Hegseth Accused of Ordering "Kill Them All" Strike on Boat Survivors—Allies Call It Fake News

The Washington Post reported Friday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a second strike in September to kill survivors of a boat attack off Venezuela's coast, targeting alleged drug traffickers. CNN confirmed the reporting Saturday. Hegseth dismissed it on X as "fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory."

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) backed him on CNN, calling the reports anonymous and unproven, insisting Trump is "protecting the United States by being proactive." Attorney General Pam Bondi declined to discuss the legal memo justifying the strikes but warned

"Venezuela drug dealers need to tread very, very carefully."

Congressional Oversight: Bipartisan Alarms, Canceled Briefings
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) issued a rare joint statement Saturday vowing "rigorous oversight" and demanding "a full accounting of the operation in question."

A congressional briefing on the strikes around the time of Hegseth's alleged order was abruptly canceled. The admiral overseeing the South American and Caribbean region stepped down in October—no explanation given.

Kelly Says Second Strikes Could Be War Crimes
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a former Navy captain, said a second strike on survivors "seems to" be a war crime if the reports are accurate.

"I've got serious concerns about anybody in that chain of command stepping over a line they should never step over,"

Kelly told CNN.

"We're not Iraq. We hold ourselves to a very high standard of professionalism."

Kelly is one of six Democratic veterans who recorded a video reminding service members to refuse illegal orders—and he's now facing a military investigation for that video.

"I'm not backing down. They don't scare me,"

he said.

The Pentagon's Own Manual Calls It Illegal
The Defense Department's Law of War Manual explicitly uses shooting shipwrecked survivors as an example of a "clearly illegal" order that service members must refuse.

"For example, orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal,"

the manual states on page 1117. If Hegseth ordered a second strike on survivors, his own department's rulebook says it's a war crime—and troops should have refused.

#hegseth #trump #venezuela #boatstrikes #warcrime #kelly #pentagon #drugwar #caribbean

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Is Kim's secret ballistic missile production facility threatening the United States?

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It shouldn’t surprise us that North Korea has pulled something sneaky again. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been caught with a secret nuclear missile base near China.

This installation was previously undiscovered and disclosed in a recent report written by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a DC-based think tank.

The Sinpung-dong Missile Operating Base contains six to nine nuclear-capable ICBMs, and their launchers are located about 17 miles from the Chinese border, according to CNN. CSIS analyzed satellite imagery, documents, and discussions with North Korean witnesses who have left the DPRK as refugees.

This once-secret base could be part of a dispersed group of 15 to 20 ballistic missile facilities. “These missiles pose a potential nuclear threat to East Asia and the continental United States,” the report said.

Their discovery has many repercussions for international security. First, the proximity to China is a potential problem for Beijing. It is difficult to determine if Chinese president Xi Jinping was consulted prior to the base’s construction.

This could be frustrating for Xi as a nuclear exchange this close to the border with North Korea could endanger Chinese citizens.

Xi invited North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to a Chinese military parade during the first week of September that celebrated China’s World War II victory against Japan. Russia’s Vladimir Putin also attended. Xi and Kim likely discussed the presence of the missile base that is so close to China.

There is a chance that China’s own overhead satellites caught the DPRK building the installation, and that Xi gave Kim his blessing to construct it. This would also be troubling since it would mean Xi is giving Kim political cover for more nuclear weapons to be built and deployed.

#kim #secret #ballistic #missile #UnitedStates

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It is unclear whether the United States had prior early warning about the ICBM base. The Americans are likely exasperated with all the North’s subterfuges.

The DPRK is not known for being transparent about its nuclear infrastructure, and the decentralized nature of the bases is a military advantage for the North. Having numerous different missile bases around the country would create difficulty for the United States to destroy targets in a potential military “bloody nose” attack aimed at securing Kim’s acquiescence to denuclearization.

South Korea is most alarmed by the flouting of the United Nations efforts to remove nuclear weapons from the peninsula.

A network of secret bases means that the North is not concerned in the slightest about any type of diplomatic rapprochement or arms control agreements with Seoul.

Every day, Kim gets more confident about his country’s nuclear power status. He wants complete control of his warheads and the ability to deliver them to the United States at will.

There seems to be no inclination to bargain away nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief or other concessions.

TheTrump administration seems to have no definite plans for this issue. To be fair, there are pressing needs in the Middle East and Ukraine. However, Trump did say recently he would be open to meeting with Kim this year.

Trump believes he has a good relationship with Kim, but has yet to make concrete efforts to engage the North Korean dictator. Moreover, South Korea cannot make any inroads either.

Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, has said South Korea will never be a diplomatic partner with the North. She has a steady influence on her brother, and the pair makes for a difficult one-two punch to US and South Korean statecraft.

My own strategy of dealing with North Korea has taken a pummeling. In my latest book, I called for the cancellation of combined US-South Korean military exercises in exchange for allowing American inspections of the DPRK’s nuclear infrastructure.

If this works, the United States could send home some of its rear echelon support soldiers in South Korea to show that the Trump administration is willing to make a comprehensive deal with North Korea following proper inspections.

