"President Trump yesterday suggested that he might take part in a proposed meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Separately, European leaders threatened to impose a new round of sanctions on Russia if Moscow does not agree to an unconditional 30-day truce. Zelenskyy said Trump’s presence at the meeting is “the right idea,” while the Kremlin declined to confirm whether Putin would attend the meeting and said that the European leaders’ “language of ultimatums is unacceptable.” Marc Santora reports for the New York Times.
Trump’s proposal to join the prospective Ukraine-Russia talks triggered a flurry of diplomacy, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussing the “way forward for a ceasefire” with his European counterparts and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov holding talks with the Turkish foreign minister. Anton Kolodyazhnyy, Steve Holland, and Lidia Kelly report for Reuters."The recent conflict between India and Pakistan is prompting a reassessment of Chinese weapons, challenging long-held perceptions of their inferiority to Western arms and sparking concern in places wary of Beijing. Pakistan hailed the use of its Chinese J-10Cs to shoot down five Indian fighters, including French-made Rafale aircraft, during the short, intense confrontation between the two nuclear powers.
Although the reports haven’t been confirmed, and India hasn’t commented, the jet’s maker saw its market capitalization soar by over 55 billion yuan ($7.6 billion), or more than 25%, by the end of last week. Hu Xijin, the ex-editor-in-chief of China’s nationalist tabloid Global Times, warned on social media that if Pakistan’s successful strikes were true, Taiwan should feel “even more scared.”"
"President Trump today met for the first time with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara, after announcing that the United States would lift its sanctions on Syria yesterday. Trump said he came to the decision to enact the landmark policy shift after speaking with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and that the United States wants to see the new Syrian government succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace. Ben Hubbard, Jonathan Swan, and Erika Solomon report for the New York Times; BBC News reports.
President Trump has presented Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa with five demands during their brief meeting in Riyadh. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that these included normalising relations with Israel and action on terror groups. As Middle East correspondent Sebastian Usher writes, the meeting boosts al-Sharaa's stance on the world stage as a leader representing Syria's future, despite his jihadist past. US sanctions on Syria had been in place for 46 years, before Trump announced his intention to lift them yesterday. Trump has also reiterated his desire for a deal with Iran, even though his remarks about “corruption” of the country's leadership have angered Tehran.
Trump today told a meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council leaders he urgently wants to “make a deal” to wind down Iran’s nuclear program and could ease economic sanctions on the country but that Tehran must end its support of proxy groups in the region as a condition of an agreement being made. Zeke Miller, Jon Gambrell, and Aamer Madhani report for AP News; Eli Stokols reports for POLITICO.
Iran has proposed the creation of a joint nuclear-enrichment venture involving regional Arab countries and U.S. investments as an alternative to the U.S. demand for Tehran to dismantle its nuclear program to the U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, Iranian officials say. Witkoff’s spokesperson yesterday denied that the proposal had come up during last weekend’s talks. Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times.
Saudi Arabia will invest $600 billion in the United States, including through a nearly $142 billion defense sales deal, Trump announced yesterday after signing several bilateral agreements with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a state visit. Kevin Breuninger and Natasha Turak report for CNBC.
"Iran is ready to commit to never making nuclear weapons, get rid of its highly-enriched stockpiles, and agree to enrich uranium only to levels needed for civilian use with international supervision in exchange for the immediate lifting of all U.S. sanctions, a top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told NBC News yesterday. Richard Engel reports.
The United States is “getting close to a deal” with Iran, and Tehran has “sort of agreed” to its terms, Trump said yesterday. An Iranian source said that there were still gaps to bridge in the negotiations before an agreement was reached. Separately, the Treasury Department announced the United States yesterday issued sanctions targeting Iranian efforts to domestically produce ballistic missiles components. Nayera Abdallah, Parisa Hafezi, and Tala Ramadan report for Reuters; Reuters reports.
Israel is working on a series of sites in Gaza that could potentially serve as aid distribution centres under a controversial U.S.-Israeli plan, according to BBC News’ review of satellite imagery. Benedict Garman, Matt Murphy, Merlyn Thomas report.
