AMERIKAN GULAG

‘There is no water to take a bath’: Detainees describe conditions in Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’


Several men who are being held at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ say they’ve been stripped of ‘human rights’ since arriving on Friday

Detainees being held at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ describe dire conditions such as scarce food, no access to shower water, and constant bright lights (AP)

Ariana Baio
in New York
Tuesday 08 July 2025

THE INDEPENDENT

Detainees being held at the newly opened “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center in Florida say conditions are dire, with scarce food, no water to bathe, and constant bright lights making it difficult to sleep.

Leamsy “La Figura” Izquierdo, a Cuban artist who was arrested in Miami last week, told CBS News he was moved to the detention facility in the Everglades on Friday along with what he claims are more than 400 other detainees. Since then, Izquierdo says, he and other detainees have been treated poorly.

“There's no water to take a bath, it's been four days since I've taken a bath,” Izquierdo said.

Izquierdo, who was arrested on battery and assault with a deadly weapon, said detainees are fed once a day with food that has “maggots” in it and are not provided toothpaste.

“They only brought a meal once a day and it has maggots, he added. “They never take of the lights for 24 hours. The mosquitoes are as big as elephants.”

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Another detainee, an unnamed Colombian man, said his mental health was deteriorating without access to his medication and Bible.

“I'm on the edge of losing my mind. I've gone three days without taking my medicine," he told CBS. "It's impossible to sleep with this white light that's on all day."

"They took the Bible I had and they said here there is no right to religion. And my Bible is the one thing that keeps my faith, and now I'm losing my faith," he added.

Alligator Alcatraz is the recently erected temporary detention facility located deep in the Florida Everglades. It was created quickly to help alleviate pressure from local and state jails that have been directed to detain immigrants.


The facility, managed by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, is expected to hold anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 people rounded up as part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation plan.

But because of the quick turnaround to turn the former Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport into a detention center, detainees are being housed in metal enclosures inside large tents while utilities are being provided by mobile units.


open image in galleryDetainees are being held in metal cages within a large tent at Alligator Alcatraz (AFP via Getty Images)

Another detainee, who was not named by CBS, told the news outlet that those running the facility were not respecting “human rights.” He described being at Alligator Alcatraz as “a form of torture.”

"They're not respecting our human rights. We're human beings; we're not dogs. We're like rats in an experiment,” he said.

"I don't know their motive for doing this, if it's a form of torture. A lot of us have our residency documents and we don't understand why we're here,” he added.

Izquierdo is among those with permanent residency in the United States, his girlfriend told NBC Miami. But after he was arrested, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained him to determine whether or not he should be deported.

The charges he faces stem from a violent dispute with a tow company worker, wh was trying to repossess a jet ski, according to a police report seen by the outlet.

Human rights activists, such as the ACLU, have denounced Alligator Alcatraz and raised concerns about the inhuman conditions detainees could potentially face.

“This project dehumanizes people, strips them of their rights, and diverts public dollars from the services our communities need,” Bacardi Jackson, the executive director of the ACLU of Florida, said.

In addition to human rights concerns, environmentalists have raised issues with the administration building the facility on the Everglades. Members of the Indigenous community in Florida have also raised alarm that it’s built on sacred land.

The Independent has reached out to the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s Office for comment.

Travel disrupted nationwide as Italian railway workers go on strike

Passengers affected by disruptions at major stations in Rome, Venice, Naples

Melike Pala |08.07.2025 - TRT/AA

Photo: Piero Cruciatti - Anadolu Agency

BRUSSELS

Railway employees across Italy launched a nationwide 21-hour strike that caused major disruptions for travelers as workers are demanding improved safety at construction sites and the renewal of the collective labor agreement.

The ANSA news agency said the strike, which began at 9 pm local time Monday and is scheduled to end at 6 pm Tuesday, led to widespread train cancellations and delays of up to two hours. The walkout involves employees under the state rail group, Ferrovie dello Stato.

There are 30 trains that were canceled at Rome's main Termini station by midday Tuesday. In Venice, nearly all departures and arrivals at the Santa Lucia station were suspended. Naples Central Station also reported long queues at information points, with about half of the scheduled trains canceled.

