PUTIN’S REVENGE: Three dead as Moscow unleashes deadly drone swarm on Kharkiv while Pentagon chief Hegseth SLASHES Ukraine aid

142

Ukraine’s second city hit by 17 overnight strikes killing civilians including children as US Defense Secretary confirms military funding will be CUT in devastating blow to Kyiv’s war effort

Russia has unleashed a devastating barrage of 17 drone strikes on Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, killing at least three people and wounding 64 others including nine children, as US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed America will slash military aid to the embattled nation.

The brutal overnight assault on Wednesday saw Moscow’s forces rain terror from the skies on residential neighborhoods, with Mayor Igor Terekhov warning residents to stay in shelters as explosions rocked the city just 30 kilometers from the Russian border.

In a crushing double blow for Ukraine, Hegseth told Congress that Washington will reduce funding for military assistance in its 2026 defense budget, declaring: “This administration takes a very different view of that conflict.”

The Pentagon chief – who controversially skipped last week’s crucial NATO meeting on Ukraine aid – insisted a “negotiated peaceful settlement is in the best interest of both parties,” dealing a potentially fatal blow to Kyiv’s ability to defend itself.

NIGHT OF TERROR IN KHARKIV

The latest Russian onslaught began in the early hours of Wednesday morning, with waves of Iranian-designed Shahed drones pummeling two districts of the beleaguered city.

Seventeen strikes by enemy UAVs (drones) were carried out in two districts of the city tonight,” Mayor Terekhov announced on Telegram, as rescue workers scrambled to pull victims from the rubble.

Among the wounded were a 14-year-old girl and a baby boy suffering from “acute stress,” according to the Kharkiv prosecutor’s office, which confirmed residential buildings, an administrative complex and even a music school were damaged in the indiscriminate attacks.

Governor Oleh Synegubov confirmed three civilians were killed in the strikes, which come after what Terekhov called “the most powerful attack” on the city since Russia’s full-scale invasion began over three years ago.

PENTAGON BOMBSHELL

Hegseth’s stunning admission to lawmakers came during a heated Congressional hearing where he confirmed: “It is a reduction in this budget.

The controversial defense secretary – who halted aid shipments without Trump’s knowledge earlier this year according to Reuters – has upended decades of US support for Ukraine, including:

• Skipping the June 4 Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting – the first US defense chief to do so since the invasion began
• Turning leadership of the aid coordination group over to Germany and the UK
• Warning Ukraine to abandon its NATO bid and territorial claims
• Confirming the diversion of 20,000 anti-drone missiles meant for Ukraine to US forces in the Middle East

We believe that a negotiated peaceful settlement is in the best interest of both parties and our nation’s interests, especially with all the competing interests around the globe,” Hegseth declared, effectively abandoning Ukraine to its fate.

MOSCOW’S ESCALATING CAMPAIGN

The strikes on Kharkiv represent a dramatic escalation in Russia’s aerial campaign, with Ukraine’s Air Force reporting that Moscow launched 111 drones in the overnight assault alone.

Saturday’s attack was particularly devastating, with Terekhov describing it as featuring “at least 40 explosions” that killed five people and wounded over 60 in what he called the war’s most powerful assault on the city.

The northeastern city has endured:

• 215 missiles and drones in a single night last weekend
• Daily bombardments for over three years
• Attacks on civilian infrastructure including hospitals, schools and residential buildings
• The use of deadly glide bombs and cluster munitions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attacks, saying: “Last night, there was a massive drone strike on Kharkiv, and now there are aerial bombs. Dozens of people have been injured in the past 24 hours.

CHAOS IN THE PENTAGON

The aid cuts come amid extraordinary turmoil in Hegseth’s Pentagon, with revelations that he:

• Ordered an unauthorized halt to Ukraine weapons shipments in February without White House approval
• Cost the US military $2.2 million in cancelled flights
• Has been using unsecured Signal messaging to discuss sensitive military operations
• Had several top advisers escorted from the Pentagon over unauthorized disclosure of classified information

Sources tell Reuters that Trump was “unaware” of Hegseth’s initial order to halt aid, with “panicked questions” flooding in from Ukrainian officials and coordination centers in Poland.

PEACE TALKS STALLED

The devastating strikes and aid cuts come as peace negotiations remain deadlocked, with Russia rejecting calls for an unconditional ceasefire and demanding:

• Ukraine give up occupied territory
• Abandon its NATO membership bid
• Accept Moscow’s “ultimatum” terms

Meanwhile, both sides have accused each other of sabotaging prisoner exchanges, with the Kremlin claiming Ukraine “unexpectedly postponed” swaps while Kyiv accused Moscow of “playing dirty games.

UKRAINE’S DARKEST HOUR

As Russian drones and missiles continue to rain down on civilian areas while American support evaporates, Ukraine faces perhaps its most perilous moment since the invasion began.

With Hegseth confirming the pending budget “provides a historic level of funding for military readiness” – but not for Ukraine – and President Trump pushing for negotiations that would likely see Kyiv cede territory, the embattled nation’s ability to defend itself hangs by a thread.

The combination of intensified Russian attacks and vanishing US support leaves Ukraine’s President Zelensky with an impossible choice: continue fighting with dwindling resources or accept peace terms that would dismember his country.

As rescue workers in Kharkiv continue pulling bodies from the rubble and treating wounded children, the message from Washington is clear: Ukraine is on its own.

Image credit: Vladimir Putin 17-11-2021 (cropped) by Presidential Executive Office of Russia, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons