<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that his latest conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump this week was the best and &#8220;most productive&#8221; he has had to date.</p>
<p>&#8220;Regarding the conversation with the president of the United States, which took place a day earlier, it was probably the best conversation we have had during this whole time, the most productive,&#8221; Zelensky said in his nightly video address.</p>
<p>&#8220;We discussed air defense issues and I&#8217;m grateful for the willingness to help. The Patriot system is precisely the key to protection against ballistic threats.&#8221;</p>
<p>Zelensky said the two leaders had discussed &#8220;several other important matters&#8221; that officials from the two sides would be considering in forthcoming meetings.</p>
<p>Trump told reporters on Friday that he had a good call with Zelensky and restated his disappointment at a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin over what he said was Moscow&#8217;s lack of willingness to work toward a ceasefire.</p>
<p>Asked whether the United States would agree to supply more Patriot missiles to Ukraine, as requested by Zelensky, Trump said: &#8220;They&#8217;re going to need them for defense&#8230; They&#8217;re going to need something because they&#8217;re being hit pretty hard.&#8221;</p>
<p>Russia has intensified air attacks on Kyiv and other cities in recent weeks. Moscow&#8217;s forces launched the largest drone attack of the 40-month-old war on the Ukrainian capital hours after Trump&#8217;s conversation with Putin on Thursday.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksander Kozhukhar; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Diane Craft)</p>

<script async src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>

Ukraine’s Zelensky Says Latest Call With Trump Was ‘Most Productive’ Yet

CONTINUE READING

<p>KYIV (Reuters) — Russia attacked cities across Ukraine overnight with hundreds of drones and a missile strike, hitting energy infrastructure and wounding at least 15 people, authorities said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Ukraine&#8217;s air force said Russia launched 400 drones and one ballistic missile, primarily targeting Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, and Vinnytsia &#8211; three cities in different parts of Ukraine.</p>
<p>The large-scale long-range attacks targeted energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X.</p>
<p>Power was cut for 80,000 families in Kryvyi Rih and other locations in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine&#8217;s largest private energy company DTEK said on the Telegram app.</p>
<p>The air force said it had shot down most of the drones, but that 12 targets were hit by 57 drones and the missile.</p>
<p>Russia has stepped up attacks on cities across Ukraine this summer, regularly sending several hundred drones accompanied by ballistic missiles. The attacks were cited by U.S. President Donald Trump this week as a reason for his decision to approve more weapons for Ukraine, including air defenses.</p>
<p>&#8220;Russia does not change its strategy, and to effectively counter this terror we need a systemic strengthening of defences: more air defences, more interceptor (drones), more determination to make Russia feel our response,&#8221; Zelensky wrote.</p>
<p>In Vinnytsia and the surrounding region, eight people were wounded, according to Ukraine&#8217;s interior ministry.</p>
<p>Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on X that drones had hit a factory of the Polish wood flooring producer Barlinek Group in Vinnytsia, which is in the western part of central Ukraine.</p>
<p>&#8220;The plant manager told me just now that it was deliberate, from three directions&#8230; Putin&#8217;s criminal war is getting closer to our borders,&#8221; he added.</p>
<p>The head of the military administration in Kryvyi Rih, Oleksandr Vilkul, said Russian forces conducted an extended attack with a missile and 28 drones. He said water supplies had also been disrupted in some areas.</p>
<p>A 17-year-old boy had been severely injured in the attack and was fighting for his life in the hospital, Vilkul added.</p>
<p>In Kharkiv, a frequent target of Russian attacks, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said at least 17 explosions were recorded in a 20-minute drone attack in which three people were injured.</p>
<p>Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said air defence units had gone into action for a time in the capital, but there were no reports of casualties or damage there.</p>
<p>Russia has killed thousands of civilians in attacks on Ukrainian cities since launching its full-scale invasion more than three years ago. Moscow says civilian infrastructure, such as energy systems are legitimate targets because they help Ukraine&#8217;s war effort. Ukraine also launches long-range strikes on targets in Russia, although on a more limited scale.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Max Hunder, additional reporting Anns Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Leslie Adler, Saad Sayeed, Peter Graff)</p>

