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Ukrainians Wake up to Trump’s Pause on All Military Aid 

People walk on Khreschatyk street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP)
People walk on Khreschatyk street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP)
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Ukrainians Wake up to Trump’s Pause on All Military Aid 

People walk on Khreschatyk street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP)
People walk on Khreschatyk street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP)

Ukrainians woke up on Tuesday to news that the Trump administration has paused military aid for their fight against Russia's invasion, days after a disastrous Oval Office row that has deepened a rift between Kyiv and the White House.

US President Donald Trump directed the US to pause all assistance to Ukraine as he seeks to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in peace talks with Russia.

The decision appears to halt arms deliveries approved under the Biden administration, but it was not clear whether deliveries of ammunition for weapons systems already in Ukraine would be affected.

“I feel betrayed, but this feeling is not really deep for some reason. I was expecting something like that from Trump's side,” said a Ukrainian soldier fighting in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a daring military incursion in August 2024 to improve its hand in negotiations. The soldier spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely about his thoughts as he was not authorized to speak to the press.

Others said the move has left even greater confusion about Donald Trump’s intentions.

“The problem is that it’s unclear what Trump wants and what the purpose of his actions is,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, Ukrainian lawmaker and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee. “As of today, it appears that he is increasingly siding with Russia and trying to pressure Ukraine into accepting Russia’s demands.”

“This looks terrible—forcing the weaker side to accept the terms of the stronger aggressor,” he told The Associated Press.

Kyiv has feared the possibility of aid being stopped to Ukraine ever since Trump took office, and the US-Ukraine relationship has taken a downturn in recent weeks as Trump’s team launched bilateral talks with Russia over the war in Ukraine and Trump’s demeanor toward Zelenskyy has become increasingly dismissive.

Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency quoted Andrei Kartapolov, a retired general who chairs the defense committee in the lower house of Russian parliament, predicting that Ukraine would exhaust its current ammunition reserves within months. “We need to keep up the pressure and continue to target their bases and depots with long-range precision weapons to destroy the stockpiles,” he said.

Trump said on Monday that he is still interested in signing a deal that would hand over a share of Ukraine's minerals to the United States, an agreement that Zelenskyy has also said he is ready to sign.

“By abruptly halting military assistance to Ukraine, President Trump is hanging Ukrainians out to dry and giving Russia the green light to continue marching west,” said Razom for Ukraine, a Ukrainian advocacy group. “Razom for Ukraine urges the White House to immediately reverse course, resume military aid and pressure Putin to end his horrific invasion.”

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World

ISIS Claims Deadly Blast at Chinese-run Restaurant in Afghan Capital

Security forces stand at the site of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, 19 January 2026. EPA/SAMIULLAH POPAL
Security forces stand at the site of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, 19 January 2026. EPA/SAMIULLAH POPAL
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ISIS Claims Deadly Blast at Chinese-run Restaurant in Afghan Capital

Security forces stand at the site of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, 19 January 2026. EPA/SAMIULLAH POPAL
Security forces stand at the site of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, 19 January 2026. EPA/SAMIULLAH POPAL

ISIS claimed an explosion that officials said killed a Chinese national and six Afghans, while injuring several more as it tore through a Chinese-run restaurant in a heavily guarded part of Afghanistan's capital.

Monday's blast took place in the commercial Shahr-e-Naw area that is home to offices, shopping complexes and embassies, police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said.

It is considered one of the safest neighborhoods in the city.

According to Reuters, the Afghan branch of ISIS claimed responsibility, saying in a statement it ‌was carried out ‌by a suicide bomber.

The restaurant serving the Chinese ‌Muslim ⁠community was jointly run ‌by a Chinese Muslim man, Abdul Majid, his wife, and an Afghan partner, Abdul Jabbar Mahmood, Zadran said.

"The nature of the explosion is unknown so far and is being investigated," he said.

A Chinese national, identified only as Ayub, and six Afghans were killed in the blast near the restaurant's kitchen, while several others were injured, Zadran added.

The Amaq news agency said the domestic arm of ISIS had put Chinese citizens on its list of targets, citing "growing crimes by the Chinese government against ‌Uyghurs".

Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, ‍a mainly Muslim ethnic minority group ‍numbering about 10 million who live in China's far western region of ‍Xinjiang.

Beijing denies any abuse and has accused Western countries of interference and peddling lies.

The blast injured five Chinese nationals, and China has requested that Afghanistan spare no effort to treat the injured, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

China also requested that Afghanistan take effective measures to protect the safety of ⁠its citizens and investments, and investigate, Guo said.

On Monday, videos shared on social media showed smoke billowing from a large hole torn in the facade of the restaurant building, while debris littered the street outside.

"We have received 20 people at our hospital," Dejan Panic, the Afghanistan director of humanitarian group EMERGENCY, said in a statement, adding that seven were dead on arrival. "Among the wounded are four women and a child."

World

Over 5,000 Kyiv Buildings Without Power after Russian Attack

Police officers inspect remains of a Russian suicide drone, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, January 20, 2026. (Reuters)
Police officers inspect remains of a Russian suicide drone, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, January 20, 2026. (Reuters)
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Over 5,000 Kyiv Buildings Without Power after Russian Attack

Police officers inspect remains of a Russian suicide drone, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, January 20, 2026. (Reuters)
Police officers inspect remains of a Russian suicide drone, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, January 20, 2026. (Reuters)

A Russian aerial attack overnight on the Ukrainian capital has left thousands of residential buildings without heating in minus 14C temperatures, mayor Vitali Klitschko said Tuesday. 