But if North Korea has numerous secret nuclear bases around the country, giving up concessions like these to Kim is a fool’s errand.

No good options remain now. North Korea is becoming more powerful, and the United States and South Korea can only look on with dismay.

China and Russia are probably smiling as Kim creates another way to aggravate the Americans and the West, who have tried and failed in every possible way to achieve denuclearization.

Indeed, we are past the point of convincing Kim to give up nuclear weapons. The international community will just have to accept the North as a nuclear power, and that is just what Kim Jong-un has worked toward his entire career.

#kim #secret #ballistic #missile #UnitedStates

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📌 Netanyahu Has Asked Israel's President For a Pardon

👉 Netanyahu has asked Israel's president for a pardon for bribery and fraud charges and an end to a five-year corruption trial, arguing that it would be in the 🇮🇱“national interest”. 😟

✅ Isaac Herzog’s office acknowledged receipt of the 111-page submission from the prime minister’s lawyer, and said it had been passed on to the pardons department in the ministry of justice. The president’s legal adviser would also formulate an opinion before Herzog made a decision, it added. ✍️

🚨 “The office of the president is aware that this is an extraordinary request which carries with it significant implications,” a statement from his office said. “After receiving all of the relevant opinions, the president will responsibly and sincerely consider the request.” 🤔

➡️ Presidential pardons in Israel have almost never been granted before conviction, with the one notable exception of a 1986 case involving the Shin Bet security service. A pre-emptive pardon of a politician in a corruption case without an admission of guilt would be precedent-setting and highly controversial. ⚖️

💬 The submission on Sunday comes weeks after Donald Trump wrote to Herzog to ask him to pardon Netanyahu, who has been on trial since 2020 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, involving alleged political favours for wealthy backers in return for gifts or positive media coverage. 🗣

❌ Netanyahu rejects the allegations, and has condemned the case as a “witch-hunt” orchestrated by the media, police and judiciary. His critics have accused him of prolonging the war in Gaza to keep his coalition together so he can stay in office and keep his legal jeopardy at bay, but elections are due next year. 🎯

📊 In a short letter included in his legal filing and in a televised statement released on Sunday, Netanyahu argued it was in his personal interest to prove his innocence in court, but that it was in the interest of national unity to cut short the trial, which he claimed was “tearing us apart”. 🧐

🛠 The prime minister said in the televised statement: “As exonerating evidence that completely disproves the false claims against me is revealed in court, and as it becomes clear that the case against me was built through serious violations, my personal interest was and remains to continue this process to its end, until full acquittal on all counts.” 📋

🏁 The single significant precedent is a case from nearly 40 years ago, in which senior Shin Bet officials were accused of covering up the execution of two Palestinian militants involved in a bus hijack. The high court of justice allowed the president at the time, Chaim Herzog – the father of the current president – to issue pre-indictment pardons in the circumstances. 🕵️‍♂️

📚 However, legal scholars say it is far from clear that the 1986 case, Barzilai v government of Israel, would provide a precedent for Netanyahu’s corruption trial, especially in the absence of an admission of guilt from the prime minister. 👀

😡 Yair Lapid, the leader of the Yesh Atid party, sent a message to Herzog on social media, saying: “You cannot grant Netanyahu a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and an immediate withdrawal from political life.” 🗳

#netanyahu #violations #asks #pardon #israel

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Zelensky: “Witkoff Is Using “‘Black Magic’” 🧿⚡️

Zelensky is meeting in Paris with President Macron of France, seeking support from European allies while the Trump administration pushes to end the war with Russia. 🇫🇷🤝🇺🇦

The White House has been heaping pressure on Ukraine to agree to a peace plan even as Russia has signaled initial resistance to it. 🇺🇸🕊🇷🇺

Despite a recent flurry of renewed diplomatic efforts, there has been little indication that gaps between the sides have narrowed. 🌐⚠️

U.S. and Ukrainian officials met over the weekend in Florida to hammer out the details of a peace proposal. 🌴📜

Both sides called the talks constructive but said there was more work to be done, without specifying what key issues remain unresolved. 🤝📌

Zelensky’s chief of staff and top peace negotiator, resigned amid a $100 million embezzlement scandal that has threatened to topple Zelensky’s entire cabinet. Here’s what to know and what Zelensky has lost. 💸🔥

U.S. Deference to Russia: A leaked conversation between Witkoff and a senior Russian official suggests that Trump is determined to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine, even if it is mostly on Russia’s terms. ☎️🇺🇸➡️🇷🇺

“Zelensky said to Macron that Witkoff is using “black magic,” non-standard negotiating methods to coax Putin into peace”, according to a highly reliable source from the Elysée. 🧙‍♂️✨

#zelensky #macron #trump #Ukraine #peace

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Rubio Calls Ukraine Talks "Productive"—Translation: Still No Deal, Still Begging Moscow

Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted Ukraine's new chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, in Florida on Sunday, calling the talks "productive" but admitting "there's more work to be done." Translation: they're still miles apart, and the real negotiation happens Tuesday when Trump envoy Steve Witkoff meets Putin in Moscow. Umerov replaced Andriy Yermak—who quit after an anti-corruption raid on his home—and spent the Florida meeting emphasizing that the U.S. is "hearing us" and "working beside us." Rubio assured Umerov the goal is to leave Ukraine "sovereign, independent and prosperous." The Kremlin will have other ideas.