<script async src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>

Russia Attacks Ukraine With Hundreds Of Drones, Energy Infrastructure Hit

<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Bahrain&#8217;s crown prince announced plans to invest more than $17 billion in the United States during a meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday.</p>
<p>As part of the investment, Bahrain is expected to sign a deal between Gulf Air and Boeing/GE valued at around $7 billion for 12 aircraft with an option for six more.</p>
<p>The deal also includes the sale of 40 GE engines, a White House official said.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re very happy to be announcing $17 billion worth of deals that are coming to the United States,&#8221; said Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. &#8220;And this is real. These aren&#8217;t fake deals.&#8221;</p>
<p>The announcement from Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa comes on the heels of foreign investment deals Trump made during a trip to the Middle East in May.</p>
<p>During a visit to Riyadh, Trump secured a $600-billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the United States and agreed to sell the Saudis an arms package worth nearly $142 billion.</p>
<p>The White House official said the Bahrain deal will support 30,000 American jobs and was secured with help from Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.</p>
<p>Bahrain is expected to sign deals with Oracle and Cisco, with plans to replace Chinese servers with Cisco products, the official said.</p>
<p>Bahrain also seeks to increase its investments in U.S. energy, tech, and manufacturing sectors.</p>
<p>The official said the crown prince intends to deploy capital to increase U.S. domestic aluminum production, invest in U.S. LNG production to secure energy supplies, and purchase cutting-edge AI chips, partnering with U.S. hyperscalers.</p>
<p>The crown prince visited the White House twice during Trump&#8217;s first term.</p>
<p>During this visit, the crown prince will announce the kingdom&#8217;s intention to make these investments and sign various deals and memoranda of understanding.</p>
<p>One of these MOUs creates a framework for Bahrain to begin discussions towards developing commercial nuclear capabilities, the official said.</p>
<p>It was signed at the State Department by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani before the White House visit.</p>
<p>Later this year, the king of Bahrain will visit Washington to finalize these agreements and solidify the progress made in building the two nations&#8217; economic prosperity, the U.S. official said.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Rod Nickel)</p>

<script async src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>

Middle East Country Announces $17 Billion Investment In U.S. During Trump Talks

<p>WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a trade deal with Indonesia, the latest pact in a bid to cement better terms with trading partners and reduce a massive trade deficit, even as the European Union readied retaliatory measures should talks between Washington and its top trading partner fail.</p>
<p>&#8220;Great deal, for everybody, just made with Indonesia. I dealt directly with their highly respected President. DETAILS TO FOLLOW!!!&#8221; Trump said in a post on Truth Social.</p>
<p>Indonesia&#8217;s total trade with the United States — totalling just under $40 billion in 2024 — does not rank in the top 15, but it has been growing. U.S. exports to Indonesia rose 3.7% last year, while imports from there were up 4.8%, leaving the U.S. with a goods trade deficit of nearly $18 billion.</p>
<p>The top U.S. import categories from Indonesia, according to U.S. Census Bureau data retrieved on the International Trade Centre&#8217;s TradeMap tool, last year were palm oil, electronics equipment including data routers and switches, footwear, car tires, natural rubber, and frozen shrimp.</p>
<p>Susiwijono Moegiarso, a senior official with Indonesia&#8217;s Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, told Reuters in a text message: &#8220;We are preparing a joint statement between U.S. and Indonesia that will explain the size of reciprocal tariff for Indonesia including the tariff deal, non-tariff and commercial arrangements. We will inform (the public) soon.&#8221;</p>
<p>Trump had threatened the southeast Asian country with a 32% tariff rate effective August 1 in a letter sent to its president last week.</p>
<p>Trump sent similar letters to roughly two dozen trading partners this month, including Canada, Japan, and Brazil, setting blanket tariff rates ranging from 20% up to 50%, as well as a 50% tariff on copper.</p>
<p>The August 1 deadline gives the targeted countries time to negotiate agreements that could lower the threatened tariffs. Some investors and economists have also noted Trump&#8217;s pattern of backing off his tariff threats.</p>
<p>Since launching his tariff policy, Trump has clinched only a few deals despite his team touting an effort to bring home &#8220;90 deals in 90 days.&#8221; So far, framework agreements have been reached with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, and an interim deal has been struck with China to forestall the steepest of Trump&#8217;s tariffs while negotiations continue between Washington and Beijing.</p>
<h3>E.U. READIES RETALIATION</h3>
<p>The breakthrough with Indonesia came as the European Commission, the E.U.&#8217;s governing body, gets set to target 72 billion euros ($84.1 billion) worth of U.S. goods — from Boeing aircraft and bourbon whiskey to cars — for possible tariffs if trade talks with Washington fail.</p>
<p>Trump is threatening a 30% tariff on imports from the E.U. from August 1, a level European officials say is unacceptable and would end normal trade between two of the world&#8217;s largest markets.</p>
<p>The list, sent to E.U. member states and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, pre-dates Trump&#8217;s move over the weekend to ramp up pressure on the 27-nation bloc and responds instead to U.S. duties on cars and car parts and a 10% baseline tariff.</p>
<p>The package also covers chemicals, medical devices, electrical and precision equipment as well as agriculture and food products — a range of fruits and vegetables, along with wine, beer, and spirits &#8211; valued at 6.35 billion euros.</p>
<p>Following a meeting of E.U. ministers in Brussels on Monday, officials said they were still seeking a deal to avoid Trump&#8217;s heavy tariff blow.</p>
<p>But E.U. trade chief Maros Sefcovic said those at the meeting expressed unprecedented resolve to protect E.U. businesses using European countermeasures if negotiations with Washington fail to produce a deal.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels and David Lawder in Washington; Additional reporting by Richard Lough in Paris; Amanda Teresia, Stefanno Sulaiman and Gayatri Suroyo in Jakarta; Editing by Daniel Wallis)</p>