The U.S.-Israeli backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation yesterday said that it has reached agreements with Israel to begin operations in the enclave before the end of the month, and suggested that Israel had agreed to allow aid into Gaza as the foundation is setting up its operations. Natan Odenheimer, Ronen Bergman, and Ephrat Livni report for the New York Times.
Trump yesterday said he urged Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to normalise Syria’s relations with Israel. Separately, the Turkish foreign minister yesterday said the foreign ministers of Turkey, the United States, and Syria will meet today to discuss details of Trump’s pledge to lift sanctions on Syria. Gram Slattery, Pesha Magid, and Andrew Mills report for Reuters; Reuters reports."
"Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend peace talks in Istanbul today, with the Russian delegation headed by a mid-level aide, the Kremlin has said. President Trump was also not listed as attending, and, as of mid-day Istanbul time, it was unclear whether Ukrainian and Russian delegations would meet at all, having arrived in different cities. A Ukrainian official said that the Kyiv delegation would decide whether to meet with the Russian officials only after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet in the afternoon. Ian Aikman and Tom Bateman report for BBC News; Anton Troianovski. Marc Santora, and Andrew E. Kramer report for the New York Times.
Trump today said he “did not think it was possible for Putin to go [to talks in Turkey] if [Trump] was not there,” seemingly brushing off Putin’s apparent decision not to take part in the expected talks. Zeke Miller and Aamer Madhani report for AP News.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that Putin sending a low-level delegation to Turkiye for talks was “like a slap in the face”.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said he was “cautiously optimistic” for progress towards peace in Ukraine, but that it was up to Russia to take the “next steps necessary”. “[If] the Russians are willing to play ball, and not only the Ukrainians are doing this … that you could get to some breakthroughs over the next couple of weeks,” he said at the NATO summit.
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze said they did not see any indications that Russia wants peace in Ukraine. “Weakening Russia’s military capabilities is the most direct and cheapest way… to achieve peace in Ukraine,” he told reporters in Turkiye."The U.N. will not take part in the U.S.-backed humanitarian operation in Gaza as the effort is not impartial, neutral, or independent, a deputy U.N. spokesperson said yesterday. State Secretary Marco Rubio yesterday seemingly acknowledged the criticisms of the plan, saying that Washington is open to any alternative plan to get aid to civilians “without Hamas being able to steal it.” Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.
The United States will make Gaza “a freedom zone,” Trump said yesterday,reiterating his desire to take over the territory during a business roundtable in Qatar. Palestinians, Arab nations, and the U.N. previously condemned the plan as amounting to ethnic cleansing. Gram Slattery reports for Reuters.
The Trump administration gave Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal during last Sunday’s fourth round of negotiations, a U.S. official and other sources tell Axios. No U.S.-backed written proposals have been discussed previously, sources add. Barak Ravid reports.
Trump announced yesterday that the United States and the United Arab Emirates will partner to build a major data center complex in Abu Dhabi to advance AI capabilities. The agreement would amount to the largest data center deployment outside of the United States and would be supported by Nvidia’s advanced chips, sources say. Clare Duffy reports for CNN; Tripp Mickle and Ana Swanson report for the New York Times."
"Russia and Ukraine are to hold their first direct peace talks in three years today in Istanbul, with a Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov due to meet with a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the effort is intended to show President Trump Ukraine is determined to press ahead with peace efforts despite Russia's foot-dragging. Hanna Arhirova and Andrew Wilks report for AP News.
A high-level meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin can be skipped if a ceasefire agreement is reached during the technical talks in Istanbul,Zelenskyy suggested yesterday. Separately, however, Trump suggested that significant progress in peace talks was “unlikely” until he and Putin meet in person, denting the hopes for a breakthrough. Trump added he wants to meet Putin “as soon as we can set it up.” Reuters reports; BBC News reports.The one-notch cut comes more than a year after Moody’s changed its outlook on the US rating to negative. The federal budget deficit is running near $2 trillion a year, or more than 6% of gross domestic product, and Congressional Republicans are pushing through budget legislation that could add trillions of dollars more. “While we recognize the US’ significant economic and financial strengths, we believe these no longer fully counterbalance the decline in fiscal metrics,” Moody’s wrote in a statement.