The strike has affected not only high-speed and intercity trains but also regional services. Essential regional trains were guaranteed to operate during peak morning hours, from 6 am to 9 am, to reduce the effect on commuters.

Japan records over 3,300 whooping cough cases in a single week

39,672 cases reported since beginning of 2025, far surpassing nearly 4,000 cases reported for all of 2024

Berk Kutay Gokmen |08.07.2025 - TRT/AA



Japan recorded a new weekly record of 3,353 whooping cough cases, the highest number since the current survey method was introduced in 2018, according to the Japan Institute for Health Security and reported by Kyodo News.

Since the beginning of the year, the country has recorded 39,672 cases of the illness, far surpassing the approximately 4,000 cases reported throughout all of 2024, according to preliminary figures from the Japan Institute for Health Security.

The most recent data covers the week of June 23–29. Since early April, hospitals and clinics across Japan have been reporting over 1,000 cases per week, the institute noted.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory infection marked by severe coughing fits. It can lead to serious complications — including pneumonia and encephalopathy — and poses a potentially fatal risk to infants and other vulnerable individuals.

Additionally, a separate health concern has emerged as eight people have died and 10,048 have been hospitalized for heatstroke in Japan last week, Jiji Press reported on Tuesday, citing Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management.

As temperatures climbed nationwide, the number of heatstroke cases more than doubled from 4,665 the previous week to 10,048, marking the first time weekly cases exceeded 10,000 since record-keeping began on May 1, 2025.

EU lawmakers urge suspension of Israel's association agreement ahead of foreign ministers’ meeting

Foreign ministers to discuss agreement July 15, but suspension remains unlikely due to lack of consensus

Melike Pala |08.07.2025 - TRT/AA 




BRUSSELS

Members of the European Parliament urged the European Union on Tuesday to suspend its association agreement with Israel and impose targeted sanctions, citing grave violations of international law in the Gaza Strip.

The demands came during a plenary debate in France on the situation in the Middle East, ahead of an upcoming EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on July 15, where the EU-Israel Association Agreement will be on the agenda.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas faced criticism from lawmakers for her absence from the debate, despite being the main figure expected to represent the Commission on the issue.

Speaking on behalf of the EU Council, Denmark's European Affairs Minister Marie Bjerre reiterated the bloc's commitment to peace and stability in the region, and said the EU welcomed the recent halt in hostilities between Israel and Iran. She stressed the importance of humanitarian access in Gaza and reaffirmed support for a two-state solution.

EU Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra emphasized the bloc’s concerns about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Iran's nuclear program.

He noted that the EU has been urging Israel to implement "concrete, precise and tangible changes" to allow humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians, but admitted that current measures remain insufficient.

"There's no other way to phrase the total collapse of humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip is imminent if fuel is not urgently allowed to enter," Hoekstra said, adding that the situation will be re-evaluated during the July 15 meeting.

Slovak MEP Lubos Blaha accused Israel of committing a "21st-century genocide" in Gaza and slammed the EU's double standards. "There are sanctions against Russia, but with regard to Israelis, nothing is being said, not a single word. Nothing has been done," he said.

French MEP Mounir Satouri echoed concerns of complicity, citing "evidence of genocide, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing" while calling out EU member states for failing to act. "We could stop (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and his murderous actions, we need to wake up ... history will judge you."

The EU-Israel Association Agreement took effect in 2000. It forms the basis of bilateral trade and political dialogue. The suspension of the agreement, which requires unanimous approval from all 27 member states, is expected to face opposition from Germany, Czechia and Hungary, making it unlikely despite growing pressure and internal divisions.

