Ukraine

Bloomberg News reports: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Donald Trump should come forward with his plan to quickly end the war with Russia, warning that any proposal must avoid violating the nation’s sovereignty. “If Trump knows how to finish this war, he should tell us today,” Zelenskiy said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Kyiv on Wednesday. “If there are …

The Associated Press reports: The European Union agreed Friday to start membership negotiations with embattled Ukraine and Moldova, another step in the nations’ long journey to move closer to the West and mute Russia’s influence. Belgium, which currently holds the presidency of the EU, said member states have agreed that talks will start June 25 in Luxembourg. Ukraine applied to …

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The Associated Press reports: The trial of a Russian American dual citizen whom Russia accuses of treason opened on Thursday as tensions rise between Washington and Moscow, including over the arrests of two American journalists. The trial is being held behind closed doors in Yekaterinburg, in the same court that next week is to begin hearing the case of Evan …

The Hill reports: A majority of Republicans joined with Democrats on Thursday to vote down Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) amendment to the annual Defense bill that called for preventing any funds in the legislation from going toward assistance for Ukraine. The chamber voted 74-343 on Greene’s measure for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with all support coming from …

Reuters reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to halt the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognises the current battlefield lines, four Russian sources told Reuters, saying he is prepared to fight on if Kyiv and the West do not respond. Three of the sources, familiar with discussions in Putin’s entourage, said the veteran Russian leader had …

Roll Call reports: The Defense Department is working with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to find and disable Starlink satellite internet terminals that have fallen into Russian hands, but the problem is not going away, a top Pentagon official said Tuesday. SpaceX’s Starlink terminals enabled Ukrainian forces to communicate with each other and with their families after Russia’s 2022 invasion had shut …

Bloomberg News reports: Ukrainian authorities said they foiled a plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other high-ranking officials, making the announcement on the day of Vladimir Putin’s inauguration in Moscow. Two colonels with Ukraine’s Department of State Security, a special unit responsible for protecting government officials, have been detained on suspicion of high treason, the Prosecutor General’s office said …

ABC News reports: Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening. It was the first time that Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical …

The New York Times reports: The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday night to give final approval to a $95.3 billion package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending it to President Biden and ending months of uncertainty about whether the United States would continue to back Kyiv in its fight against Russian aggression. The vote reflected resounding bipartisan support …

NBC News reports: The Senate voted Tuesday to advance the $95 billion aid package to provide critical aid to Ukraine and a provision that could lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok. The vote of 80-19 indicates the legislation has enough support to clear the Senate in a final vote, which could come as soon as Tuesday evening, and then …

NBC News reports: The Senate is poised to vote Tuesday to advance the $95 billion aid package to provide critical aid to Ukraine and a provision that could lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok. The package, which passed the House on Saturday, includes $60 billion in aid to Ukraine that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said would give his country “a …

CNN reports: The House passed the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act with a vote of 311-112. One member – GOP Rep Dan Meuser – voted present. Democrats cheered and waved Ukrainian flags during the vote. The $95 billion package contains $61 billion for Ukraine and regional partners. One of the bills would provide nearly $61 billion to assist Ukraine and …

The New York Times reports: Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday told Republicans that the House would vote Saturday evening on his foreign aid package for Israel and Ukraine, pushing through resistance in his own party to advance a long-stalled national security spending package for U.S. allies. His announcement came amid a crush of opposition from Republicans who are vehemently against …

The New Republic reports: Representative Mike Gallagher’s last day in Congress was supposed to be Friday, but some wavering votes on upcoming legislation might delay his exit. The Wisconsin Republican confirmed Wednesday that he would be sticking around for an “extra day or so” to help push through Speaker Mike Johnson’s foreign aid package for Taiwan, Israel, and Ukraine, according …

The Daily Beast reports: The tragicomic tale of a down-on-his-luck Texan who reinvented himself as a renegade war hero in a fake Russian republic took an unexpected turn this week when he was allegedly abducted by Russian troops—after apparently being accused of being a CIA spy. Russell Bentley, also known as “Texas,” is perhaps the last person one would expect …

Bloomberg News reports: Speaker Mike Johnson plans separate House votes this week on new aid to Israel and Ukraine following Iran’s missile and drone attack over the weekend, a lawmaker said. The maneuver taps urgency among many US lawmakers to show solidarity with Israel in the wake of the attack while testing the determination of ultraconservatives to block Ukraine aid. …

The Christian Post reports: The World Russian People’s Council, led by Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, has labeled President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as a “holy” endeavor, seemingly aiming to bring the region under Russian dominion. The declaration frames the war as a key moment in Russia’s battle against the “criminal Kiev regime” and Western “Satanism,” calling it a …

Politico reports: The U.S. and other Western countries are considering transferring to NATO a U.S.-led multinational group that coordinates the shipment of weapons to Ukraine, one of several new proposals that could help maintain the flow of arms to Kyiv under a second Donald Trump presidency. During the NATO foreign ministerial meeting in Brussels Wednesday and Thursday, officials are expected …

Axios reports: Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) on Thursday dealt one final blow to House Republican leadership one day before leaving Congress by signing Democrats’ foreign aid discharge petition. Buck is the first Republican to sign onto that discharge petition – or any Democratic discharge petition this Congress – amid GOP concerns about surrendering the House floor to Democrats. Driving the …