"After this attack, 5,635 residential buildings are without heating," he said on Telegram, adding that a large part of the city was also without running water. 

A woman was wounded and hospitalized, Klitschko said, adding that several buildings, including a primary school, were damaged, reported AFP. 

These new strikes come some 10 days after Moscow's worst attack on Kyiv's energy grid since the start of its invasion of Ukraine four years ago. 

The attack carried out at dawn on January 9 targeted energy facilities, depriving half the city of heating and leaving many residents without electricity for days in freezing temperatures. 

In the night of Monday to Tuesday, Russia fired long-range combat drones before launching cruise missiles towards the city and its region. 

Multiple explosions were heard in the city center, AFP journalists reported. 

"Municipal and energy services are working to restore heating, water, and electricity in city homes," Klitschko added. 

Russia has been pounding Ukraine's energy system since the start of its invasion -- an attempt, according to Kyiv, to sap morale and break Ukrainians' resistance. 

World

Spain Mourns as Train Crash Toll Rises to 40

Members of the Spanish Civil Guard crime department work next to the trains involved in the accident, at the site of a deadly derailment of two high-speed trains near Adamuz, in Cordoba, Spain, January 19, 2026. (Reuters)
Members of the Spanish Civil Guard crime department work next to the trains involved in the accident, at the site of a deadly derailment of two high-speed trains near Adamuz, in Cordoba, Spain, January 19, 2026. (Reuters)
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Spain Mourns as Train Crash Toll Rises to 40

Members of the Spanish Civil Guard crime department work next to the trains involved in the accident, at the site of a deadly derailment of two high-speed trains near Adamuz, in Cordoba, Spain, January 19, 2026. (Reuters)
Members of the Spanish Civil Guard crime department work next to the trains involved in the accident, at the site of a deadly derailment of two high-speed trains near Adamuz, in Cordoba, Spain, January 19, 2026. (Reuters)

Spain begins three days of national mourning on Tuesday for the 40 people killed in a high-speed train crash that the prime minister has vowed to investigate.

The crash late on Sunday is Spain's deadliest train accident since 2013, when 80 people died after a train veered off a curved section of track outside the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela.

The latest disaster took place when a train operated by rail company Iryo, travelling from Malaga to Madrid, derailed near Adamuz in the southern Andalusia region.

It crossed onto the other track, where it crashed into an oncoming train, which also derailed.

"This is a day of sorrow for all of Spain, for our entire country," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters during a visit to Adamuz on Monday as he declared three days of mourning.

"We will uncover the answer, and once the cause of this tragedy is determined, we will present it with absolute transparency."

Forty deaths have been confirmed due to the crash, the head of Andalucia's regional government, Juan Manuel Moreno, told a news conference, raising the toll from 39.

It would take 24-48 hours "to know with certainty how many deaths have resulted from this terrible accident," he added.

Heavy machinery was deployed on Monday to lift the most severely damaged train carriages and give rescuers better access to the site of the disaster.

Over 120 people were injured, with 41 still in hospitals in the nearby city of Cordoba, Moreno said.

Relatives and friends of missing passengers have turned to social media, posting photos in an effort to find them.

- 'Extremely strange' -

Aerial footage of the crash site from Spain's Guardia Civil police force showed the two trains far apart, as rescuers in high-visibility neon vests worked nearby.

Unlike the 2013 accident, the derailment occurred on a straight section of track, and the trains were travelling within the speed limit, officials said.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente said the first train to derail was "practically new" and the section of the track where the disaster happened had been recently renovated, making the accident "extremely strange".

Train operator Iryo said the locomotive was built in 2022 and last inspected just three days before the accident. It said it "veered onto the adjacent track for still unknown reasons".

The company said around 300 people were on board its service from the Andalusian city of Malaga to the capital, Madrid.

Renfe, the operator of the second train travelling to the southern city of Huelva, said it was carrying 184 passengers.

Human error has "been practically ruled out", Renfe President Alvaro Fernandez Heredia told Spanish public radio RNE.

Heredia also ruled out speeding as a cause of the accident. He said both trains were traveling just over 200 kilometers (120 miles) per hour, below the 250 kilometers per hour limit for that section of track.

"It must be related to Iryo's rolling stock or an infrastructure issue," he added.

- 'Strong hit' -

Spain has Europe's largest high-speed rail network, with more than 3,000 kilometers of dedicated tracks connecting major cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia and Malaga.

Survivor Lucas Meriako, who was travelling on the first train that derailed, told La Sexta television that it looked "like a horror movie".

"We felt a very strong hit from behind and the feeling that the whole train was about to collapse, break... there were many injured due to the glass," he said.

In Adamuz, where white buildings gleam among orange-lined streets, residents rushed to the town hall with supplies as news of the disaster spread.

"We started bringing water, blankets, everything we could," Manuel Munoz, a 60-year-old olive oil factory worker, told AFP.

Among those offering condolences were Pope Leo XIV and French President Emmanuel Macron.