US pausing military aid is ‘betrayal’ to those defending Ukraine, soldier tells Sky News

Published

2 months ago

March 8, 2025

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It “cuts my heart” and is a “betrayal”.

This was the response of a Ukrainian soldier in a frontline combat regiment directly affected by Donald Trump’s decision to pause US military support to Ukraine.

Serhii, 45, maintains a unit of US-supplied Bradley infantry fighting vehicles that are defending an area of eastern Ukraine from attacking Russian forces.

The halt to American military aid – if sustained – means there will be no new ammunition and no ability to repair any of the vehicles when they are damaged – a constant risk.

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On a recent mission by the 425th Storming Regiment “Skala”, three Bradleys went into battle towards the direction of the city of Pokrovsk, an area of heavy clashes.

Only two returned after the other was hit by the Russian side.

“It’s going to be very hard,” Serhii said, standing next to a large Bradley, covered by a camouflage net and tucked under a line of trees in the Donetsk region.

“These vehicles are really good. You can fight back with them. And not just defend, you can even advance. It’s a shame we didn’t have this equipment two or three years ago.”

The regiment has been using Bradleys for a number of months. Serhii is the lead mechanic.

The tracked vehicles, armed with a chain gun that can fire 200 rounds per minute, were first developed in the 1980s but have been fitted with modern reactive armour that means they can survive drone strikes, rocket attacks and the shrapnel from artillery rounds.

“The vehicle’s protection… is fantastic,” Serhii said, with clear admiration for the equipment compared with Soviet-era fighting vehicles that many Ukrainian troops have to use.

He said the crew of one of his Bradleys was hit by two rocket-propelled grenades but was able to continue driving and was unharmed.

Serhii, who comes from the Donetsk region, said he felt betrayed by Mr Trump’s decision to halt such crucial support.

The US president ordered the move as he attempts to put pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to negotiate a ceasefire deal with Russia.

“Although I’m not a politician, it’s a betrayal for us, for the guys who are defending Ukraine,” the soldier said.

Asked how he felt when he heard the news about the US president’s decision, Serhii said: “The latest news cuts my heart, I can answer you that way. It cuts my heart… If politicians solve issues this way, just by halting weapons supply in one move, that’s criminal.”

He signalled it would be harder for Ukrainian troops to defend their land without the US military support – but they would still fight.

“Even without this weapon, we believe we will move forward,” he said.

“They [the Russians] have to retreat, no matter what. The guys didn’t take up arms here for nothing, and they stand together. Together, all of us, as one, will defeat this enemy.”

As for whether he had a message for Mr Trump, the soldier said: “Don’t stop military aid. Politics is politics, but the people, I believe, are the most important.

“It will be very hard for us without such equipment. This equipment is good; it allows us to show results. And we will keep showing them. We’ve shown them before and we will keep showing them. That’s how it is. Thank you.”

Fighting ‘for my motherland’

Sky News watched as two crews prepared their fighting vehicles for a potential mission on Thursday evening.

Sedoi, 41, commands one of the Bradleys and operates the gun.

He said the American-supplied vehicle gives him confidence when he goes into battle – and was also likely a scary prospect for Russian troops to have to encounter.

“We make a lot of noise. Everything catches fire and burns… It’s a good vehicle,” he said.

Sedoi said he did not have a reaction to the news about the halt to American military support, saying: “I don’t get involved in their politics.”

However, he signalled he did want an end to the war – even if it meant Russia keeping some of the land it has seized.

“Let it end, so people stop dying. Because a lot of people have died,” he said.

Recently recovered from a shrapnel wound, Sedoi said he volunteered to fight after Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale war more than three years ago because of Russia’s brutality.

“I’ve heard what they do when they enter villages, what they do with children and women… I don’t want them to go any further… That’s why I’m here.

“But, to be honest, I’m getting tired of it.”

Yet still he and his fellow soldiers battle on. Asked why he was fighting, the soldier said: “For my motherland.”

World

British surgeon working in Gaza says it is now ‘a slaughterhouse’ amid Israeli bombardment

Published

4 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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British surgeon working in Gaza says it is now 'a slaughterhouse' amid Israeli bombardment

A British surgeon working in southern Gaza has compared the region to a “slaughterhouse” because of the daily bombardment from Israeli forces.

