US temporarily suspends all military aid to Ukraine after Trump-Zelenskyy faceoff
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New York/Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump has temporarily suspended, with immediate effect, the delivery of all American military aid to Ukraine, just days after an unprecedented showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
A report in The New York Times quoted a senior administration official as saying that Trump temporarily suspended the delivery of all US military aid to Ukraine and that the order takes effect immediately, affecting "more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition in the pipeline and on order”.
The report said Trump’s decision to halt military aid “resulted from a series of meetings” at the White House between the US leader and his senior national security aides.
The official said "the order would be in effect until” Trump determined that Ukraine had demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia.
The order also pauses “hundreds of millions of dollars in aid through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides funds that Kyiv can use only to buy new military hardware directly from US defence companies.”
According to the US State Department, Washington has till date provided USD 65.9 billion in military assistance since Russia launched its premeditated, unprovoked, and brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and approximately USD 69.2 billion in military assistance since Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
This latest setback for Ukraine in the third year of its war with Russia comes just days after Trump and Vice President J D Vance had a heated verbal exchange with Zelensky, who was visiting the White House last Friday and the two countries were all set to sign a rare mineral deal.
But talks between Trump and Zelensky unravelled in a heated exchange that played out in front of the global media.
Towards the end of the about 50-minute press conference, Vance told the Ukrainian leader, "I think it's disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media. ... you should be thanking the president for trying to bring you into this conference.”
As the conversation grew heated, Trump told Zelenskyy, “You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War Three. You're gambling with World War Three, and what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that's backed you far more than a lot of people say they should.”
Trump and Vance also criticised Zelensky for not being grateful enough for the support that the US had given so far to Ukraine in its war with Russia. As leaders from Europe and around the world took to social media website X to rally behind Zelenskyy and underscore their support for Kyiv, the Ukrainian leader responded to everyone with the same message - “Thank you for your support.”
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PM Modi to flag off Meerut Metro, Namo Bharat train on Feb 22
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday will visit Meerut and flag off the Meerut Metro and Namo Bharat train at Shatabdi Nagar Namo Bharat station in the western Uttar Pradesh town.
From there, the prime minister will undertake a metro ride till Meerut South station and at around 1 pm, he will inaugurate and dedicate to the nation various development projects worth around Rs 12,930 crore in Meerut.
Modi will also address the gathering on the occasion, said a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.
The prime minister will dedicate to the nation the entire 82 Km Delhi–Meerut Namo Bharat corridor. He will inaugurate the remaining sections of India's first Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), which include the 5 km section between Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar in Delhi and the 21 km section between Meerut South and Modipuram in Uttar Pradesh.
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With a design speed of 180 km per hour, Namo Bharat is India's first regional rapid transit system. It will connect major urban centres such as Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Modinagar and Meerut with Delhi at a faster pace, the statement said.
The Sarai Kale Khan, the originating station of the corridor, is one of the four Namo Bharat stations to be commissioned with this inauguration.
It is strategically located as a major multi-modal hub, seamlessly connecting Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station, Delhi Metro's pink line, Veer Haqeeqat Rai ISBT, and the ring road. The other three Namo Bharat stations, Shatabdi Nagar, Begumpul and Modipuram, being commissioned are in Meerut.
The prime minister will also inaugurate the Meerut Metro services between Meerut South and Modipuram, operating on the same infrastructure as Namo Bharat, in a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country.
The Meerut Metro will be India's fastest metro system with a maximum operational speed of around 120 kmph. The metro will cover the entire stretch in just 30 minutes, with all scheduled stoppages en route.
This seamless integration of Namo Bharat and Meerut Metro on the same infrastructure will ensure high-speed intercity travel and swift intra-city movement, setting a benchmark for integrated urban and regional transit in India. It will decongest road traffic and consequently lead to a significant reduction in vehicular carbon dioxide emissions.
These projects will provide further impetus to the prime minister's vision of transforming urban mobility and ensuring seamless, efficient, modern and sustainable public transport systems that improve ease of living for citizens, the statement said.
