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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Dr Boby Chemmanur felicitated at Vidhana Soudha by Speaker UT Khader for world record run
Bengaluru: Dr Boby Chemmanur was felicitated by Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader Fareed at a special function held at Vidhana Soudha.
Dr Chemmanur, popularly known as “BoChe”, was honoured for successfully completing an 812-kilometre run aimed at spreading the message of world peace. The achievement earned him recognition in the Unique World Records and the Guinness World Records.
Dr Chemmanur has also received several prestigious awards and honours, including the Mother Teresa Award, for his contributions to social service.
Speaker U.T. Khader also spoke about Dr Chemmanur’s achievement in the Legislative Assembly and congratulated him for the accomplishment.
Deputy Speaker Rudrappa Lamani, Agriculture Minister Cheluvarayaswamy and MLA and Chief Minister’s legal advisor Ponnanna were present on the occasion.
