Fires are continuing to burn and spread for a third day at the Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery in the Rostov Oblast of Southwestern Russia, after it was targeted earlier this week in a drone attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Overnight, several drones launched by Ukraine struck the gas and oil export terminal at the Port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad Oblast of Northwestern Russia, near the border with Estonia and on the Gulf of Finland. Several fires can be seen burning at the port, with the smoke reportedly being seen as far as the outskirts of Saint Petersburg.

Speaking earlier today with NBC News, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that no meeting has been planned between President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but claims that Putin is prepared to meet with Zelensky. Lavrov then claims that Zelensky is an “illegitimate leader” and cannot sign any ceasefire agreement or deal to end the ongoing invasion by Russia. Putin has ruled Russia since 1999 and has consistently changed the Russian Constitution to allow him to remain as either Prime Minister or President.

U.S. Vice-President JD Vance claimed during an interview earlier today with NBC News that “every major conflict in human history” has ended with some kind of negotiations, talking about peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. I guess he forgot about both World War ll and the Gulf War.

Vice-President JD Vance: “I think the Russians have made significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in three and a half years of this conflict. They’ve actually been willing to be flexible on some of their core demands.”

NBC News Kristen Welker: “You talk about concessions, and yet the Russians rejected the ceasefire proposal that President Trump put forward. There's no meeting planned between President Putin and President Zelensky. And this week, Russia targeted an American factory in Ukraine. What makes you think President Putin is serious about peace?”

Vice-President JD Vance: “Well, I didn't say they conceded on everything. But what they have conceded is the recognition that Ukraine will have territorial integrity after the war. They've recognized that they're not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kyiv. That was, of course, a major demand at the beginning. And importantly, they've acknowledged that there is going to be some security guarantee to the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has assessed that Russia is escalating it campaign of GPS and communication jamming across NATO’s Eastern Front, including in countries like Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden, as well as others on or near the Baltic Sea. Concerns have been raised to international transport organizations over sharp increases in GPS and signal jamming and spoofing in recent months as well as an increase in Russian electronic warfare installations deployed to the border with countries bordering both Western Russia and Kaliningrad.

After being forced to return to Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia to wait out Hurricane Erin, the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), consisting of the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7), USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) and USS San Antonio (LPD-17), have finally departed for their deployment to the Southern Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela. There they will join by the Arleigh Burke-Class Guided-Missile Destroyers: USS Sampson (DDG-102), USS Gravely (DDG-107), and USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), who have already arrived in the U.S. Southern Command’s Area-of-Responsibility.