Donald Trump threatened to “bomb the s*** out of Moscow” if Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine, according to a new book.
“With Putin I said, ‘If you go into Ukraine, I’m going to bomb the s*** out of Moscow. I’m telling you I have no choice,” Mr Trump said in the audio, referring to a conversation with the Russian president. “And then [Putin] goes, like, ‘I don’t believe you.’ But he believed me 10%,” Mr Trump said.
The remark was among several captured in a series of audio tapes from 2024 fundraisers in New York and Florida but it is not clear when the exchange took place. CNN aired the clips on Tuesday night.
This comes as Kyiv faced another relentless night of attacks from Russian drones and missiles, leaving at least 12 injured, officials said.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has resumed sending some weapons to Ukraine, a week after the Pentagon had directed that some deliveries be paused, US officials said.
The weapons heading into Ukraine include 155 mm munitions and precision-guided rockets known as GMLRS, two officials aware of the developments said.
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Key Points
- Zelensky calls for 'biting' sanctions on Moscow after Russia's largest air attack
- Pentagon denies Pete Hegseth halted Ukraine weapons without consulting Trump
- Trump says he gets a 'lot of bull**** thrown by Putin'
- Russia launches record 728 drones overnight on Ukraine
- Ukraine's military estimates Russian casualties at nearly 1,030,000
- Human rights court finds Russia guilty of violations in Ukraine and of being responsible for downing flight MH17
Trump administration resumes sending some weapons to Ukraine after Pentagon pause
03:52
,
Arpan Rai
The Trump administration has resumed sending some weapons to Ukraine, a week after the Pentagon had directed that some deliveries be paused, US officials said.
The weapons heading into Ukraine include 155 mm munitions and precision-guided rockets known as GMLRS, two officials told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to provide details that had not been announced publicly. It's unclear exactly when the weapons started moving.
Defence secretary Pete Hegseth directed the pause on some shipments last week to allow the Pentagon to assess its weapons stockpiles, in a move that caught the White House by surprise.
A White House official speaking yesterday on the condition of anonymity said there was never a "pause" in shipments, but a review to ensure US military support aligns with its defence strategy.
The official said the Pentagon never announced a pause.
Watch: Trump ‘flat-footed’ by Pentagon's weapons halt to Kyiv and pledges more arms
03:00
,
Rachel Clun
How reliant is Kyiv on US military assistance?
02:00
,
Rachel Clun
The Independent looks at how much support the US has provided to Ukraine’s war effort, why the Pentagon decided to pause shipments and what could happen from here:
Italy pledges $350 million for firms involved in Ukraine's reconstruction
01:00
,
Reuters
Italy is set to unveil a support scheme worth 300 million euros ($351 million) for small and medium enterprises involved in the reconstruction of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Wednesday.
The measure will be presented at the recovery and reconstruction conference taking place in Rome on July 10-11, Tajani said.
The scheme is an example of "concrete support for our small and medium-sized enterprises involved in the reconstruction of Ukraine," the minister told the lower house of parliament.
The conference Italy is hosting is the fourth such event since Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022, and is mainly aimed at mobilising international support for Ukraine.
"We will bring together in Rome 4,000 delegates from over 90 countries, including 50 heads of state, heads of government and ministers, 30 leaders of international organisations, and over 2,000 companies, 500 of which are Italian," Tajani said.
In pictures: Aftermath of Russia's largest aerial strike on Ukraine
Thursday 10 July 2025 00:01
,
Rachel Clun
Russia fired record number of drones at Ukraine, Ukrainian air force says
Wednesday 9 July 2025 23:00
,
Rachel Clun
Russia fired a record 728 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, as well as 13 missiles, the Ukrainian air force said Wednesday, in the latest escalation amid mounting Russian aerial attacks in the more than three-year war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the city of Lutsk, in Ukraine’s northwest, bordering Poland and Belarus, was the hardest hit, though 10 other regions were also struck.
“This is a telling attack – and it comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all,” Zelensky said.
“This is yet another proof of the need for sanctions – biting sanctions against oil, which has been fueling Moscow’s war machine with money for over three years of the war.”
