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By Shane Croucher and Dan Gooding
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President Donald Trump said he has his eyes on the 50,000 Russian troops deployed to the border near Sumy in Ukraine, where there are fears Moscow is ready to launch a new summer offensive in a war the American leader is trying to end.
"We'll see what happens. I'm watching it very closely," Trump told reporters after he landed in Florida on Tuesday for a visit to "Alligator Alcatraz."
Why It Matters
Trump said ahead of his return to the White House in January that he would achieve an end to the war in Ukraine. Since then, he has raised concerns about both sides' actions and sought to arrange ceasefire talks between the two nations.
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What To Know
The direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks have yielded little beyond prisoner exchanges so far, and Moscow is continuing to make advances on the battlefield as it pounds Ukrainian cities with missiles and drones.
Ukraine's European allies are ramping up their military support for Kyiv, but a question remains about the future of vital U.S. aid as Trump attempts to broker peace in a process he has threatened to abandon if he decides it will not result in an end to the war.
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Trump said recently that he is considering giving Ukraine more Patriot missile systems to help it defend its cities against the Russian strikes, which have caused dozens of civilian deaths.
Russia launched its biggest combined aerial attack against Ukraine over the weekend, Ukrainian officials said, in an escalating bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in peace efforts.
Ukraine's air force said Monday it detected 107 Russian Shahed and decoy drones in the country's airspace overnight.
Strikes in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region left two civilians dead and eight injured, including a 6-year-old child, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said Monday.
NATO leaders reached a historic agreement last week to significantly increase defense spending, following strong pressure from Trump. The 32-member alliance voiced an "ironclad commitment" to mutual defense in the event of an attack, reaffirming its core principle of collective security.
In a joint summit statement, the leaders pledged to allocate 5 percent of their GDP annually to core defense needs and related security spending by 2035, aiming to strengthen both individual and collective security obligations.
What People Are Saying
Russia's Defense Ministry, in a statement to the TASS news agency Tuesday: "Operational/tactical aircraft, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groups of forces struck the Ukrainian army's command and control system, production workshops, assembly and storage sites and a control post of attack unmanned aerial vehicles, ammunition and materiel depots, and also temporary deployment areas of Ukrainian armed formations in 148 locations."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on X, formerly Twitter: "Putin has already stolen practically half a year from diplomacy — another half a year — on top of the entire duration of this war. Russia is not changing its plans and is not looking for a way out of this war. On the contrary, they are preparing for new operations, including on the territory of European countries. That's their principle, the Russians look for where to exploit a weakness."
Institute for the Study of War, in a statement to the Associated Press on Sunday: "Russia is continuing to use increasingly large numbers of drones in its overnight strike packages in order to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses and enable subsequent cruise and ballistic missile strikes."
What Happens Next
Russian forces continued to advance into Ukraine on Tuesday, while Ukraine was looking to boost security at its army training facilities following Russian attacks.
This story includes reporting by the Associated Press.
Update 7/1/25, 12:03 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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