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US president has approved providing widely banned munitions to Kyiv as human rights groups say it violates international humanitarian law
Good morning politics blog readers. Joe Biden has approved providing cluster munitions – widely banned weapons known to pose a serious risk to civilians, especially children – to Ukraine.
The Biden administration is poised to announce a new weapons package for Ukraine today that will include controversial cluster munitions Kyiv has long asked for. US officials have said the military aid to Ukraine, believed to be worth up to $800m, will include thousands of cluster munitions from Pentagon stocks as well as Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles and an array of ammunition.
Joe Biden will leave for Europe this weekend. His trip will begin in London where he will meet with King Charles and the prime minister, Rishi Sunak. He’ll then go to Vilnius for a summit of Nato leaders, where Russia’s war with Ukraine is expected to be in focus. Biden will then travel to Helsinki for a meeting with Nordic leaders.
Treasury secretary Janet Yellen is in Beijing today to meet with senior Chinese government officials during a visit aimed at improving strained US-China relations. She is not expected to meet with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.
Former president Donald Trump is on the campaign trail in Iowa, where he is due to address thousands of supporters in Council Bluffs at around 1pm. Trump is expected to use his speech to attack his main GOP rival, Ron DeSantis, for opposing the federal mandate for ethanol, a renewable fuel additive that Iowa leads the nation in producing.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis said last night that he plans to participate in the first GOP presidential debate in August, even if Donald Trump skips it.
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