A verbal order from U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth briefly halted 11 arms shipments to Ukraine without presidential approval, exposing cracks in Trump’s early national security process.
Just a week into President Donald Trump’s second term, the U.S. military halted 11 flights carrying weapons to Ukraine. The order, issued verbally from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s office, stopped shipments from Dover Air Force Base and a U.S. base in the UAE.
The pause stunned officials in Kyiv, Warsaw, and Washington. Top national security staff were unaware of the decision, and the White House said the move reflected Trump's position at the time. But according to several sources, Trump gave no instruction to stop aid.
The flights resumed within days, but the confusion underscored deeper dysfunction. TRANSCOM records show the order came after a January 30 Oval Office meeting. Sources say Hegseth may have misunderstood a discussion about using aid as leverage in peace talks.
The incident cost TRANSCOM up to $2.2 million and raised concerns about the chain of command. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz later reversed the decision. He was removed from his post last week and is now expected to be nominated U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
Behind the scenes, Hegseth was reportedly influenced by a group of Pentagon advisers with no prior government experience and anti-interventionist views. Some of those staffers, including Dan Caldwell, were later escorted from the building over alleged security breaches.
The White House maintains that the war is closer to resolution than when Trump took office. But Ukraine, already struggling in the east, was caught off guard by the pause. U.S. and European officials described it to Kyiv as “internal politics.”
No new military aid policy has been announced. The final Biden-era shipments are now moving again.
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Russia's Defence Ministry has said its forces are clearing the town of Lyman in Donetsk of Ukrainian forces, Moscow's state news agency Tass reported. Meanwhile, Russian attacks killed at least six people across three Ukrainian regions on Friday, regional officials said.
Uzbekistan will open an embassy in Georgia, the Central Asian country’s presidency has said. The announcement follows talks between Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze in Tbilisi.
President Donald Trump said Iran is keen to reach a deal with the United States, claiming Washington had paused engagement to allow funeral ceremonies for late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the eastern German city of Erfurt on Saturday as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) opened its annual party conference, where delegates voted to keep Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla as the party's co-leaders.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has raised its forecast for the rapid emergence of a strong El Niño, warning the climate pattern is likely to drive higher global temperatures and intensify extreme weather in the months ahead.
India is investigating a data breach at Tata Electronics that exposed sensitive documents linked to Apple's unreleased iPhone 18 Pro, marking the government's first public comments on the incident.
Iran and the U.S. have concluded indirect talks in Doha without a major breakthrough, with discussions focused on maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and frozen Iranian funds. Both sides are expected to meet again after the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
International politicians and religious leaders have paid respects to Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei throughout the day, ahead of his six day funeral ceremony which begins on Saturday. His casket is currently on display at the Iman Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran.
Germany has requested urgent talks with China's ambassador following reports that Chinese authorities trained Russian soldiers, adding fresh strain to relations between Beijing and Europe amid the war in Ukraine.
Russia's Defence Ministry has said its forces are clearing the town of Lyman in Donetsk of Ukrainian forces, Moscow's state news agency Tass reported. Meanwhile, Russian attacks killed at least six people across three Ukrainian regions on Friday, regional officials said.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to use next week's NATO summit in Ankara to advance his push for greater European responsibility in security, with a bilateral meeting planned with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as Paris seeks closer coordination with key allies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated U.S. President Donald Trump on the 250th anniversary of American independence, saying Russia and the United States share a special responsibility for maintaining global security as the world's two largest nuclear powers.
China said on Saturday it had launched a coast guard patrol east of Taiwan, prompting a strong protest from Taipei, which accused Beijing of illegally expanding its authority and undermining regional stability.
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