3 British Men Convicted of London Warehouse Arson on Behalf of Wagner

The three British men were recruited via Telegram to carry out “missions” on behalf of the Wagner Group in the UK. The warehouse held aid for Ukraine, and the attack caused over £1 million in damage.

by Nick Pehlman | July 8, 2025,  KYIV POST

A man is seen in front of a flag of Wagner group mounted on top of an old tank exhibited at the Leninist Komsomol park in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on October 1, 2023, to mark 40 days since the death of Wagner private mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin as per Orthodox tradition. Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, died with nine other people when a plane flying from Moscow to Saint Petersburg crashed on August 23. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP)

Three British men were convicted of “aggravated arson with the intent to endanger life” for their March 20, 2024 arson attack on an east London warehouse holding humanitarian aid and Starlink equipment for Ukraine.

The verdict came on Tuesday at London’s Old Bailey courthouse and the men were apparently acting on behalf of the Wagner Group, a private mercenary group that works closely with the Kremlin.

The men were named as Jakeem Rose, 23, Ugnisius Asmena, 20, and Nii Mensah, 23 according to the BBC.

The men reportedly live-streamed the attack, where they poured gasoline on the door of the warehouse, costing over £1 million in damage. The men were captured on CCTV and Rose reportedly left a knife at the scene containing his DNA.
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The BBC reported that during the trial, the court heard that Earl had told his Wagner group handler, whom he had met through Telegram, that he was keen to carry out a series of “missions”, of which the warehouse fire was only the first.

Further plots were discovered, involving arson attacks on a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair, west London and to kidnap its owner, a multi-millionaire and Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin.

Last month, during the trial, AFP quoted Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police in London‘s Counter Terrorism Command, who said in November 2024, that it was “a highly significant moment and investigation for us”.

Macron to Co-Chair Ukraine Talks in UK With EU Leaders

The meeting on July 10 will come as US-led peace talks on ending the more than three-year-old war against Ukraine have stalled, with the deployment of a “reassurance force” returning to the agenda.

“Not only are the charges... extremely serious, but it is also the first time that we have arrested, and now charged, anyone using the powers and legislation brought in under the National Security Act.”

In 2023, the United Kingdom passed the National Security Act to address espionage, sabotage, and persons working for foreign powers.

Last year, MI6 Chief Richard Moore warned of the threat posed by Wagner in Europe.

“We have recently uncovered a staggeringly reckless campaign of Russian sabotage in Europe, even as Putin and his acolytes resort to nuclear saber-rattling to sow fear about the consequences of aiding Ukraine and challenge Western resolve,” Moore said during a speech in Paris last year.


Nick Pehlman is a journalist at Kyiv Post based in New York City. He is also an adjunct assistant Professor of Political Science at the City University of New York and New York University. He previously worked for prosecutor's offices in New York City and for the US Department of Justice. He is an independent researcher with expertise on law enforcement reform in Ukraine and the United States, and worked on the reform of the National Police of Ukraine in 2016 for the US Department of Justice.

GENDER APARTHEID

ICC seeks arrest of 2 top Taliban leaders over crimes against Afghani women

ONLY 2 ?!

By Chris Benson
UPI

On Tuesday, the International Criminal Court (pictured in the Hague, Netherlands, in March) issued its arrest warrants for the Taliban's supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, over crimes against humanity on girls, women and "other persons non-conforming with the Taliban's policy on gender, gender identity or expression." Photo By Robin Utrecht/EPA

July 8 (UPI) -- The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants Tuesday for two top Taliban officials over a plethora of allegations of crimes against women and young girls.

The court, based in the Hague, Netherlands, issued its international arrest warrants for the Taliban's supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and its chief justice, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, over "reasonable grounds" of crimes against humanity on girls, women and "other persons non-conforming with the Taliban's policy on gender, gender identity or expression."

ICC officials stated the alleged crimes were believed to be committed in Afghanistan from around the time the Taliban seized power until as late as January of this year.

According to the ICC, Akhundzada and Haggani held defect authority in Afghanistan starting at least August 2021.

It accused the two Taliban leaders of "severe" violations of fundamental rights and freedoms against the Afghan population.

Last week, Russia became the first nation to officially recognize Afghanistan's extremist Taliban government.

The tribunal on Tuesday pointed to "conducts of murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and enforced disappearance."

"Specifically, the Taliban severely deprived, through decrees and edicts, girls and women of the rights to education, privacy and family life and the freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion," court officials wrote in a release.