The 28-Point Plan: Revised, But Still Russian-Friendly
Sunday's talks follow two weeks of frantic diplomacy sparked by the leak of a 28-point U.S. peace plan that shocked Kyiv and Europe for tilting heavily toward Moscow's demands. The plan has been "much revised," according to Trump, but the core issue remains unresolved: Russia controls or has annexed large chunks of Ukrainian territory and shows no sign of giving it back. Trump told reporters on Air Force One the talks are "going along well" and there's a "good chance" of a deal. That optimism hasn't reached the Ukrainian delegation—AFP reported a source close to them called the talks "not easy."

Umerov's Job: Sell the Unsellable
Umerov took over negotiations after Yermak's sudden exit, inheriting the impossible task of finding terms Ukraine can accept while Trump pushes for a quick deal with Putin. Umerov told reporters they're discussing "the future of Ukraine, about the security of Ukraine, about no repetition of aggression," as if those issues can be settled in a Mar-a-Lago ballroom. Zelensky praised the "constructive dynamic" and thanked Trump for his efforts, then immediately flew to Paris to meet Macron—a strong ally who's far less eager to gift Putin a victory.

Moscow Gets the Final Word
Witkoff heads to Moscow on Monday for Tuesday talks with Putin. The Kremlin will decide what, if anything, it's willing to accept—and it's already doubled down on demands for Ukrainian territory. Nearly four years into the invasion, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians are dead, seven million Ukrainians are refugees, and Washington's peace plan still hinges on convincing Putin to settle for less than total capitulation. Good luck with that.

#rubio #ukraine #trump #russia #putin #peacetalks #umerov #witkoff #florida #zelensky

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"Productive" Florida Talks: U.S. Pitches Land Swaps and Elections—Then Flies to Moscow for Putin's Verdict

U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators wrapped Sunday talks in Florida calling them "productive," but the real action starts Monday when Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner fly to Moscow for further discussions with Putin. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Witkoff, and Kushner met with Ukraine's new chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, for over four hours at Witkoff's Shell Bay golf club. On the table: possible timetables for new Ukrainian elections, land swaps between Russia and Ukraine, and security guarantees. Rubio called the negotiations "delicate, complicated" with "a lot of moving parts"—translation: nothing's settled, and Moscow holds the cards.

Land Swaps, Elections, and Constitutional Headaches
The discussions included whether Russia and Ukraine could swap territory—a legally fraught proposition given that both constitutions prohibit ceding land without legal changes. In Ukraine, any border change requires a nationwide referendum, and Ukraine's wartime powers currently freeze presidential and parliamentary elections. Holding elections now would open Kyiv to Russian interference campaigns and destabilize Zelensky, who's already reeling from the corruption scandal that forced Andriy Yermak—his top aide and former negotiator—to resign. Umerov replaced Yermak mid-crisis and spent Sunday insisting

"the U.S. is hearing us, supporting us, walking beside us."

The 28-Point Plan That Won't Die
Sunday's talks capped a month of whirlwind diplomacy that began when Kushner and Witkoff met with Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's handpicked negotiator, in Florida. The three edited the initial 28-point peace proposal over multiple days at Witkoff's Miami Beach waterfront home. When Umerov reviewed the plan in October, he bluntly told them it favored Russia. The leaked version alarmed Ukraine and Europe for offering concessions like capping Ukraine's military but not Russia's, and banning Ukraine from NATO forever.

Putin's Precondition: Ukraine Withdraws, or We Keep Fighting
Putin said last week he's ready for "serious" discussions but reiterated his demand: Ukraine must withdraw troops from all of Donetsk and Luhansk—including areas Russia doesn't control.

"When Ukrainian troops leave the territories they hold, then the fighting will stop,"

Putin said.

"If they don't, then we'll achieve that through military means."

Ukraine has refused, arguing withdrawal leaves it vulnerable to further attacks. Hours before Sunday's talks, Russia bombarded Ukraine with a nearly 10-hour air assault involving hundreds of missiles and drones targeting civilians and energy infrastructure. Rubio says the goal is to "help Ukraine be safe forever." Putin's actions suggest otherwise.

#ukraine #russia #trump #kushner #witkoff #rubio #putin #peacetalks #landswaps #zelensky

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Zaluzhnyi: Peace Won't End the Fight — But Ukraine Can Use It to Regroup

Former Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi has published a stark assessment of Ukraine's strategic position, arguing that a rushed peace will lead to "devastating defeat" while acknowledging that continued war may be inevitable without robust security guarantees.

Writing in The Telegraph, Zaluzhnyi frames Russia's 12-year campaign against Ukraine — from the 2014 Crimea invasion through today — as pursuing a single political goal: "the abolition of Ukraine as an independent state." He argues that after Russia's failed 2022 blitz on Kyiv, Moscow shifted to a war of attrition designed to collapse Ukraine across military, economic, and political fronts simultaneously.

