President Donald Trump has withdrawn his promise to license the production of “Patriot“ missiles in Ukraine, citing the need for the technology and a critical shortage of interceptors, despite ongoing talks on alternative aid.
During a cabinet meeting at Camp David, the president said such sensitive technology was “a hard thing to give“. He underscored the changed position by saying: “We need them too“.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently warned that the country's stockpile of interceptor missiles was critically depleted amid increased Russian ballistic missile attacks. Despite Trump's skepticism, sources in Washington confirmed to Reuters that talks between US manufacturers and military officials about alternative ways to help Kiev continue.
At the same time, US military stockpiles are strained by actions in the Middle East, and US media reports of friction over funding.
Limitations to birthright citizenship
Donald Trump has signed two new executive orders aimed at the right to automatic citizenship at birth, thus directly circumventing the recent Supreme Court decision in the case “Trump v. Barbara“. The first order establishes specific exceptions to this right, affecting children of illegally residing aliens. The second order directs the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department to take strict measures to end the practice of so-called “birth tourism“.
Critics and civil rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have already declared the orders unconstitutional and will be challenged in court. Trump himself has the Supreme Court decision as “unfair” and stressed that his administration would defend the value of American citizenship in a new way.