It added that other individuals were "targeted" due to "certain expressions of sexuality and/or gender identity" thought to be inconsistent with the Taliban's policy on gender.

"The Chamber found that gender persecution encompasses not only direct acts of violence, but also systemic and institutionalized forms of harm, including the imposition of discriminatory societal norms," the ICC ruling continued.

In addition, the court also found that even people simply perceived to be in opposition to Taliban policies were targeted, which the court says included "political opponents" and "those described as 'allies of girls and women.'"

The International Criminal Court, ratified in 2002 and created to try global cases of genocide, war crimes and other crimes against humanity, was the product of 50 years of United Nations efforts.

The court's stated goal was to publicly disclose the two warrants existence in hopes that public awareness "may contribute to the prevention of the further commission of these crimes."

However, the chamber opted to keep the warrants under seal to protect victim witnesses and future court proceedings.

EMOLUMENTS

FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

By Sam Barron | Tuesday, 08 July 2025 

NEWSMAX

A year out from the World Cup returning to the United States, FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, has opened an office in Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan.

FIFA head Gianni Infantino praised President Donald Trump at the opening of the office Monday, calling him a "big fan of soccer."

Infantino was joined by Eric Trump, Trump's son and Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima as they also announced the FIFA Club World Cup trophy will be on display at Trump Tower through the finals on July 13.

The FIFA Club World Cup tournament is being held in the United States with the finals taking place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

"We have received such a big support from the government and from the president with the White House task force for the FIFA Club World Cup and for the FIFA World Cup next year," Infantino said. "It has been incredible and this has contributed, of course, to making the FIFA Club World Cup such an incredible success so far."

Eric Trump said The Trump Organization was thrilled to play host to FIFA.

"We love you," Eric Trump said at the event. "We're honored, we're excited about all the things that FIFA is doing."

Ahead of the World Cup, Infantino has visited the White House and Mar-a-Lago multiple times to meet with Trump, Politico reported. The recently passed megabill includes $625 million for World Cup security.

FIFA also recently opened offices in Miami and Toronto to prepare for the World Cup, which will be held next summer in the United States, Canada.

Eyewitness accounts at U.S.-run Gaza aid site say accusations of Hamas attacking GHF employees are fabricated

After the U.S.-run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation accused Hamas of attacking two American employees at its distribution center, eyewitnesses and local journalists say the GHF fired grenades on the crowd first before aid-seekers threw them back at them.

By Tareq S. Hajjaj

July 8, 2025 

MONDOWEISS

Palestinians carry food packages distributed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, June 16, 2025. (Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images)

On Saturday, July 5, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said in a statement that members of Hamas had thrown hand grenades at its employees, allegedly injuring two of its American staff members. The organization added that the assailants later fled into crowds of people at the aid distribution center located at al-Teena Street in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

The GHF said it was “fully committed” to its alleged mission of “feeding the people of Gaza safely,” papering over the fact that aid massacres at its distribution centers have caused the deaths of over 751 people since the GHF started operating in Gaza.

The Israeli-backed and U.S.-run organization, tasked with distributing aid to Palestinians in Gaza instead of the UN, leveraged allegations of “credible threats from Hamas, including explicit plans to target American personnel, Palestinian aid workers, and the civilians who rely on our sites for food,” presenting Hamas as the impediment to Gazans receiving aid. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wished “a speedy recovery” to the American GHF employees wounded in the “terrorist incident.”

But according to testimony obtained by Mondoweiss from local journalists, Gaza officials, and eyewitnesses, the GHF’s account does not add up.
Targeted aid-seekers throw GHF grenades back at them, eyewitnesses say

Although the sites where GHF distributes aid are monitored by cameras from all angles, it did not publish any video or photo evidence to support its claim that Hamas members threw hand grenades at its staff, a local journalist told Mondoweiss. Had the story been true, the journalist said, such footage would have been widely broadcast.

Field testimony reveals another version of events.