Earlier today, new data showed US consumer sentiment has fallen to the second-lowest level on record, and inflation expectations climbed to multi-decade highs. The preliminary May sentiment index declined to 50.8 from 52.2 a month earlier, according to the University of Michigan. That was lower than all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The main reason cited was President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Nearly three-fourths of respondents to the Michigan survey spontaneously mentioned tariffs. The topic crosses partisan lines, including a notable share of Republicans bringing it up. The new, sobering survey data comes as inflation data from the Trump administration’s Department of Labor has been unexpectedly upbeat, coming in softer than estimates three months in a row. —David E. Rovella"
"UKRAINE ON THE BRAIN: Trump will hold showdown talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and — separately — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this morning as he tries, again, to bring the Ukraine war to a close. The U.S. president will speak with Putin at 10 a.m. and Zelenskyy shortly after, having expressed optimism on Saturday that this could at last be the moment to agree a ceasefire and end the war. It follows last week’s circus in Turkey, which saw Putin fail to turn up to his own peace negotiations, deploying only a junior team in his stead.
What’s on Putin’s mind: More helpfully, Bloomberg has publishedanother of its mysterious, no-byline articles which cites a “person familiar with the Russian president’s thinking” ahead of the call. It reports Putin believes he has a “strong hand” in these talks and little incentive to offer meaningful concessions, given he’s “confident that his forces can break through Ukraine’s defenses by the end of the year.”
So the million-ruble question remains: How will Trump react if there’s no real progress (again) today? There are concerns inside Europe he’ll either try to force through a disastrous deal from Ukraine’s perspective, or just abandon the whole peace idea — plus U.S. support on the battlefield — altogether.
But nobody knows for sure. It’s also true there have also been signs of growing frustration from both Trump and his wider team at the stalling tactics from the Kremlin, and the lack of engagement with Trump’s desire for peace. This past weekend saw one of the biggest barrages of Russian drone attacks against Kyiv so far. (So much for “Vladimir, STOP!”) And Trump’s pal Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has teed up a hard-hitting package of Russian sanctions that could hit Congress as soon as this week, should the proposal for peace fall apart.
Ahead of today’s calls, European leaders have been working overtime to get the message into Trump’s head that new sanctions on Putin are exactly what’s needed, coupled with support for Ukraine. Trump spoke with his golfing buddy Alexander Stubb — the president of Finland and an arch-Putin critic — on Saturday, and then the leaders of Britain, France and Germany in a conference call Sunday afternoon (h/t the FT). So is the U.S. president listening?“President Trump is starting to be impatient,” Stubb said afterward (per the Guardian), “but in the right direction, that is, towards Russia.” We shall see.
This all follows last week’s surreal spectacle of a grand diplomatic dance performed entirely for an Audience of One. Zelenskyy’s role is now that of the obedient peacemaker, trying to convince Trump he’s not the problem. Western leaders are busily trying to get Trump to conclude that it’s Putin taking him for a ride. And Putin is trying to show just enough interest in these peace talks to keep Trump onside, without making the slightest concession."
"The Israeli Security Cabinet yesterday decided to resume limited transfers of aid to Gaza through the existing U.N.-backed channels until a new humanitarian provision mechanism starts working, according to two senior Israeli officials and a U.N. spokesperson. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that “due to an operational need,” Israel would “allow a basic amount of food” into the territory “to ensure that a hunger crisis does not develop in Gaza.” Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell report for Reuters.
Hamas launched its Oct. 7 2023 attack on Israel to derail negotiations intended to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, according to the minutes of a high-level meeting the Israeli military claimed it discovered in a tunnel in Gaza. Hamas did not comment on the authenticity of the document or its contents. Marcus Walker and Summer Said report for the Wall Street Journal.