Dr Tom Potokar, who is based at the European Hospital near Khan Younis in southern Gaza, offered his assessment of Israel’s military offensive after Palestinian health officials reported at least 130 people were killed overnight into Sunday.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have confirmed their troops have begun “extensive ground operations throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip”.

In a video, Dr Potokar said it was “another day of devastation here in Gaza”, adding: “The stories coming from the north… absolutely horrific… particularly around the Indonesian Hospital.”

“I mean, it’s difficult to describe in words what’s happening here… [with the] constant sound of bombardment jets overhead.

“If Cambodia was the killing fields, then Gaza now is the slaughterhouse.”

His reference to Cambodia’s killing fields refers to when more than a million people were murdered in mass executions and buried by the extreme communist guerrilla group, the Khmer Rouge, under Pol Pot, between 1975 and 1979.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 464 people had died in Israeli military strikes in the week to Sunday.

In a statement on Sunday, IDF said its air force struck “over 670 Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip to disrupt enemy preparations and support ground operations” over the past week.

Dr Potokar described the impact on those on the ground, saying: “We’ve been operating all morning so far and [treating] awful explosive injuries… [including] one young woman with leg fracture and shoulder fracture and a large wound on her buttock, who came in yesterday and is not yet aware that everyone in our family was killed in the onslaught.”

Israel has launched an escalation of its war in Gaza to ramp up pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.

On Sunday, it announced and launched “extensive” new ground operations in Gaza.

It came after airstrikes killed more than 100 people, including dozens of children, overnight and into Sunday, hospitals and medics said, and forced northern Gaza’s main hospital to close.

A spokesperson for the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said: “Complete families were wiped off the civil registration record by Israeli bombardment”.

The ministry also said the bombardment had forced the closure of the Indonesian Hospital, the main hospital serving people in northern Gaza.

Nasser hospital, in the southern city of Khan Younis, said more than 48 people – mostly women and children – were killed in the area which includes tents sheltering displaced people.

In Deir al Balah, in central Gaza, at least 12 people were killed in three separate strikes, according to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and the Nuseirat camp’s Awda Hospital.

Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry and the Palestinian Civil Defence – which operates under the Hamas-run government – reported that 19 people were killed in several strikes in Jabalia in northern Gaza.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes.

Read more from Sky News:
How Israel has escalated Gaza bombing campaign

Ceasefire talks are taking place in Qatar this weekend – with Israel saying they involve discussions on ending the war as well as a truce and hostage deal.

A statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said any lasting truce must include the demilitarisation of Gaza as well as the exile of Hamas militants.

But a senior Israeli official added there had been little progress so far during talks in Qatar’s capital Doha.

Sky News Arabia reported Hamas had proposed freeing about half its Israeli hostages in exchange for a two-month ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

A Palestinian official close to the discussions said: “Hamas is flexible about the number of hostages it can free, but the problem has always been over Israel’s commitment to end the war.”

World

Russia launches ‘heaviest drone attack’ on Ukraine since start of war

Published

5 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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Russia launches 'heaviest drone attack' on Ukraine since start of war

Russia has launched its heaviest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of the war in 2022, the Ukrainian military has said.

A total of 273 exploding drones were reportedly fired across the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Some 88 were intercepted and 128 “lost”, having been electronically jammed, Ukraine’s air force said.

It passes the previous record of 267 drones on the eve of the war’s third anniversary earlier this year.

In Kyiv, a 28-year-old woman was killed, and three people, including a four-year-old child were injured, according to regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk.

Just outside the city, firefighters fought to control flames at business premises destroyed by drone attacks. Russia has not commented.

It comes ahead of a planned phone call between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Mr Trump has promised to speak to Mr Putin and then President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday about “ending the war” after the first direct talks between their two countries failed to yield a ceasefire this week.

Mr Putin snubbed Mr Zelenskyy’s offer of face-to-face talks in Turkey.

A source from the Ukrainian negotiation team told Sky News that Russia threatened “eternal war” during talks between officials.