Mondoweiss spoke with several journalists at the scene, some of whom shared what they witnessed on the condition of anonymity. One said that the incident was originally a fight between an aid-seeker and one of the local Palestinian workers employed by the GHF through private companies like al-Khuzundar or armed groups associated with Israeli-backed gang leader Yasser Abu Shabab.

“Employees of the GHF intervened to break up the fight by using pepper spray,” the journalist said. “When the situation escalated, armed employees of the organization threw stun grenades to disperse the crowd. However, the aid seekers picked up the grenade and threw it back at the American staff — their grenade was returned to them.”

The practice of throwing teargas canisters back at Israeli soldiers during demonstrations is common in the West Bank and Gaza, local journalists pointed out, and the GHF was treated like the [Israeli] occupation.

Amir Zaarab, 19, was one of the eyewitnesses at the site on Saturday. He said he saw what took place from a distance.

The American staff members first threw the grenades, Zaarab said, and some youths in the area picked them up and threw them back at the employees. “This followed a fight between residents seeking food and one of the Palestinian workers hired by the American organization through a private firm,” Zaarab said. “People paid little attention to who the workers were or to the distribution center itself. Their only concern was to return home alive and carry some food for their families.”

An official in the Gaza government’s security apparatus also told Mondoweiss that no confirmed or credible information from independent sources had been recorded to support the claim of Palestinians initiating the throwing of grenades at aid distribution centers. “These allegations — especially those circulated by the U.S. State Department — lack evidence from the ground and rely on biased narratives from the Israeli occupation, aimed at justifying continued killing and starvation of Palestinian civilians,” the security source said.

The source emphasized that American and Israeli media claims are politicized and meant to “tarnish the image” of Hamas. “They represent an effort to tarnish the image of the Palestinian resistance and justify crimes committed at aid distribution sites, which have come to be known as death traps.”

The security source added that Gaza security services have information indicating attempts to stir chaos and pin the blame on the resistance, creating a “pretext for the use of force and absolving the American organization of responsibility for the massacres committed.”

Separately, the Government Media Office in Gaza said in a statement that the accusations against Hamas are a “blatant attempt to whitewash the image of an organization involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity—especially given that more than 130 international humanitarian organizations have refused to deal with it and have deemed it a front for Israeli military’s aims,” referring to the GHF.

The office called for an independent and impartial international investigation into all the crimes committed at the GHF’s sites, demanded the cessation of its operations, and urged the restoration of the central role of UN agencies operating under international humanitarian law principles, away from any political or military manipulation of aid.

Italy outraged at killing of heroic police dog ‘given food laced with nails’

Bruno, a seven-year-old bloodhound, was found dead on Friday morning in his shed in southern Taranto.

Bruno, a seven-year-old bloodhound, was found dead on Friday (Claudia Aloisio/AP) (Claudia Aloisio/AP)
By Nicole Winfield and Dario Artale, Associated PressJuly 08, 2025 at 6:01pm BST

The killing of a police bloodhound who helped find nine people over the course of his sniffer-dog rescue career has outraged Italians and sparked a criminal investigation to find his killers.

Bruno, a seven-year-old, 88-kilogram (195-pound) bloodhound, was found dead on Friday morning in his shed in southern Taranto.

His trainer, Arcangelo Caressa, said he had been fed bits of dog food laced with nails.

Bits of dog food laced with nails that were fed to a police dog Bruno, killing him, his trainer Arcangelo Caressa said (Arcangelo Caressa/AP) (Arcangelo Caressa/AP)

In an interview on Tuesday, Mr Caressa said he suspected the killing was revenge against him — not Bruno — for his volunteer animal rescue work.

“It was deliberately a horrific act to cause the dog intense suffering, because feeding him bites filled with nails means tearing apart his insides, tearing apart his esophagus and internal organs and causing excruciating pain,” Mr Caressa told The Associated Press.

Premier Giorgia Meloni, who was photographed with Bruno after one of his heroic rescues, said that his slaughter was “vile, cowardly, unacceptable”.

Legislator Michael Vittoria Brambilla, a long-time animal rights activist, filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors under a new law that she helped push through stiffening penalties for anyone who kills or mistreats an animal.

