Donald Trump has said the US will send more weapons to Ukraine after an announcement last week that Washington would halt some shipments of critical arms to Kyiv.

During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said he was “not happy” with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and that Ukraine was “getting hit very hard”.

Trump also indicated the US would send primarily “defensive weapons” to help Ukraine’s war effort.

Among the armaments reported to have been placed on pause last week were Patriot air defence missiles and precision artillery shells. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky had appealed for the shipments to continue, describing US Patriot systems as “real protectors of life”.

The White House said last week the decision had been made “to put America’s interests first” in response to a defence department review of military support to other countries.

Trump’s apparent change of heart came after days of deadly Russian drone and missile barrages on Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv. One attack on the city last Thursday has claimed a third life, according to local officials.

Trump said late on Monday that Kyiv needed to be able to defend itself.

“We’re going to send some more weapons. We have to… They’re getting hit very hard now,” he said during a news conference with Netanyahu.

“I’m disappointed that President Putin has not stopped,” he added.

The Pentagon responded with a brief statement, saying that “at President Trump’s direction, the Department of Defense is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops”.

After a week of uncertainty, the US move will come as a relief to Ukraine, says the BBC’s Paul Adams in Kyiv.

Kyiv had warned that the move to pause some shipments would impede its ability to defend against escalating airstrikes and Russian advances on the front lines.

Zelensky said late last week that he had spoken to Trump “about opportunities in air defence and agreed that we will work together to strengthen protection of our skies”.

The war in Ukraine has been raging for more than three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ceasefire talks have also largely stalled after several attempts by Trump to broker a deal between the two parties.

Following a call with Putin last week, Trump said that “no progress” to end the conflict had been made, adding “I don’t think he’s looking to stop”.

Hours after the call, Ukraine said Russia fired a record 539 drones and 11 missiles targeting Kyiv, but also hitting the regions of Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Chernihiv.

Zelensky has called on international allies – particularly the US – to increase pressure on Moscow and impose greater sanctions.

In the early hours of July 4, floods swept through Hill Country, a region of Central Texas also known as “Flash Flood Alley.” Its propensity for high levels of rainfall combined with thin soil, exposed bedrock and steep terrain make it especially vulnerable. Rainfall gets funneled through the hilly terrain and canyons into the valleys of the region.

By 1 a.m. Friday, the Weather Service said a very dangerous flash flood event was unfolding in Kerr County, and rainfall rates were reaching up to three to four inches an hour with no indication of easing. The Guadalupe River rose 20 feet in three hours, according to data from a river gauge near Hunt. By 10 a.m., it swelled in the town of Comfort, surging to 34 feet from three feet in about 90 minutes.

In under 10 hours, from the late evening of July 3 to the pre-dawn hours of July 4, the flow rate of the Guadalupe River went from that of a small stream you could wade across (about 10 cubic feet per second), to a raging and destructive torrent of 120,000 cubic feet per second, according to a New York Times analysis. That’s greater than the average flow rate across Niagara Falls.

The floods washed away cabins, R.V.s and cars and toppled down large trees. In its rush downstream, the river ravaged Camp Mystic, a girls’ summer camp in Kerr County, where at least 27 campers and counselors were killed in the floods.

At least 75 of those killed in the floods were in Kerr County, northwest of San Antonio, authorities said. Other people were killed in Travis County, Burnet County, Kendall County, Williamson County and Tom Green County.

After a weekend of catastrophic flooding in central Texas, search operations continue as questions swirl about whether officials could have done more to warn people before the river’s rapid rise.

The Guadalupe River swelled more than 26 feet in less than an hour early Friday morning, sweeping low-lying homes, cars and trees downstream and washing away much of Camp Mystic, an all-girls’ Christian summer camp.

At least 78 people are dead and another 41 are known to be missing, officials said on Sunday. Emergency responders have so far rescued hundreds of people by boat, truck and helicopter.

But search efforts have been complicated by fallen debris, heat, snakes and continued rainfall. Flash floods killed at least 11 people in the Austin region on Saturday, and a flood watch is in effect in through Monday evening in south central Texas, including the embattled Kerrville area.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Sunday that the state is broadening its area of focus for rescue efforts — citing the lives lost “in the greater region” — but pledged that Kerrville remains a top priority.