Kremlin representatives are also reported to have threatened that Ukraine may lose “more than just loved ones” while at the negotiating table.

Talks did bring promise of the largest ever prisoner swap between the two nations – involving 1,000 prisoners of war on each side.

Ukraine’s military intelligence chief said he hoped it would take place over the next week.

Elsewhere in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, on Saturday, nine people were killed and seven injured after a bus evacuating civilians was hit by a Russian drone in the town of Bilopillia, according to Ukrainian officials.

On Sunday, Mr Zelenskyy was in Vatican City attending the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV.

He was pictured shaking hands with US Vice President JD Vance after their tense clash at the White House earlier this year.

World

More than 100 people killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, say medics

Published

5 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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More than 100 people killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, say medics

At least 103 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight and into Sunday, according to hospitals and medics.

Israel has launched an escalation of its war in Gaza to ramp up pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.

Meanwhile, Israel says talks with Hamas taking place in Qatar this weekend involve discussions on ending the war as well as a truce and hostage deal.

Addressing the strikes overnight, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said: “Complete families were wiped off the civil registration record by Israeli bombardment”.

The ministry also said airstrikes had forced the closure of the Indonesian Hospital, the main hospital serving people in northern Gaza.

Nasser hospital, in the southern city of Khan Younis, said more than 48 people – mostly women and children – were killed in the area, including tents sheltering displaced people.

In Deir al Balah, in central Gaza, at least 12 people were killed in three separate strikes, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital and the Nuseirat camp’s Awda hospital.

Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry and the Palestinian Civil Defence – which operates under the Hamas-run government – reported that 19 people were killed in multiple strikes in Jabalia, northern Gaza.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the latest strikes.

Peace talks include ending war in Gaza

It comes as peace talks between Israel and Hamas continue in Qatar this weekend, including discussions about ending the war.

A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said on Sunday that any lasting truce must include the demilitarisation of Gaza as well as the exile of Hamas militants.

But a senior Israeli official added that the talks in the capital, Doha, had made little progress so far.

Sky News Arabia reported that Hamas had proposed freeing about half its Israeli hostages in exchange for a two-month ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

A Palestinian official close to the discussions said: “Hamas is flexible about the number of hostages it can free, but the problem has always been over Israel’s commitment to end the war.”

Four journalists killed in Israeli airstrikes

Details have emerged on Sunday about the deaths of four Palestinian journalists in Gaza following Israeli airstrikes.

Abdel Rahman al Abadleh was missing for two days before his body was found in the town of al Qarara in southern Gaza.

Three other journalists were also killed following strikes on Saturday. Aziz al Hajjar, his wife and children, died in the Bir al Naaja neighbourhood of northern Gaza.

Ahmed al Zenati, his wife Noor al Madhoun and their children Mohammad and Khaled, were killed in Khan Younis.

Meanwhile, in Deir al Balah, central Gaza, Nour Qandil, her husband Khaled Abu Seif, and their young daughter were also killed.

Israel has blocked the entry of medical, food and fuel supplies into Gaza since the start of March. It is attempting to pressurise Hamas into freeing Israeli hostages and has approved plans that could involve seizing the whole of Gaza and controlling aid.

‘Systematic campaign targeting hospitals’

Earlier on Sunday, Gaza’s health ministry issued a statement accusing Israel of “intensifying its systematic campaign to target hospitals”.

“After putting the European Gaza Hospital out of service a few days ago, the Israeli occupation has intensified its targeting and siege of the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip since dawn today,” it added.

Israel has previously denied deliberately targeting civilians and accused Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes.

This week, Israel said it had bombed the European Hospital because it was home to an underground Hamas base, but Sky News analysis has cast doubt on its evidence.

Houthis launch missile towards Israel

Separately, the Israeli military said on Sunday it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen towards Israel.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they had targeted Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv with two ballistic missiles.

The Houthis have fired at Israel because of the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, while Israel has carried out airstrikes in response, including one on 6 May that damaged Yemen’s main airport in Sanaa and killed several people.

The war in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.

Israel’s military response has killed more than 53,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.