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

Trump Lands Indonesia Trade Deal As E.U. Readies Retaliation

<p>NORTHWOOD (Reuters) — France and Britain on Thursday agreed to reinforce cooperation over their respective nuclear arsenals as the two European powerhouses seek to respond to growing threats to the continent and uncertainty over their U.S. ally.</p>
<p>The announcement came after French President Emmanuel Macron concluded a three-day state visit to Britain, where the two allies sought to turn the page on years of turbulence following Britain&#8217;s decision to withdraw from the European Union.</p>
<p>&#8220;This morning, we signed the Northward declaration, confirming for the first time that we are coordinating our independent nuclear deterrence,&#8221; British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told a news conference alongside Macron.</p>
<p>&#8220;From today, our adversaries will know that any extreme threat to this continent would prompt a response from our two nations. There is no greater demonstration of the importance of this relationship.&#8221;</p>
<p>U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s questioning of burden-sharing in NATO and his overtures to Russia have led to existential questions in Europe about the trans-Atlantic relationship and Washington&#8217;s commitment to helping defend its European allies.</p>
<p>Europe&#8217;s primary nuclear deterrence comes from the United States and is a decades-old symbol of trans-Atlantic solidarity.</p>
<p>Macron said the two countries had created an oversight committee to coordinate their cooperation, a task he said was vital.</p>
<p>&#8220;The decision is that we don&#8217;t exclude the coordination of our respective deterrents. It&#8217;s a message that our partners and adversaries must hear,&#8221; Macron said.</p>
<p>The closer cooperation had nothing to do with their efforts to create a coalition of the willing to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, he added.</p>
<p>While both sides will keep their own decision-making processes and strategic ambiguity, the move does suggest further protection for the continent at a time when the United States&#8217; commitment to Europe is under scrutiny.</p>
<p>Macron has previously said he will launch a strategic dialogue on extending the protection offered by France&#8217;s nuclear arsenal to its European partners.</p>
<p>The U.S. has nuclear arms in Europe and tens of thousands of troops deployed in bases across the continent with military capabilities that Europe cannot match.</p>
<p>France spends about 5.6 billion euros ($6.04 billion) annually on maintaining its stockpile of 290 submarine- and air-launched nuclear weapons, the world&#8217;s fourth largest.</p>
<p>Britain describes its nuclear programme as &#8220;operationally independent,&#8221; but sources missile technology from the U.S. and depends on the U.S. for acquisition and maintenance support.</p>
<p>&#8220;On the nuclear agreement that we&#8217;ve reached today &#8230; it is truly historic,&#8221; Starmer said.</p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Writing by John Irish; Editing by Aidan Lewis)</p>

