(Image by NEIVANMADE)
Air raid alerts are up for almost all of northern and central Ukraine at 3;20 AM local time/8:20 PM EDT. The focus, as it was last night, seems to be Kyiv, which was hit very hard by the Russians this morning.
My city after the attack
— Mira of Kyiv 🇺🇦 (@reshetz.bsky.social) July 4, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Putin and the Russians are emboldened to escalate their strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets because the US has very publicly stopped supplying weapons to Ukraine. We now know that this has been done unilaterally by Hegseth despite being informed sending the weapons would not impact US readiness. From The Kyiv Independent:
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unilaterally halted a weapons shipment to Ukraine on July 2 despite internal military assessments showing the aid would not compromise American military readiness, NBC News reported on July 4, citing three U.S. officials.
The pause in aid, which included critical air defense systems and ammunition, reportedly caught the State Department, members of Congress, Ukraine, and key European allies off guard.
Ukraine suffered one of the largest attacks on July 4, with President Volodymyr Zelensky calling for more air defense to protect civilians in the cities. The attack on Kyiv killed one person and injured 23 more.
A senior U.S. military review had concluded that while some munitions stockpiles, including precision weapons, were low, they had not fallen below critical thresholds, according to NBC. Despite this, Hegseth opted to stop the shipment. This is reportedly his third such move since February.
“We are not at any lower point, stockpile-wise, than we’ve been in the three-and-a-half years of the Ukraine conflict,” Congressman Adam Smith the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said. Smith, who said his staff reviewed the Pentagon’s figures, called the justification “disingenuous.”
The shipment reportedly included dozens of Patriot interceptors, 155 mm artillery rounds, Hellfire missiles, guided missile systems (GMLRS), Stinger and AIM air-to-air missiles, and grenade launchers.
Two sources told NBC that some of the weapons had already been loaded onto trucks in Poland when the halt was ordered.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell described earlier the decision as part of a broader “capability review” to ensure U.S. forces remain equipped.
The halt has initiated debate over the future of U.S. support for Ukraine.
Lawmakers from both parties, including Republican Congressman Michael McCaul, expressed frustration at the lack of advance notice. “Now is the time to show Putin we mean business,” McCaul wrote on X.
Republican Congressman Joe Wilson also reacted to the halt, warning of its consequences amid Russia’s ongoing strikes.
“As Americans begin to enjoy the sounds of fireworks in celebration of our Nation’s Independence, war criminal (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, who is losing his pathetic war, resorts to scorched earth tactics across Ukrainian cities that predate Moscow’s existence,” Wilson wrote.
Wilson said he is “confident the Department of Defense will advance President Trump’s objectives stated at The Hague to send additional air defense and approved weapons to help stop this absolute depravity, as allies have and must continue doing at a rapid pace.”
Trump has denied that the U.S. paused shipments on July 3, contradicting both Pentagon confirmation and reporting.
“We haven’t,” Trump told a reporter. “We’re giving weapons.” He also claimed the Biden administration had “emptied out our whole country” and insisted Washington must prioritize its own defense.
More at the link.
This is what Hegseth and Colby, the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, as well as Trump, whether he is in or out of the loop, have wrought:
On the eve of America’s Independence Day, Putin unleashed over 500 drones and dozens of missiles on Kyiv.
A message, perhaps — not to Ukraine, but to Trump and his illusion of influence. To show him: dictators don’t take cues from those who seek their favor.— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) July 4, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Just hell
— Mira of Kyiv 🇺🇦 (@reshetz.bsky.social) July 4, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Morning in Kyiv. No sleep. Air quality is extremely bad. City is covered in thick smoke.
This is Russian terror, aimed at people who chose to stay, resist and fight.
— Maria Avdeeva (@mariainkharkiv.bsky.social) July 4, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Map of routes of weapons fired at Ukraine by fascist Russia overnight. Shahed drones circled the Ukrainian capital and then converged to subject Kyiv to a massive bombardment, followed up by a missile attack in the early hours.
— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) July 4, 2025 at 1:39 AM
550 aerial weapons used against democratic Ukraine by fascist Russia in last night’s massive air attack – that’s a new record, up from 537 used in the Russian attack on June 29. Air alert in Kyiv still on – just got warning on my phone of increased air threat in Kyiv.
— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) July 4, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
War for Ukraine Day 1,226: Russia Targets Kyiv AgainPost + Comments (12)