“We will remain 100% dedicated, searching for every single one of the children who were at Camp Mystic as well as anybody else in the entire riverbed to make sure that they’re going to be recovered,” Abbott said.

President Trump signed a federal disaster declaration on Sunday to help with those efforts, and said he will visit the state this week. Here’s what else we know so far.

1. The death toll is expected to rise

The death toll in hardest-hit Kerr County includes 40 adults and 28 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said on Sunday.

Camp Mystic, located on the banks of the Guadalupe River some 18 miles from Kerrville, says it is grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors. Separately, the death of the camp director was confirmed by family.

The century-old institution was hosting some 750 campers, according to Texas Public Radio. It’s not clear if that death toll includes the 10 campers and one counselor who officials said were missing as of Sunday.

Abbott said Sunday that while a total of 41 people are reported missing, that number is likely much higher.

“Especially in the Kerrville area, there were so many people who were just camping out … adults camping out near the river, people in RVs and things like that,” he said. “There are people who are missing who are not on the known confirmed missing [list] because we don’t yet know who they are.”

Officials urged residents to alert local officials if any of their loved ones may be missing in the Kerrville area — and to avoid potentially dangerous road conditions and so as not to interfere with rescue operations.

Debris is seen in the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas, on Sunday.

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2. Search and rescue efforts continue

Officials say more than 850 people have been rescued so far. The Texas Military Department said on Sunday that it has rescued 520 individuals, through 361 Black Hawk air evacuations and 159 ground rescues.

More than 400 first responders from over 20 agencies have been assisting with the search and rescue efforts in Kerr County. Officials there said on Sunday that there has been a “full response from local, state and national first responders,” with air, water, K9 and other assets involved.

W. Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said on Sunday that those efforts continue even as the state begins recovery operations, like clearing debris and reopening roads.

“That does not mean we are no longer doing search for live victims, because we still are,” he said, adding, “we’re doing everything we can to find their missing loved ones.”

3. Federal forecasters and Texas officials are pointing fingers  

Questions are piling up about whether a region nicknamed “Flash Flood Alley” should have done more to prepare for Friday’s deluge, such as evacuating local summer camps.

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice declined to answer those questions at a press conference on Sunday, saying the “rain hit at the most inopportune time and right in the most inopportune areas.”

Some Texas officials have suggested that the National Weather Service (NWS) didn’t adequately warn them of the extent of the danger, which the federal agency denies.

According to NPR’s timeline, the Texas Division of Emergency Management activated emergency response resources as early as Wednesday. On Thursday, it posted on social media and informed local officials about the risk of potential flooding.

Separately, the NWS’ Austin/San Antonio office issued a flood watch for multiple counties, which it upgraded to a flood warning just after midnight on Friday and expanded in the early morning hours.

By 4:06 a.m, with river levels rising quickly, it warned of an ongoing “very dangerous flash flooding event.” The official social media pages of the City of Kerrville’s Police Department and Kerr County sheriff didn’t post about the emergency until after 6 a.m.

Meteorologists told NPR that it is extremely tricky to predict what a complex weather system will do and then convince people to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Some critics have questioned whether those efforts were further hampered by the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce, which cost the NWS nearly 600 workers earlier this year (some were rehired after backlash).

Trump denied that on Sunday. “I would just say this is a 100-year catastrophe, and it’s just so horrible to watch,” Trump said.

Hunt Baptist Church in Texas is offering free water, food, and clothes to anyone in need.

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4. Trump says he will visit later this week

Rice, the Kerrville city manager, said on Sunday that “local and regional partners are committed to a full review of the events and systems in place.”

But with all eyes on rescue and recovery operations, federal and state officials say questions about what went wrong — and future preparedness plans — should be revisited later.

“Let’s focus on finding those who can be found, then we can always assess what we need to do later, going forward,” U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said on Saturday.

Trump told reporters on Sunday that he plans to visit Texas this week, “probably Friday.”

“I would have done it today, but we’d just be in their way,” he said.

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, told Morning Edition on Monday it’s been heartening to see the level of support Kerr County is getting from people around the world, including donations and volunteer sign-ups.

“But it’s gonna take the community a long time to recover there,” he said.

Texas Public Radio has compiled this guide to how to find and get help in the area.