WASHINGTON: The Biden administration will send about $125 million in new military aid to Ukraine, US officials said Thursday, even as Washington works to get a better understanding of Kyiv’s incursion into Russia and how it advances the broader battlefield goals more than two years into the war.
US officials said the latest package of aid includes air defense missiles, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Javelins and an array of other anti-armor missiles, counter-drone and counter-electronic warfare systems and equipment, 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, vehicles and other equipment.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid has not been publicly announced. The formal announcement could come as soon as Friday, which is the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day.
The weapons are being provided through presidential drawdown authority, which means they are taken from Pentagon stockpiles and can be delivered more quickly.
The aid comes as Ukrainian forces continue to broaden their surprise offensive into Russia, where officials say they have taken about 100 square kilometers (62 square miles) of territory around Kursk. Russian troops, meanwhile, are making gains in the east, around the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a critical logistics hub.
Pentagon officials have said repeatedly that the US has been talking with Ukrainian leaders to get a better assessment of their longer-term goals for the Kursk operation, particularly as they see Russia advancing near Pokrovsk.
If Pokrovsk falls, the defeat would imperil Ukraine’s defenses and bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the Donetsk region. Russian soldiers are now just 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away.
Asked about the Kursk operation, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Thursday that “we are still working with Ukraine on how that fits into their strategic objectives on the battlefield itself.”
The US, she said, understands that Ukraine wants to build a buffer zone along the border, but the administration still has more questions about how it furthers Ukraine’s broader war effort.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made his first visit Thursday to the border area where his forces launched the offensive on Aug. 6. He said Kyiv’s military had taken control of another Russian village and captured more prisoners of war.
The latest package of aid brings the total amount of US security assistance to Ukraine to more than $55.7 billion since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
US sending $125 million in new military aid to Ukraine, officials say
https://arab.news/wdmnt
US sending $125 million in new military aid to Ukraine, officials say
- Aid comes as Ukrainian forces continue to broaden their surprise offensive into Russia
- US talking with Ukrainian leaders to get a better assessment of their longer-term goals for the Kursk operation
Ukrainian official says major prisoner swap with Russia is underway
- The swap was not yet finished, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity
- Ukraine and Russia agreed to the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side a week ago in Turkiye
The swap was not yet finished, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
Moscow did not immediately confirm the exchange was underway.
Ukraine and Russia agreed to the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side a week ago in Turkiye in their first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Moscow’s 2022 invasion of its neighbor. That meeting lasted only two hours and brought no breakthrough in international diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.
The Ukrainian comment Friday came after US President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine had carried out a large exchange of prisoners.
“A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said on the Truth Social platform. He said it would “go into effect shortly,” although it was not clear what that meant.
“This could lead to something big???” Trump added in his post, apparently referring to international diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.
White House and National Security Council officials did not immediately respond to requests for further details.
Following last week’s talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called the prisoner swap a “confidence-building measure” and said the parties had agreed in principle to meet again.
But the meeting revealed they clearly remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting.
Indonesian pilgrims embark on Hajj journey under Makkah Route expansion
- Saudi Arabia’s Makkah Route initiative is facilitating travel for pilgrims in Jakarta, Surabaya and Solo
- Over 125,000 Indonesian Hajj pilgrims have already arrived in the Kingdom as of Tuesday
JAKARTA: More than 120,000 Indonesian pilgrims are benefiting from the Makkah Route initiative this year, as they embark on Hajj after the flagship Saudi program was expanded to three cities across the country.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, sends the largest Hajj contingent of pilgrims every year to perform the spiritual journey that is one of the five pillars of Islam.
In 2025, Saudi Arabia granted Indonesia a quota of 221,000 pilgrims. With the Hajj expected to take place on June 4 and end on June 9, special pilgrimage flights from Indonesia started on May 2.
Over half of the pilgrims are departing under the pre-travel program, which was launched by the Kingdom in 2019 to help pilgrims meet all the visa, customs and health requirements at their airport of origin and save them long hours of waiting before and upon arrival in the Kingdom.
“In Indonesia, Makkah Route is implemented in three airports, Soekarno-Hatta in Jakarta, and then in the cities of Solo and Surabaya,” Mohammed Zain, director of domestic Hajj services at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, told Arab News.
The initiative was only expanded in 2024 to reach more Indonesian pilgrims in different parts of the country.
This year, a total of 122,156 Indonesian pilgrims, who are departing from the three selected cities, are benefiting from the program.
“This is very helpful in sorting all of the pilgrims’ document requirements, like visa and passport, so that when the pilgrims reach Saudi Arabia, they simply head to their buses and go on their spiritual journey safely and comfortably,” Zain said.
“We hope that for Hajj next year, the Makkah Route initiative will be further expanded in Indonesia, so that we can offer more high-quality Hajj service.”