He continued: “Our partners know how to apply pressure in a way that will force Russia to think about ending the war, not launching new strikes. Everyone who wants peace must act.”
European human rights court rules Russia behind downing of flight MH17 and has violated international law in Ukraine
Wednesday 9 July 2025 22:00
,
Rachel Clun
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled Russia was behind the 2014 downing of Flight MH17, killing 298 people. This is the first time an international court has named Moscow responsible for the tragedy.
In a separate ruling Wednesday, the ECHR found Russia violated international law in Ukraine. It's the first time an international court has found Moscow responsible for human rights abuses since the 2022 full-scale invasion.
Read the full report here:
Ukraine arrests Chinese father and son over spying allegations
Wednesday 9 July 2025 21:00
,
Reuters
Ukraine said on Wednesday it had detained a Chinese father and son, both suspected of spying on its prized Neptune anti-ship missile programme, a key part of Kyiv's growing domestic arms industry critical to its defence against Russian invaders.
The announcement by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) follows assertions by Kyiv in recent months that Beijing, which has sought to project an image of neutrality, is helping the Kremlin's war effort.
Counterintelligence officials arrested a 24-year-old former student in Kyiv after they provided him with "technical documentation" related to Neptune production, it said in a statement.
They later detained his father, who had aimed to smuggle out the documents to the Chinese special services, the SBU said. The father had been living in China but visited Ukraine to "personally coordinate" his son's work, the agency said.
A Ukrainian official told Reuters the two men were the first Chinese people arrested for spying since Moscow's 2022 full-scale invasion.
The Chinese Embassy in Kyiv did not respond to a request for comment and a lawyer for the men could not immediately be found.
Zelensky met Pope Leo XIV. Both propose the Vatican as site for peace talks
Wednesday 9 July 2025 20:00
,
Rachel Clun
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday and thanked him for the Vatican’s efforts to help return children taken by Russia. Both he and Leo suggested the Vatican could host peace talks to end the war.
Zelensky called on Leo at the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, in the Alban hills south of Rome. Zelensky is in Rome to attend the fourth Ukraine Recovery Conference, which is taking place Thursday and Friday.
Read the full report below:
Watch: Trump says US will be sending more weapons to Ukraine
Wednesday 9 July 2025 19:00
,
Rachel Clun
Hegseth did not get OK from Trump for Ukraine weapons pause, report says
Wednesday 9 July 2025 18:00
,
Joe Sommerlad
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth did not inform President Donald Trump or the White House before authorising a pause on the delivery of weapons to Ukraine last week, according to a report.
CNN cited five sources who revealed that Hegseth’s decision sparked an internal “scramble” within the Trump administration to understand why it was made and to explain the Pentagon’s actions to Congress and to the Ukrainian government.
It was reported on Wednesday that the rationale behind the pause was that US defence officials had become concerned that weapons stockpiles were too low as they looked to divert arms to Israel to help it take on Iran.
Read the full report below:
Merz: will offer Ukraine air defence at Rome recovery conference
Wednesday 9 July 2025 16:58
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Rachel Clun
Friedrich Merz will offer air defence systems to Ukraine at a conference discussing the country's recovery in Rome on Thursday, the German chancellor said.
"In particular, additional air defence systems are under consideration, and I will make offers that we could implement from Germany," Merz told reporters at a news conference with the head of NATO on Wednesday.
Rome will host a conference on July 10-11 dedicated to Ukraine's recovery and long-term reconstruction following Russia's invasion.
Watch: Trump slams Putin's 'bulls***' as he seeks to end Russia's war on Ukraine
Wednesday 9 July 2025 16:50
,
Rachel Clun
Russian foreign minister to visit North Korea this week in latest sign of expanding ties
Wednesday 9 July 2025 16:18
,
Rachel Clun
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to North Korea for a three-day visit beginning Friday in the latest sign of the countries’ deepening ties during Russia’s war in Ukraine, state media reported.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Lavrov was invited by the country’s Foreign Ministry but did not immediately provide further details.
Lavrov’s visit follows a June trip by Russia’s top security official, Sergei Shoigu, who met Kim in Pyongyang before saying the North had decided to send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to Russia’s Kursk region to help rebuild the war-torn area.