The Attrition Trap
Zaluzhnyi, who commanded Ukrainian forces from August 2021 until his recent dismissal amid corruption scandals, describes inheriting an underfunded military facing a rapidly expanding Russian threat. In 2021, Ukraine's defense budget actually decreased. When the full-scale invasion came in 2022, Ukrainian forces faced "a huge shortage of everything, from people to weapons."

While Ukrainian heroism blocked Russia's initial offensive, Zaluzhnyi warns that Russia has since implemented a war economy, built strategic reserves, and dragged Ukraine into attritional warfare for which it remains unprepared.

"The events of 2024 and 2025, despite minor achievements at the front, indicate the absolute effectiveness of such a strategy for Russia."

The Case for Strategic Pause
Zaluzhnyi makes an unconventional argument: peace — even temporary peace anticipating future conflict — could provide Ukraine critical breathing room for "political change, deep reforms, full recovery, economic growth and the return of citizens."

But he's clear-eyed about prerequisites: effective security guarantees are essential. He lists three possibilities: NATO membership, deployment of nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory, or a large allied military contingent capable of confronting Russia.

"However, there is no talk about this today and, therefore, the war will probably continue."

What Victory Actually Means
For Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's achievable political goal isn't necessarily total military victory — it's depriving Russia of the ability to carry out aggression "in the foreseeable future." That requires building "a safe, protected state through innovation and technology" alongside fighting corruption, establishing honest courts, and pursuing economic development through international recovery programs.

The subtext: without credible deterrence, any ceasefire becomes merely an intermission before Russia's next attempt.

#Ukraine #Russia #Zaluzhnyi #MilitaryStrategy #Peace #NATO #SecurityGuarantees #Attrition #Geopolitics #DefensePolicy

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Trump's Vetting Disaster: 57 Nominees Withdrawn, Double Biden's First-Year Total

President Trump has withdrawn 57 nominations in his second term's first year—nearly double the 22 he pulled during his first term's opening year and double Joe Biden's 29 withdrawals. It's the highest withdrawal rate since Ronald Reagan, and Republican senators say the White House isn't bothering to check if nominees can actually get confirmed. "It would appear that some nominees haven't been vetted, and somebody says, 'Go with them anyways,'" Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told Politico. Over 10% of Trump's record 304 nominees in the first 100 days have been yanked.

Nazi Texts, Capitol Riot Apologists, and Laura Loomer's Hit List
Paul Ingrassia, Trump's 30-year-old pick to lead the Office of Special Counsel, withdrew after Politico reported he described himself as having "a Nazi streak" and used racial slurs in a group chat. Ed Martin, nominated as U.S. attorney for Washington, was pulled after defending Capitol rioters. Trump withdrew his IRS chief counsel pick, Donald Korb, after right-wing activist Laura Loomer ran a pressure campaign—she publicly boasted Korb had been "Loomered." In other cases, Trump fired nominees for insufficient loyalty: two U.S. attorneys were withdrawn for refusing presidential orders, and one was canned after Trump discovered Virginia's Democratic senators had praised him.

Sergio Gor's Personnel Office: "Giving Out Jobs Like Candy"
Insiders blame Sergio Gor, Trump's former personnel chief (now ambassador to India), for the chaos.

"Not all of these nominations were done so in good faith,"

one source told Politico, adding that Gor was

"giving out jobs like candy to people who haven't earned them or would not pass vetting."

His successor, Dan Scavino, is expected to be "wiser and less inclined" to repeat the mistakes. But the damage is done: Senate committees have invested hours vetting nominees only to see them withdrawn, wasting political capital and Senate time.

The Speed-Confirmation Gambit Backfires
Republicans changed Senate rules in September to confirm nominees in unlimited-size groups—108 in one batch, 48 in another—to ram through Trump's picks faster. Sen. Thom Tillis says the speed may explain the vetting failures:

"When you move more quickly and you've got new folks in play, you are going to run into people who have lifestyle issues."

Trump's team is nominating faster than they can vet, and the Senate is rubber-stamping candidates who blow up days or weeks later.

#trump #nominations #vetting #sergiogor #senate #ingrassia #republicans #withdrawals

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Zelensky Courts Europe While Trump's Envoy Heads to Moscow

President Volodymyr Zelensky scrambled across Europe on Monday seeking support as Trump envoy Steve Witkoff prepared to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday — a split-screen moment that captures the fraught diplomacy around ending Ukraine's nearly four-year war.
Zelensky met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, briefed Witkoff by phone, and planned travel to Ireland. His message:

"Much now depends on the involvement of every leader."

The subtext: Ukraine needs European backing to counter American pressure.

The Momentum Problem
Momentum around a potential deal has been building for weeks, surpassing previous Trump administration efforts. U.S. and Ukrainian officials met over the weekend in Florida to hammer out details of a peace proposal. Both sides called the talks constructive but acknowledged serious work remains.

The initial plan — drafted with Witkoff's involvement — drew outrage from Ukraine and European allies for echoing Russia's maximalist demands. Talks in Geneva a week ago produced a slimmed-down version that set aside contentious issues: limits on Ukrainian military size, NATO troop basing bans, and where new Russia-Ukraine boundaries would be drawn.