In Jakarta, the program is implemented at the new Hajj and Umrah terminal in Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, which was inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto earlier this month.
Over 125,000 pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom as of Tuesday.
Indonesia is among seven Muslim-majority countries — including Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Morocco, Turkiye and Cote d’Ivoire — where Saudi Arabia is operating its Makkah Route initiative.
Rescue efforts underway for 260 workers trapped in a South African gold mine
JOHANNESBURG: Rescue efforts are underway in South Africa to bring 260 workers trapped in a gold mine for a day back to the surface, the Sibanye Stillwater mining company said on Friday.
According to the company, an initial investigation showed that a sub-shaft rock winder skip door opened at the loading point and caused some damage to the mineshaft at the Kloof mine, west of Johannesburg.
“Following a detailed risk assessment, it was decided that employees should remain at the sub-shaft station until it is safe to proceed to the surface, in order to avoid walking long distances at this time,” the company said in a statement.
The National Union of Mineworkers, which represents workers at the Kloof mine, said the miners have been trapped for almost 24 hours, with the company repeatedly changing the estimated time for them to return to the surface.
“We are very concerned because the mine did not even make this incident public until we reported it to the media,” said NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu.
The company said all miners were accounted for and safe, adding that it expected to hoist them back to the surface on Friday.
China criticizes US ban on Harvard’s international students
BANGKOK: The Chinese government said Friday that the Trump administration’s move to ban international students from Harvard would harm America’s international standing, and one university in Hong Kong looked to capitalize on the uncertainty by promising to take them in.
Chinese students make up a large part of Harvard University’s international student population. The university enrolled 6,703 international students across all of its schools in 2024, according to the school’s data, with 1,203 of those coming from China.
The Trump administration’s move, announced Thursday, was a hot topic on Chinese social media. State broadcaster CCTV questioned whether the US would remain a top destination for foreign students, noting Harvard was already suing the US government in court.
“But with the long litigation period, thousands of international students may have trouble waiting,” the CCTV commentary said.
It went on to say that it becomes necessary for international students to consider other options “when policy uncertainty becomes the norm.”
Educational cooperation with the US is mutually beneficial and China opposes its politicization, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing in Beijing.
“The relevant actions by the US side will only damage its own image and international credibility,” she said.
She added that China would firmly protect the rights and interests of Chinese students and scholars abroad but she didn’t offer any details on how it would do so in this situation.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology extended an open invitation to international students already at Harvard and those who have been admitted. The institution posted a news release saying it would provide unconditional offers, streamlined admission procedures and academic support to facilitate a seamless transition.
Some people in China joked online about having the university open a branch in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin, whose name shares the same character as Harvard’s name in Chinese.
The issue of Chinese students studying overseas has long been a point of tension in the relationship with the United States. During Trump’s first term, China’s Ministry of Education warned students about rising rejections rates and shorter terms for visas in the US
Last year, the Chinese foreign ministry protested that a number of Chinese students had been interrogated and sent home upon arrival at US airports.
Chinese state media has long played up gun violence in the US and portrayed America as a dangerous place. Some Chinese students are opting to study in the UK or other countries rather than the US.
Swedish intelligence lowers terror threat level
STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s intelligence service said Friday it was lowering its terror alert level from “high threat” to “elevated threat,” saying the risk of an attack had subsided.
The Swedish Security Service (Sapo) raised the level in August 2023 to “high threat” — the fourth level on a scale of five — after angry reactions to a series of protests involving desecrations of the Qur'an made the country a “prioritized target.”
“Propaganda against Sweden has subsided and Sweden is not specifically mentioned as a target,” Fredrik Hallstrom, head of operations at the Swedish Security Service, told a press conference.
“We do not see the same intense flow of attack threats directed at Sweden,” he added.
Sapo said it now considered the terror alert level to be at “elevated threat” — the third level on its five-point scale.
Hallstrom cautioned that with “an elevated threat, there is room for a terrorist attack to occur.”
A series of Qur'an burnings across the country — most notably by Iraqi Christian Salwan Momika — in the summer of 2023 sparked outrage in the Muslim world.
It strained relations between Sweden and several Middle Eastern countries, and Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July 2023, starting fires within the compound on the second occasion.
Momika ended up facing charges of inciting ethnic hatred, but in January of this year he was fatally shot in an apartment just hours before the court was due to deliver its ruling.
His co-protester Salwan Najem, also of Iraqi origin, was ultimately found guilty of inciting ethnic hatred during four Qur'an burnings in 2023.
Despite the lowered threat level, Charlotte von Essen, head of Sapo, stressed that “Sweden is in a serious security situation.”
“The worst in many years,” von Essen told reporters.
The Sapo chief pointed to the fact that the war in Ukraine was still ongoing.
“Foreign powers — and Russia in particular — are carrying out extensive security-threatening activities in and against Sweden,” she said.