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

France, Britain Unveil Nuclear Weapons Cooperation To Counter Threat To Europe

<p>WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) — The European Union said it was working on sealing a trade deal with the United States by the end of the month, while U.S. President Donald Trump promised that he would deliver further tariff notices on unnamed countries on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Trump broadened out a trade war that has cast a shadow over the global economic outlook when he said on Tuesday he would impose a 50% tariff on imported copper and soon introduce long-threatened levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.</p>
<p>Trump said late on Tuesday that &#8220;a minimum of seven&#8221; tariff notices would be released on Wednesday morning, and more in the afternoon. He gave no other details in his Truth Social post.</p>
<p>The threat came a day after he pressured 14 trading partners, including powerhouse U.S. suppliers South Korea and Japan, with tariff letters imposing levies of 25% and upwards to take effect from August 1.</p>
<h3>NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE E.U.</h3>
<p>Trump said trade talks have been going well with China and the European Union, which is the biggest bilateral trading partner of the U.S.</p>
<p>Trump said he would &#8220;probably&#8221; tell the E.U. within two days what rate it could expect for its exports to the U.S., adding that the 27-nation E.U. had become much more cooperative.</p>
<p>&#8220;They treated us very badly until recently, and now they&#8217;re treating us very nicely. It&#8217;s like a different world, actually,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave a guarded response.</p>
<p>&#8220;We stick to our principles, we defend our interests, we continue to work in good faith, and we get ready for all scenarios,&#8221; von der Leyen told the European Parliament.</p>
<p>A European Commission spokesperson said that the E.U. aimed to reach a trade deal before August 1, potentially even in the coming days.</p>
<p>However, Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti warned that talks between the two sides were &#8220;very complicated&#8221; and could continue right up to the deadline.</p>
<h3>HIGHEST TARIFF LEVELS SINCE 1934</h3>
<p>Equity markets shrugged off Trump&#8217;s latest tariff salvo on Wednesday, while the yen remained on the back foot after the levies set for Japan.</p>
<p>Following Trump&#8217;s announcement of higher tariffs for imports from the 14 countries, U.S. research group Yale Budget Lab estimated consumers face an effective U.S. tariff rate of 17.6%, up from 15.8% previously and the highest in nine decades.</p>
<p>Trump&#8217;s administration has been touting those tariffs as a significant revenue source. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington has taken in about $100 billion so far and could collect $300 billion by the end of the year. The United States has taken in about $80 billion annually in tariff revenue in recent years.</p>
<p>Trump&#8217;s administration promised &#8220;90 deals in 90 days&#8221; after he unveiled an array of country-specific duties in early April. So far, only two agreements have been reached, with Britain and Vietnam. Trump has said a deal with India was close.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Julia Payne, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Philip Blenkinsop, Trevor Hunnicutt, Dan Burns; Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Alex Richardson)</p>

<script async src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>

E.U. Seeks To Finalize Trade Deal With Trump By End Of The Month

News

Donald Trump

Putin

Russia

Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelensky

Josh Pate joins the show from the 2025 SEC Media Days to discuss who we think is the best team in the SEC heading into the 2025 season. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Hour 1

Crain & Company

The Best SEC Football Team Is?? w/ Josh Pate | SEC Media Days 2025

Josh Pate joins the show from the 2025 SEC Media Days to discuss who we think is the best team in the SEC heading into the 2025 season. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Thanks for being a DailyWire+ member. This show is ad-free.

The Best SEC Football Team Is?? w/ Josh Pate | SEC Media Days 2025 [Member Exclusive]

Today on the Matt Walsh Show, new data reveals that the “raw footage” from Epstein’s prison actually has nearly 3 minutes cut from it. This revelation comes as the Administration and some of its surrogates demand that we drop the subject and move on. We will ignore that directive and talk about the latest today. Also, Elmo goes on an anti-semitic rant on the same day that Jasmine Crockett insists we have to fund PBS so that would-be terrorists in Afghanistan can still watch Sesame Street. It’s been a strange week, to say the least. And false media reports accuse Trump of cutting all spending on AIDS prevention overseas. It’s not true, but why aren’t we cutting spending on AIDS prevention overseas?

Thanks for being a DailyWire+ member. This show is ad-free.

The Matt Walsh Show

Ep. 1624 - Yelling At Us To Stop Talking About Epstein Only Makes Us Talk About Him More[Member Exclusive]

Today on the Matt Walsh Show, new data reveals that the “raw footage” from Epstein’s prison actually has nearly 3 minutes cut from it. This revelation comes as the Administration and some of its surrogates demand that we drop the subject and move on. We will ignore that directive and talk about the latest today. Also, Elmo goes on an anti-semitic rant on the same day that Jasmine Crockett insists we have to fund PBS so that would-be terrorists in Afghanistan can still watch Sesame Street. It’s been a strange week, to say the least. And false media reports accuse Trump of cutting all spending on AIDS prevention overseas. It’s not true, but why aren’t we cutting spending on AIDS prevention overseas?

Menu

— News —

Ukraine’s Zelensky Says Latest Call With Trump Was ‘Most Productive’ Yet

Create a free account to join the conversation!