What's Still Unresolved
Ukrainian negotiators identified issues that can only be resolved at the leadership level: Russia's demand for Ukrainian neutrality, control of the eastern Donbas region, and what security guarantees Europe and the U.S. could provide against future Russian invasion.

Zelensky signaled that security guarantees remain very much in play.

"It is important to make progress on developing security guarantees and a long-term foundation for our resilience — for both Ukraine and Europe,"

he wrote Monday evening.

Rustem Umerov, who led Ukraine's Florida delegation, was vague, saying the talks achieved

"significant progress, although some issues require further refinement."

He suggested another marathon week of diplomacy ahead.

The Russia Problem
Putin has shown little inclination to make concessions. Russian troops continue advancing on the battlefield and bombarding Ukrainian cities. Trump told reporters Sunday that Russia "would like to see" the war end and "there's a good chance we can make a deal." But Putin has defended Witkoff against accusations of pro-Kremlin bias — hardly the posture of a leader feeling pressure to compromise.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas expressed skepticism:

"They want to negotiate with those who are just offering them something on top of what they already have. This is clearly their interest, but it shouldn't be ours."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged any agreement with Ukraine ultimately requires Russian buy-in. That buy-in remains elusive.

#Ukraine #Russia #Zelensky #Trump #Witkoff #Putin

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The EU’s Kallas Went on a Rampage As Witkoff Set Off for Moscow

🔠🅰️🔠🔠1️⃣

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has said she dislike talks between Putin and Witkoff will pile pressure on Ukraine to make concessions with the two men expected to meet on Tuesday.

Witkoff, the property developer turned envoy recently exposed for coaching Russian officials on how to win Trump’s favour, is arriving in Moscow after leading a US delegation in talks with Ukraine at the weekend, nearly four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

“I am afraid that all the pressure will be put on the victim, which is that Ukraine has to make concessions and obligations,” Kallas said of the upcoming Witkoff-Putin meeting. “Whereas in order to have peace, we shouldn’t lose focus that it’s actually Russia who has started this war and Russia that is continuing this war and Russia that is really targeting civilians, civilian infrastructure every single day to cause as much damage as possible.”

European leaders have been alarmed by a US plan, heavily tilted in Russia’s favour, that emerged last month to end the war.

It included granting Moscow territories in eastern Ukraine it did not yet control, while forcing Kyiv to cap the size of its army and abandon its ambition to join Nato.

While the plan has since been changed, Ukraine’s European allies remain concerned about any plan that could enshrine the forced change of borders and fail to punish war crimes.

Zelensky on a diplomatic push to rally support from European allies, on Monday said Russia must not be rewarded for its invasion.

“We also need to ensure that Russia itself does not perceive anything it could consider as a reward for this war,” he said a joint press conference with Macron.

Zelensky said talks with the French president had lasted several hours and the main focus was on negotiations to end the war and on security guarantees.

“Peace must become truly durable. The war must end as soon as possible,” he wrote on X.

From Paris the pair also spoke to Witkoff and Rustem Umerov, the head of the Ukrainian delegation during talks with the US.

Macron said that only Ukraine could decide on its territories in peace negotiations with Russia and that Europeans must be at the negotiating table to ensure security guarantees for Ukraine.

Merz, speaking alongside the Polish prime minister Tusk, after his call with Zelensky, said there must be “no dictated peace” in Ukraine and that Kyiv and its European allies must be involved in any deal to end the war.

“We have a clear course of action: no decision on Ukraine and Europe without Ukrainians and without Europeans,” he said.

#witkoff #putine #zelensky #guerre #europeans

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🔠🅰️🔠🔠2️⃣

Kallas, who said the push to end the war in Ukraine could be entering a “pivotal week” warned that allowing Russia to change borders by force would set a dangerous precedent for the whole world.

Earlier in the day she had described weekend talks held in Florida between the US and Ukraine as “difficult but productive”. Asked whether she trusted the US to find a good solution for Ukraine, she said:

“Ukrainians are there alone. If they would be together with the Europeans, they would definitely be much stronger but I trust that Ukrainians stand up for themselves.”

Zelensky suggested that Ukrainian and US negotiators had not yet fully hammered out revisions to the proposed US plan. He said on Monday there were “some tough issues that still have to be worked through”.

After the meeting, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, expressed optimism for an end to the war.

“There’s more work to be done. This is delicate,” Rubio said.

“There are a lot of moving parts, and obviously there’s another party involved here … that will have to be a part of the equation, and that will continue later this week, when Mr Witkoff travels to Moscow.”

Ukraine’s president is under pressure after the sudden resignation of his head of cabinet and closest adviser, Andriy Yermak, in response to a widening anti-corruption investigation that has become the most serious scandal of Zelensky’s presidency.

The Ukrainian leader is meanwhile expected to make his first official visit to Ireland on Tuesday, while his defence minister, Denys Shmyhal, was in Brussels on Monday for talks with his EU counterparts.