Read the full report about the expanding ties between the two countries here:
Zelensky thanks Pope for help with stolen Ukrainian children
Wednesday 9 July 2025 15:47
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Rachel Clun
Volodymyr Zelensky said he thanked Pope Leo for the Vatican's efforts to help reunite children taken by Russia after Moscow's 2022 invasion.
Speaking to reporters after leaving the Pope’s summer villa in the town of Castel Gandolfo, the Ukrainian president said he asked for continued help and prayers "to get back our children stolen by Russia during this war".
Pope Francis had named an envoy, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, to try to facilitate the return of children and find "paths to peace" between the two sides.
The Russian government has faced international condemnation over unlawful deportations of Ukrainian families, including children, to Russia following Putin's order for Russian troops to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Graph: How Russia's aerial strikes on Ukraine have changed over 50 days
Wednesday 9 July 2025 15:16
,
Rachel Clun
Even as talks continue about another round of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, data from Ukraine’s Air Force show attacks are becoming more frequent.
As Trump pledges more weapons for Ukraine - how reliant is Kyiv on US military assistance?
Wednesday 9 July 2025 14:46
,
Rachel Clun
To the relief of officials in Kyiv, Donald Trump announced this week that the US would resume weapons shipments to Ukraine - just days after those exports were halted by the Pentagon.
“They're getting hit very hard. Now they're getting hit very hard. We're going to have to send more weapons, defensive weapons, primarily, but they're getting hit very, very hard,” the US president said on Tuesday evening.
His comments came before Russia launched its largest-ever aerial attack on Ukraine, involving 728 drones and 13 missiles overnight and into Wednesday morning.
Below, The Independent looks at how much support the US has provided to Ukraine’s war effort, why the Pentagon decided to pause shipments and what could happen from here.
Ukrainian minister welcomes Europe human rights court ruling
Wednesday 9 July 2025 14:28
,
Rachel Clun
The European human rights court ruling that Russia was responsible for widespread violations of international law in Ukraine has been welcomed by a senior Kyiv official.
Olga Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s justice minister, said it was a “historic ruling”.
“The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has recognised systemic and mass violations of human rights committed by Russia in Ukraine since 2014 and during the full-scale invasion in 2022,” Ms Stefanishyna wrote on X.
“The Court upheld almost all of Ukraine’s claims against Russia, affirming that Russia's actions aim to destroy Ukrainian statehood and pose a global threat to peace and security.
“Grateful to [Ukraine Ministry of Justice] team for their work in achieving this decision.”
Pope Leo tells Zelensky the Vatican is will to host Ukraine-Russia peace talks
Wednesday 9 July 2025 14:09
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Rachel Clun, Reuters
Pope Leo has told Volodymyr Zelensky the Vatican is willing to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, the Vatican said in a statement.
The pope also raised with the Ukrainian president "the urgent need for a just and lasting peace," the statement said.
The pair met at Castel Gandolfo outside of Rome while on a two-week break.
Zelensky is also expected to meet the US envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellog on Wednesday, and he is also expected to meet with the Italian president Sergio Mattarella.
The Ukrainian leader is in Italy to attend a conference on July 10-11 dedicated to Ukraine's recovery and long-term reconstruction following Russia's invasion.
Landmark ruling made over Russia’s responsibility for downing flight MH17
Wednesday 9 July 2025 13:50
,
Rachel Clun
Europe's top human rights court ruled that Russia was responsible for widespread violations of international law in Ukraine, including the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, marking the first time an international court has held Moscow accountable for human rights abuses related to the conflict there.
Reading the decisions before a packed courtroom in Strasbourg, Court President Mattias Guyomar said Russian forces breached international humanitarian law in Ukraine by carrying out attacks that "killed and wounded thousands of civilians and created fear and terror."
The judges found the human rights abuses went beyond any military objective and Russia used sexual violence as part of a strategy to break Ukrainian morale, the French judge said.
"The use of rape as a weapon of war was an act of extreme atrocity that amounted to torture," Guyomar said.
The complaints were brought before the court's governing body expelled Moscow in 2022, following the full-scale invasion.
The decisions are largely symbolic since Moscow says it plans to ignore them.
