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Welcome to The Logoff: Donald Trump introduced a brand new plan to get American weapons into Ukrainian fingers on Monday, as his persistence with Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be operating more and more skinny.
What simply occurred? Trump mentioned on Monday that NATO international locations will begin shopping for US weaponry to ship to Ukraine. Whereas the US has been supplying Ukraine instantly, funding appropriated for that goal is on the verge of operating out — however Monday’s information ought to preserve weapons flowing to Ukraine.
Trump has mentioned the deal, which he introduced alongside NATO Secretary-Common Mark Rutte, is already finalized and that weapons can be “rapidly distributed to the battlefield.”
What’s the context? That is the second bit of fine information for Ukraine in as many weeks, after Trump introduced final Monday that he would carry a pause on US deliveries of air protection missiles and different weapons to Ukraine.
It additionally comes as Ukraine faces an ever-greater risk from Russian drones and missiles. The 2 largest assaults of the battle, with lots of of drones apiece, have struck at Kyiv this month, although Ukraine has been in a position to intercept a lot of the drones.
What else did Trump announce? On Monday, Trump additionally threatened “very extreme tariffs” on Russia if the battle doesn’t finish throughout the subsequent 50 days. That’s not prone to have a lot of an influence, because the US and Russia have a restricted commerce relationship — however Trump mentioned the US would additionally impose secondary sanctions focusing on international locations that do enterprise with Russia on the 50-day mark, which might have extra chunk.
Why is Trump stepping up his help for Ukraine now? Trump’s tone towards Putin has shifted in current weeks, suggesting he’s more and more annoyed with the continued battle and Russian intransigence. Final week, he mentioned, “We get numerous bullshit thrown at us by Putin. … He’s very good to us on a regular basis, but it surely seems to be meaningless.”
And with that, it’s time to sign off…
This story from my colleague Benji Jones, about efforts to avoid wasting the Hickory Nut Gorge inexperienced salamander, is value your time. Benji’s in-the-field reporting in regards to the pure world is unmatched, and this story, from close to Asheville, North Carolina, is not any exception. The salamanders are tiny, visually placing — and endangered, after their pure habitat was devastated by flooding final 12 months. Now, scientists are hoping to avoid wasting the species by establishing a breeding inhabitants in captivity. I hope you give it a learn, and that it conjures up you to take a second and respect how unbelievable nature may be.