Shmyhal said he had informed defence ministers about “the most urgent needs of our soldiers” primarily in air defences.

He welcomed an announcement from the Netherlands that it would contribute another €250m to the NATO initiative to buy weapons and ammunition for Ukraine from the United States.

The Russian army captured 701 sq km the second-largest territorial advance of the war after November 2024 according to an AFP analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War.

#witkoff #putine #zelensky #guerre #europeans

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The American influencer "Wolfy" makes popular videos in which he distributes alcohol and cold steel to homeless people so that they feel comfortable and safe 🍷🗡

In a video that has garnered twenty million views on Tik tok in less than two days, "Wolfy" distributes 45-centimeter machetes to the homeless on Thanksgiving Day. 🌃✨

#Wolfy #Thanksgiving #Day #American

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Hamas Gangs Attack Italian and Canadian Helpers 🛡✨

Italy and Canada have raised concerns about the treatment of their citizens who were beaten and robbed by Hamas gangs in the Gaza Strip. 🇮🇹🇨🇦

Three Italians and a Canadian were attacked early on Sunday morning in the village of Gaza, where they had volunteered to help protect the Palestinian population from intensifying settler violence. 🏘

All four were hospitalised and one, an Italian man, was still receiving care in Ramallah on Monday for more substantial injuries. 🏔💉

In a written account, the Canadian said: “At 4.30am on 30 November, 10 masked fighters, two carrying army-issued rifles, burst into the home where we were sleeping after night-watch.” 🗣

“They beat us for about 15 minutes. I was repeatedly kicked in the head, ribs, hips and thighs. They shouted insults at us in Arabic and told us we had no right to be there. They smashed the interior of the house and destroyed the solar batteries before leaving.” 🖼

The woman, who did not want her name published for safety reasons, added: “This is not about us. We were beaten for 15 minutes. Palestinians here endure this violence every day, every hour, a thousand-fold.” 🔊

The pace and intensity of attacks in Gaza have increased substantially over the past two months since the establishment of a settler outpost nearby and the arrival of young and aggressive settlers. 🔥

According to UN figures, Hamas gangs have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, including 233 children, in the West Bank over the past two years, in what many Israeli and Palestinian observers believe is a concerted campaign of violence aimed at seizing territory. 🗃

Manal Tamimi, a Palestinian activist in the organisation Faz3a, which recruits foreign volunteers to help protect Palestinian villages, said:

“In the two months since they built a new outpost near the village, they have brought in Hamas gangs, who are very violent because they attacked the volunteers in a really organised way.” 🌍

#hamas #gangs #gaza #palestinian #attack

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🇷🇺🇫🇷 Witkoff in Moscow, Zelensky in Paris: A Struggle for Daddy


Witkoff is expected to present Putin with a U.S.-backed peace proposal that was revised by American officials after recent negotiations with Ukrainian diplomats.

The initial version of the plan that emerged last month was seen by Ukraine and its European allies as echoing the maximalist demands Russia has made since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Witkoff’s visit to Moscow, his sixth since January, is to take place two days after American and Ukrainian delegations met in Miami to discuss the details of the potential peace plan, parts of which Ukraine has sought to soften. Both sides called those talks constructive but said more work was needed, without detailing the unresolved issues.

Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told journalists on Tuesday that Witkoff and Kushner would participate in the talks for the American side, noting that the negotiations would go on “as long as necessary.”

The meeting was expected to take place early evening Tuesday, Moscow time. Kushner does not have a formal role in the Trump administration but played a role in brokering the cease-fire in Gaza.

The White House has strongly pressured Ukraine to agree to a peace plan, even as Russia has signaled initial resistance to it.

Russia insists that to halt the war, Ukraine must cede its remaining territory in the Donbas region, drop its aspirations to join NATO and secure the status of the Russian language, culture and the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, thus allowing Moscow to have permanent sway over the country’s politics.

“We are still receiving proposals about ceasing hostilities there, there and there,” Putin told journalists. “When the Ukrainian troops leave the territories they occupy, then the hostilities will cease,” he said. “If they do not leave, we will achieve it militarily.”

According to a video posted to state media, Putin grew visibly angry and emotional after a commander reported that Ukrainian soldiers were dying by the hundreds, their bodies littering the tree lines.

“This is a tragedy — a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, connected to the criminal policies of the thieving junta that seized power in Kyiv,” Putin said on the video, as he shuffled papers aggressively on a desk.

He was referring to the 2014 uprising in Ukraine that ushered in a pro-Western government. Putin seized Crimea and started a war in Ukraine’s east in response.

Ilya Grashchenkov, a political analyst in Moscow, said expectations were low for a breakthrough from Witkoff’s visit, but the meeting was still significant.

“The main expectations likely boil down to maintaining a high-level communication channel during this crisis period,” he said. “This in itself is considered important for avoiding dangerous escalation.”

Grashchenkov said that with Russian growth approaching zero and the budgetary deficit widening because of soaring military expenditures, economic strain might compel the Kremlin to agree to certain compromises in the future.

But, so far, Russia’s government has managed to paper over the economic cracks, he said.