"We won't abide by it, we consider it void," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a call with reporters Wednesday.
In pictures: Zelensky arrives to meet Pope Leo
Wednesday 9 July 2025 13:33
,
Rachel Clun
The Ukrainian president arrived at the summer papal residence of Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome, on Wednesday afternoon.
Ukraine detains two Chinese nationals accused of collecting data on missile programme
Wednesday 9 July 2025 13:18
,
Reuters
Ukraine's domestic security service said on Wednesday it had detained two Chinese nationals suspected of collecting data on the production of Ukrainian Neptune missiles.
In a statement, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it had arrested a 24-year-old former student in Kyiv after the service passed him documents.
It later detained his father, who the SBU alleged had aimed to pass the documents to Chinese special services.
Zelensky to meet Ukraine envoy after Trump pledges more weapons
Wednesday 9 July 2025 13:02
,
Rachel Clun, Reuters
Volodymyr Zelensky is due to meet with US envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg in Rome on today, shortly after Trump pledged to send more defensive weapons to Kyiv.
The two were travelling to Italy before a conference on July 10-11 dedicated to Ukraine's recovery and long-term reconstruction following Russia's invasion.
Attempts by the US to end the war in Ukraine through diplomacy have largely stalled, and on Tuesday, Trump aimed unusually direct criticism at Vladimir Putin over the conflict.
The Rome conference - the fourth such event since Russia's February 2022 invasion of its neighbour - is mainly aimed at mobilising international support for Ukraine.
Kremlin says its unclear if reports that Trump threatened to bomb Moscow are fake or not
Wednesday 9 July 2025 12:46
,
Reuters
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it was not sure of the veracity of a CNN article that reported Donald Trump had once threatened to bomb Moscow to deter the Russian president from attacking Ukraine.
CNN's report cited audio recordings of Trump telling a private gathering of donors amid his pre-election campaign in 2024 that he had once warned the Putin that he would "bomb the sh*t out of Moscow" if Russia attacked Ukraine.
Asked about the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "I cannot confirm or deny this, even if I wanted to... Whether it is fake or not, we do not know either. There is a lot of fake news these days."
Trump threatened to bomb Moscow if Putin attacked Ukraine, new book claims
Wednesday 9 July 2025 12:29
,
Madeline Sherratt
President Trump threatened to “bomb the s**t out of Moscow” if Russian President Putin attacked Ukraine, according to a new book.
The remark was among several captured in a series of audio tapes from 2024 fundraisers in New York and Florida. CNN aired the clips Tuesday night.
A trio of political journalists – Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf – obtained the tapes and have written about the exchanges in their new book, 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America.
“With Putin I said, ‘If you go into Ukraine, I’m going to bomb the sh*t out of Moscow. I’m telling you I have no choice,” Trump said in the audio.
“And then [Putin] goes, like, ‘I don’t believe you.’ But he believed me 10%,” the President adds.
Read the full report on those tapes below:
Kremlin is ‘calm’ about Trump’s latest criticism of Putin
Wednesday 9 July 2025 12:12
,
Rachel Clun
The Kremlin said it was ‘calm’ about the US president’s latest criticism of Vladimir Putin and it would continue to work on the relationship between the two countries.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump said he was strongly considering backing a bill to apply additional sanctions on Russia.
“I'm not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now," he said, noting that Russian and Ukrainian soldiers were dying in their thousands.
“We get a lot of bulls*** thrown at us by Putin... He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless,” he added.
Asked on Wednesday about Donald Trump’s remarks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "We are quite calm about this."
"We expect to continue our dialogue with Washington and our line on repairing the rather broken bilateral relations," he added.
Peskov highlighted Trump’s comment that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine would not be easily resolved.
"We also heard a very important statement by Trump that the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict turned out to be much more difficult than he thought from the very beginning,” Peskov said.
Watch: Trump ‘flat-footed’ by Pentagon's weapons halt to Kyiv and pledges more arms
Wednesday 9 July 2025 11:55
,
Rachel Clun
Zelensky meeting Pope today
Wednesday 9 July 2025 11:37
,
Rachel Clun
Volodymyr Zelensky is meeting Pope Leo later today, the Vatican said.
