amer and Zoe Magee
At least 300,000 return to northern Gaza
At least 300,000 Palestinians returned home to northern Gaza on Monday, according to the Gaza government office, after Israel allowed them to cross into the north for the first time in over a year.
135,000 tents needed in Gaza
As people return to northern Gaza on Monday, the Gaza government said it “immediately and urgently” needs at least 135,000 tents because 90% of the buildings have been destroyed.
The government called on the international community to help provide “basic supplies” for Palestinians.
8 dead hostages among 33 being released in 1st phase: Israel
Of the 33 Israeli hostages set to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire, eight have been killed by Hamas, according to Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer.
Seven hostages have already been released since the start of the ceasefire, meaning 18 more living hostages will be released by Hamas in the coming weeks.
More hostages are set to be released on Thursday and Saturday, Mencer said.
Threats to ceasefire will ‘bear the full cost,’ Israeli minister says
Katz Israel, the Israeli defense minister, said on Monday that his country would “firmly” enforce the ceasefires that have paused fighting in Gaza.
“Anyone who violates the rules or threatens IDF forces will bear the full cost,” he said in Hebrew on social media. “We will not allow a return to the reality of Oct. 7.”
Tens of thousands trek into northern Gaza
Tens of thousands of people were marching and driving on Monday back to northern Gaza, after Israel allowed them to cross into the north for the first time in over a year.
Long lines of Palestinians — some singing, others smiling and some kneeling to kiss the soil as they stepped into the northern part of the strip — were seen making their way home.
Those returning home were moving along two main routes.
Many of those who were were walking home were moving along al-Rashid Street, a path expected to be taken by about 300,000 people.
Many of those who were driving north were doing so along Salah al-Din Road.
A line of cars could be seen stretching for about 8 miles on Monday morning, as they waited for permission to cross into the northern part of Gaza.
-ABC News’ Sami Zyara, Diaa Ostaz, Jordana Miller, Nasser Atta and Samayeh Malekian
1 dead, 4 injured after IDF fired at ‘dozens of suspects’ in central Gaza
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its team evacuated one person who was killed, and four people who were injured, after an attack by Israeli snipers near the Wadi Gaza Bridge on Sunday.
Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that troops fired “warning shots” at “several gatherings of dozens of suspects” who the IDF said posed a threat to them.
Additionally, a rocket was destroyed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza, according to the IDF’s statement.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had introductory call with Israel’s Netanyahu
Newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had an introductory call on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a statement from a U.S. senior defense official.
“Both leaders discussed the importance of advancing mutual security interests and priorities, especially in the face of persistent threats,” according to the statement.
Hegseth, who won Senate confirmation after being selected by President Donald Trump for the role, stressed to Netanyahu that the U.S. is “fully committed” to ensuring that Israel “has the capabilities it needs to defend itself,” according to the statement.
Additionally, the defense official said that “both leaders agreed to remain in close contact.”
Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extended to Feb. 18
The White House announced Sunday that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended until Feb.18.
Lebanon, Israel and the U.S. will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after Oct. 7, 2023.
This photo shows a Maxar satellite image of Engels Air Base in Saratov Oblast, Russia, taken on Dec. 3, 2022./Maxar/DigitalGlobe/Getty Images
(LONDON) — Russian authorities reported a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack on the Engels airbase in Saratov Oblast overnight, with Russia’s Defense Ministry claiming to have downed 54 drones over the area.
“Saratov and Engels today suffered the most massive UAV attack of all time,” Roman Busargin, the governor of Saratov region, wrote on Telegram. He reported a fire burning at the airfield and damage to around 30 houses in the area.
Windows were also blown out at a nearby hospital — where one woman was injured — as well as two kindergartens and a school, Busargin wrote.
The Ukrainian military’s General Staff claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media post, saying the operation was a collaboration with the Security Service of Ukraine and the country’s Special Operations Forces. “Fire, explosions and secondary detonation of ammunition were recorded in the area of the airport,” it said.
“This military facility is used by occupiers’ aviation, in particular, to launch missile strikes on the territory of Ukraine and terrorist attacks against civilians,” the statement said. “To be continued,” it added.
Engels — situated more than 465 miles from the Ukrainian border — is a major strategic bomber base, from which Russian aircraft have launched long-range missile strikes through the 3-year-old war. It has been attacked several times by Ukraine, most recently in January.
Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, posted a purported video of the attack to Telegram, showing what appeared to be a burning fire in the dark of night. “Russian Engels,” Kovalenko wrote.
Video footage shot from a high-rise apartment in Engels circulating online also showed a large plume of smoke rising from the direction of the airbase.
Kovalenko said the strike destroyed missile stocks, including those of the Kh-101 cruise missile “The number will be known later,” he wrote. “This airfield stores the largest number of missiles used by strategic aviation for strikes on Ukraine.”
In total, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have downed 132 Ukrainian drones over seven Russian or Russian-controlled regions on Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
Ukrainian authorities, meanwhile, reported a major Russian overnight bombardment of the central city of Kropyvnytskyi, with more than 30 explosions reported.
The regional governor also said Russia launched a “massive” attack on the eastern city of Kupyansk, close to the front line. At least 20 bombs were dropped on the city in a matter of hours, they said, with at least one person killed and another wounded.
Ukraine’s air force said Russian launched 171 drones in the country overnight, 75 of which were shot down and 63 lost in flight without causing damage. “Kirovohrad, Sumy, and Donetsk regions were affected by the Russian attack, ” the air force said.
“Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, despite its propaganda statements, do not stop,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “With each such launch, the Russians show the world their true attitude to peace. “
The latest exchange of attacks came just after President Donald Trump spoke with Zelenskyy, the latter agreeing to a proposed 30-day ceasefire on attacks against energy and infrastructure targets, which was also approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
The partial ceasefire is intended as a springboard for a broader pause in fighting and eventual peace deal, American officials have said.
Trump described the call as “very good” in a post to Truth Social. “Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs,” he said.
“We are very much on track,” Trump added.
But long-range attacks by both sides have continued throughout the most recent round of negotiations.
“This is what Putin’s ceasefire looks like,” Andriy Yermak — the head of Zelenskyy’s office — wrote on Telegram alongside a photo of the aftermath of Russia’s overnight attack on Kropyvnytskyi.
“Russia takes great pleasure in attacking civilians,” he added.
ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova, Will Gretsky, Kelsey Walsh, Max Uzol and Helena Skinner contributed to this report.
(ROME) — The pope spent another ‘quiet night’ in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he has been recovering from a bout with bronchitis since Feb. 14, the Vatican said early Wednesday.
Pope Francis’ condition remains “critical but stable,” Vatican officials said in a brief update on Tuesday.
“There have been no acute respiratory episodes and hemodynamic parameters continue to be stable. In the evening, he underwent a scheduled CT scan for radiological monitoring of the bilateral pneumonia. The prognosis remains uncertain,” the Vatican said Tuesday.
Vatican officials said Sunday he remained in critical condition but officials said that he had shown a “slight improvement” on Monday.
Further updates on the pontiff’s condition are expected on Wednesday.