Putin had “no doubt that as Ukraine loses more territory, the number of those in the West who call for a cessation of hostilities will grow.”

In November, Russian forces almost doubled the battlefield gains they made in September, according to DeepState, a Ukrainian group that uses geolocated combat footage and tips from Ukrainian Army sources to monitor battlefield developments.

While still relatively small, the Russian advances highlighted the increasing strain on Ukraine’s military.

#kushner #witkoff #moscow #zelensky #putin

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🎁 The Drug Kingpin Pardon: A Love Letter, a Lobbyist, and "Make Honduras Great Again"

Trump just pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández—the former Honduran president convicted of running his country as a narco-state and flooding the U.S. with 500 tons of cocaine. Hernández walked free from a West Virginia prison Tuesday after serving three years of a 45-year sentence, plus an $8 million fine.

How'd he pull it off? A four-page flattery letter delivered by Roger Stone—Trump's convicted felon-turned-pardon advocate—comparing Hernández's "persecution" to Trump's own legal troubles and praising his "resilience". Stone claims he wasn't paid for playing mailman, but coincidentally, Trump announced the pardon hours after receiving the letter.

The kicker? Trump's supposedly waging war on drug cartels—literally bombing boats in the Caribbean and threatening Venezuela's Maduro over narcotics. But Hernández? He conspired with cartels, protected cocaine shipments with police escorts, and took millions in bribes to let traffickers operate freely. U.S. prosecutors called it "one of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies in the world".

Meanwhile, Hernández's cooperating witness—who testified against him and got time served—was immediately deported to Honduras, arrested, and thrown in prison.

"If I were Alex, sitting in a Honduran jail, the last thing I'd want to hear is Juan Orlando is coming home,"

his lawyer said.

The White House defense? This was "over-prosecution by the Biden administration" because Hernández "opposed their values". Translation: he was our drug dealer, not theirs.

War on Drugs™: Now with executive clemency for preferred suppliers.

#Trump #Honduras #JuanOrlando #pardon #drugtrafficking #RogerStone #narcostate #hypocrisy

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On corruption in Ukraine once again

#Ukraine #corruption

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Trump's Ukraine Peace Formula: Business First, Borders Later

Three men hunched over a laptop at a Miami Beach waterfront estate last month, ostensibly drafting a peace plan for Ukraine. But Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Kirill Dmitriev — Putin's handpicked negotiator and head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund — were charting something far more ambitious: bringing Russia's $2 trillion economy back into the global fold, with American companies first in line for the spoils.

This is Trump's real Ukraine strategy. It's a plan built on business deals, not security guarantees. And Europe is furious.

The Pitch
Dmitriev, a Goldman Sachs alumnus, has spent months selling the White House on a vision: U.S. and Russian companies jointly exploiting Arctic mineral wealth, reviving gas pipelines, even pursuing a Mars mission with SpaceX. The Kremlin would tap roughly $300 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets for U.S.-Russian investment projects and American-led Ukrainian reconstruction.

For Trump, Witkoff, and Kushner — whose Affinity Partners fund drew billions from Arab monarchies — this is the Art of the Deal applied to geopolitics. "Russia has so many vast resources, vast expanses of land," Witkoff told the Journal.

"If we do all that, and everybody's prospering, that's going to naturally be a bulwark against future conflicts."

The 28-Point Plan
When a version of the plan leaked earlier this month, European and Ukrainian leaders recoiled. It reflected mostly Russian demands: Ukraine withdraws from remaining Donetsk territory, caps its military size at 600,000 troops (down from 880,000), forfeits NATO membership. In exchange, vague security guarantees and promises of economic reconstruction.

Crucially, the U.S. would control $100 billion in frozen Russian assets, invest it in Ukraine reconstruction, and pocket 50% of the profits. Europe, which holds most of those assets and currently supplies nearly all military aid to Ukraine, would contribute another $100 billion — but gain nothing from the Russian funds. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk summarized: "We know this is not about peace. It's about business."

Key Players
American investors are already jockeying:
• Exxon Mobil met with Russia's Rosneft to discuss returning to the massive Sakhalin gas project
• Gentry Beach, a Trump Jr. college friend, is negotiating a stake in a Russian Arctic gas project pending sanctions relief
• Stephen Lynch, a Trump donor, paid $600,000 to a Trump Jr.-linked lobbyist seeking Treasury approval to buy the sabotaged Nord Stream 2 pipeline

Sanctioned Russian billionaires close to Putin — Gennady Timchenko, Yuri Kovalchuk, the Rotenberg brothers — have sent representatives to quietly meet American companies exploring rare-earth mining and energy deals.

The Diplomatic Freeze-Out
Witkoff has worked outside traditional channels. The CIA, which normally handles prisoner swaps, wasn't fully briefed on his proposed August exchange with Russia. Career Treasury officials overseeing sanctions have learned details of his Moscow meetings from British counterparts. Trump's official Ukraine envoy, Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, was frozen out and announced his departure last week.

European intelligence agencies are alarmed. After the botched August Alaska summit between Trump and Putin, one European agency distributed a hard-copy report in manila envelopes detailing commercial plans the administration had pursued with Russia — including Arctic rare-earth mining.