It will be the second in-person meeting between the two leaders since Leo was elected as head of the Catholic Church on 8 May.
Zelenskiy is in Italy to attend a July 10-11 international aid conference on Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president is expected to travel for the meeting to Castel Gandolfo, a small Italian hill town about an hour's drive from Rome, where Leo is taking two weeks of holiday.
The pair previously met in a private audience at the Vatican on 18 May.
Human rights court finds Russia guilty of violations in Ukraine and of being responsible for downing flight MH17
Wednesday 9 July 2025 11:19
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AP, Rachel Clun
Europe’s top human rights court has ruled that Russia violated international law during the conflict in Ukraine, the first time an international court has found Moscow responsible for human rights abuses since the full-scale invasion in 2022.
The court also ruled Russia was behind the downing of Flight MH17, the first time Moscow was named by an international court as being responsible for the 2014 tragedy that claimed 298 lives.
Judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg are ruling on four cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia, encompassing a wide range of alleged human rights violations during the full-scale invasion since the start of the war, including the downing of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and kidnapping Ukrainian children.
Any decision will be largely symbolic. The complaints were brought before the court's governing body expelled Moscow in 2022, following the full-scale invasion.
Hegseth did not get okay from Trump for Ukraine weapons pause, report says
Wednesday 9 July 2025 11:02
,
Joe Sommerlad
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth did not inform President Donald Trump before authorising a pause on the delivery of weapons to Ukraine last week, according to a report.
CNN cited five sources who revealed that Hegseth’s decision sparked an internal “scramble” within the Trump administration to understand why it was made and to explain the Pentagon’s actions to Congress and to the Ukrainian government.
According to CNN, neither Secretary of State Marco Rubio nor the U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine, Ret. Gen. Keith Kellogg, were informed of the pause on weapons shipments to Eastern Europe, although Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement: “Secretary Hegseth provided a framework for the President to evaluate military aid shipments and assess existing stockpiles. This effort was coordinated across government.”
Read the full report here:
Watch: Macron says Europe won't abandon Ukraine
Wednesday 9 July 2025 10:47
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Rachel Clun
UK court convicts three men over arson attack authorities say was organised by Russian intelligence
Wednesday 9 July 2025 10:30
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Rachel Clun
A British jury convicted three men on Tuesday of arson in an attack on an east London warehouse that was storing equipment destined for Ukraine. Authorities said Russian intelligence was behind the plot.
Prosecutors said the March 20, 2024, attack was planned by agents of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, acting on behalf of Russian military intelligence. The British government has deemed Wagner a terrorist organisation.
The prosecution said Wagner used British intermediaries to recruit the men to target an industrial unit in Leyton, east London, where generators and StarLink satellite equipment bound for Ukraine were being stored. The StarLinks are frequently used by Ukraine's military in fending off Russia's invasion.
Authorities said the arson was part of a campaign of disruption across Europe that Western officials blame on Moscow and its proxies.
In pictures: Aftermath of largest Russian drone attack on Ukraine
Wednesday 9 July 2025 10:07
,
Rachel Clun
European intelligence officials warn that a Russian sabotage campaign is escalating
Wednesday 9 July 2025 09:53
,
Rachel Clun
There have been more than 70 incidents of sabotage that can be linked to Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, an investigation has found.
And those incidents are becoming more common, according to The Associated Press’s research: AP's tracking shows 12 incidents of arson or serious sabotage last year compared with two in 2023 and none in 2022.
Read the full report on those escalating attacks here:
Ukrainian attack on Russian beach kills three
Wednesday 9 July 2025 09:37
,
Rachel Clun, Reuters
A Ukrainian drone attack on a beach in the Russian city of Kursk killed three people and injured seven, the acting governor of the region said early on Wednesday.
Among those killed in the attack was a Russian serviceman who had been trying to evacuate people from the scene, Alexander Khinshtein said on the Telegram messaging app
Khinshtein said the attack had been carried out deliberately in an area frequented by families in the region.
Russia's defence ministry said on Telegram that its air defence units destroyed 86 Ukrainian drones overnight over nine Russian regions, including 23 drones over the Kursk region.
Reuters could not independently verify the account and there was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials.