The editor of the Il Giornale daily, Vittorio Feltri, voiced outrage, saying Bruno had done more civic good in Italy than most Italian citizens.

Mr Caressa said that he had told prosecutors that he suspected that he was the ultimate target of Bruno’s killers, and that Bruno was killed “to get to me”.

Mr Caressa runs a volunteer public animal rescue organisation, Endas, that among other things rescues dogs from illegal dogfights.

He said the service used to be run by for-profit firms and said he suspected that his competitors were behind Bruno’s killing.

“In recent months, we have received threats, acts of persecution, defamation and slander from certain individuals who have already been investigated in the past and are known to the judicial authorities, who have been trying in every way to take over this rescue service by despicable means,” Mr Caressa told The Associated Press.

Dog trainer Arcangelo Caressa holding his seven-year-old bloodhound Bruno (Claudia Aloisio/AP) (Claudia Aloisio/AP)

The new animal protection law, known as the Brambilla law, went into effect on July 1 and calls for up to four years in prison and a 60,000-euro (around £51,000) fine, with the stiffest penalties applied if the mistreatment is committed in front of children or is filmed and disseminated online.

Mr Feltri said that the penalty should be even greater than four years, saying animals must be respected “especially when they behave heroically” as Bruno had.

Mr Caressa said that Bruno might have appeared clumsy and overweight, but was powerful, strong and dedicated to his job.


“He was a giant,” said Mr Caressa. “When he went out on a search and you put his harness on, there was no one else like him.

“He would set off, smell the person we were looking for and run like a train until we found them.”

Officially, his record stands at nine people found – five people who were alive and four whose bodies were recovered, he said.

“But the motto for us rescuers is always the same: Bring the missing person home in any case, because there is always someone among their relatives who is looking for that missing person,” he said.

Trump Accuses Putin of Spewing ‘Bullsh**’ One Day After Resuming Ukrainian Military Aid

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Left: President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., May 28, 2025. Right: Russian President Vladimir Putin conducts an exercise of Russia's strategic nuclear deterrence forces at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, October 29, 2024.(Leah Millis, Sputnik, Mikhail Metzel/via Reuters)
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By Brittany Bernstein
July 8, 2025 

NATIONAL REVIEW

President Donald Trump accused Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday of spewing “bullsh**,” one day after Trump announced plans to send more weapons to Ukraine to help in its fight against the Kremlin.

“That was a war that should have never happened,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting in Washington, D.C., referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “A lot of people are dying and it should end.”

“We get a lot of bullsh** thrown at us by Putin if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless,” he added.

Trump also said he is “looking at” further sanctions against Russia.



The president’s latest comments come after Trump had a phone call with Putin in which the U.S president expressed frustration at the lack of progress toward a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine and said he was “not happy” with Putin.

Hours after that call, Putin launched 550 drones and missiles against Ukraine, in what was the largest single aerial bombardment since Russia’s invasion was launched in 2022.

“He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people, it’s no good,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, one day after the call.

Trump, on Monday, announced plans to send more weapons to Ukraine, backtracking on his administration’s earlier steps to pause military aid to the country.

The president told reporters during a White House dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nentanyahu that the U.S. is going to “send some more weapons. We have to.”

“They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now,” he added. “We’re going to have to send more weapons, defensive weapons, primarily. But they’re getting hit very, very hard. So many people are dying in that mess.”

On Monday, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed the U.S. would be sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine “to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops.”

Trump, meanwhile, said Friday that he is no longer sure that he can end Russia’s war against Ukraine, despite his repeated assurances to the contrary.

“I can’t tell you whether or not that’s going to happen,” Trump told reporters.

Trump’s recent comments represent a stark departure from the conciliatory tone he maintained toward Russia throughout the first half of the year. In his first months in office, Trump repeatedly blamed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky for the ongoing death and destruction, even going so far as to accuse Ukraine of having started the conflict.

The administration’s hostility toward Ukraine boiled over in a now infamous Oval Office meeting with Zelensky, in which Vice President JD Vance badgered the war-time leader for allegedly not expressing gratitude for U.S. military aid.