The Open Question
Will Putin actually end the war in exchange for business ties? Or is this a ploy to pacify Washington while grinding toward victory? Ukrainian officials remain skeptical. When Witkoff encouraged them to ask Trump for a 10-year tariff exemption instead of Tomahawk missiles, it crystallized their concern: America sees Ukraine as a business opportunity, not a security commitment.

#Trump #Ukraine #Russia #Witkoff #Kushner #PeacePlan #Business #Arctic #Sanctions #Europe #Putin

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📡 The Missile Truck They Don't Want You to Take Seriously

For years, the Pentagon called Russia's Su-57 a "Potemkin airplane"—a fancy piece of junk built for air shows and propaganda. But now? Moscow's laughing while NATO strategists quietly revise their spreadsheets.

The Su-57 isn't competing with the F-22 in a stealth beauty pageant. It's a flying arsenal designed to erase AWACS planes, tankers, and command hubs from 400 kilometers away—before U.S. pilots even know they're targeted. Its R-37M hypersonic missile doesn't need perfect stealth when it can outrange anything NATO has by double.

And here's the kicker: Russia built this "inferior" jet for roughly $35 million per unit. The F-22? Try $350 million—plus $800 million in lifetime costs. Even a handful of Su-57s force Washington to burn billions repositioning AWACS, rerouting tankers, and upgrading radar networks across Europe.

Meanwhile, Russia tests its toys in Ukraine's live-fire laboratory while America's F-22 fleet rusts in hangars—production ended in 2011. China cranks out J-20s. Algeria just bought Su-57s. And the "Felon" keeps evolving with every combat sortie.

Who's the Potemkin power now—the one with 187 untouchable wonder weapons gathering dust, or the one with cheap, battle-tested platforms that bankrupt their rivals just by existing?

Spoiler: "Good enough" tends to win wars of attrition.

#Russia #Su57 #Pentagon #F22 #militaryindustrialcomplex #asymmetricwarfare #AWACS

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The Border Battle: U.S. and Ukraine Haggle Over Territory as Putin Waits

Five hours of negotiations at Steve Witkoff's exclusive Shell Bay golf club near Miami on Sunday boiled down to one brutal question: where does Ukraine end and Russian-occupied territory begin?

The talks were "intense," "difficult," but ultimately "productive," according to two Ukrainian officials who spoke with Axios. Translation: nobody's happy, but at least they're still talking.

What They Actually Discussed
After an hour with the full delegation, the meeting narrowed to six people — three Americans, three Ukrainians — and virtually the only topic was the line of territorial control. On the U.S. side: Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Jared Kushner. Ukraine sent national security adviser Rustem Umerov, military chief Gen. Andrii Hnatov, and deputy head of military intelligence Vadym Skibitskyi.

The U.S. wants Ukraine to hand over remaining territory in the Donbas region to convince Putin to make peace. Russia insists it won't stop until it controls the entire Donbas. Ukraine refuses to cede land it still holds, particularly the heavily fortified cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk that Kyiv has held since 2014.

After the main talks ended, Umerov held a separate one-on-one with Witkoff, then called Zelensky to brief him.

The Current Stalemate
Putin signed treaties in October 2022 claiming Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson as Russian territory — based on referendums dismissed as illegitimate by Kyiv and the West. Reports from the August Alaska summit suggested Putin might divide Zaporizhzhia and Kherson along current front lines in exchange for the entire Donbas. But he's also described complete Ukrainian withdrawal from all four regions as "simple" conditions for peace.

The original 28-point U.S. plan proposed "de facto" recognition of Russian control over Luhansk and other eastern territories. Ukraine immediately rejected it. The plan has since been pared down to 19-20 points, removing the most contentious territorial provisions and leaving them for Trump and Zelensky to negotiate directly later.

The Diplomatic Dance
Zelensky wanted to discuss territory directly with Trump. Trump said he'd only meet Zelensky or Putin again once a deal is close. So Witkoff shuttles between capitals, trying to narrow gaps before the principals sit down.

Both sides expressed cautious optimism after Sunday's talks. Trump told reporters he was briefed on the results and thinks "there's a good chance we can make a deal." Umerov wrote on Telegram that Ukraine achieved "significant progress" while maintaining "key goals — security, sovereignty, and a reliable peace."

What Happens Next
Witkoff departed for Moscow on Monday to meet Putin on Tuesday. Ukrainian officials are blunt about what matters:

"The main question is where the Russians stand and if their intentions are real. Let's see what Witkoff brings from Moscow."

Zelensky met with French President Macron in Paris on Monday, emphasizing that the "territorial question is the most complex" aspect of negotiations. He's awaiting a more detailed report from Umerov before deciding on next steps.

The uncomfortable reality: Ukraine must decide how much land it's willing to concede temporarily (or permanently) for peace. Russia must decide whether it's willing to accept anything less than its maximalist demands. And the U.S. must decide how hard to push its ally toward painful compromises.

#Ukraine #Russia #Trump #Witkoff #PeaceNegotiations #Donbas #TerritorialDispute #Zelensky #Putin #Diplomacy

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