Israel’s strike targeting Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar last week likely killed him, according to a senior Israeli official. Hamas has not confirmed Sinwar’s status. Carrie Keller-Lynn and Summer Said report for the Wall Street Journal.
White House Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff has given Israel and Hamas an updated proposal for a Gaza deal and is pressing them to accept it, sources say. Indirect talks between the two parties resumed on Saturday and include discussions on ending the war as well as a truce and hostage deal proposal, Netanyahu’s office said yesterday. According to senior Israeli officials, the talks have yielded little progress so far. Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Reuters reports.
The World Bank on Friday announced that it had cleared Syria’s $15.5 million debt after payments by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, a development that “will allow the World Bank Group to re-engage with” Damascus. Euan Ward reports for the New York Times.
Israeli and Syrian officials have recently held rare direct talks, according to an Israeli source. It is not clear who participated in the talks or what was discussed. Lauren Izso and Tim Lister report for CNN.
The United States’ “clear red line” is Tehran giving up all enrichment of nuclear fuel in any deal on Iran’s nuclear program, Special Envoy Witkoff said yesterday. Within hours, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed Witkoff’s demand, accusing the U.S. of trying to negotiate the deal in public. David E. Sanger reports for the New York Times."
"President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putinwrapped up a closely watched call to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine after more than two hours of talking. Despite fairly rosy readouts from both sides, there isn’t a clear sense that a resolution is close.
The call began just after 11 a.m. and ended just after 1 p.m. Over the course of the call, Putin assured Trump that Russia was ready to work toward a potential ceasefire, but Putin said both countries “would need to find compromises to suit all parties,” per the AP.
The view from Russia: Putin signaled there was no major breakthrough, but described the call as “very informative and very frank.” He did not expound on any details of the discussion. “At the same time, I would like to note that, in general, Russia’s position is clear. The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis,” Putin said.
After the call wrapped, Trump lauded the conversation as “excellent” in an expansive Truth Social post.
“I believe it went very well. Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” Trump wrote. “The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of. The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent. If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later.”
Trump went on to say that Russia wants to do “largescale TRADE” with the U.S. after the conflict ends and that Ukraine could also be a “beneficiary.” He also noted that he spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders about his discussion with Putin, and even floated the Vatican (with newly installed Pope Leo XIV) as a site for negotiations.
The next you’ll hear from Trump: The president is set to appear at an unrelated White House Rose Garden event at 3 p.m. where he’ll surely face plenty of questions about this morning’s calls.
The pre-spins: Despite Putin’s stated intention to work toward an end to the war, there was a sense of skepticism that the talks today would do much to actually move the needle toward a resolution. Ending the war would require “rather painstaking and, perhaps, prolonged work,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said earlier today, per Russian state media. More from NYT’s Anton Troianovski
Growing frustration: VP JD Vance, meanwhile, told reporters before the call that the U.S was “more than open to walking away” from negotiations if significant progress isn’t made, POLITICO’s Eli Stokols writes. “The United States is not going to spin its wheels here. We want to see outcomes,” Vance said."
"During a flurry of calls today with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, Trump made his latest push to break the logjam on peace talks for the war in Ukraine — a war he once vowed to bring to an end during his first days in office.
Both Trump and Putin struck upbeat tones after their call, which Trump said lasted two hours. In a Truth Social post, the U.S. president said the “tone and spirit of the call was excellent.” Putin told Russian media "it was very informative and very open and overall, in my opinion, very useful.”
But the only new apparent development was that Putin told Trump he would work on a “memorandum” with Ukraine on future peace talks. Notably, Putin didn’t agree to any ceasefire to start those talks, the one primary demand from Ukraine and its supporters in Europe.
It shows just how far Trump remains from his goal of brokering a peace deal in Ukraine. To the many skeptics in the West of Russia’s intentions, the earliest readouts of the calls also suggest Putin is slow-walking peace talks and offering Trump mirages of progress instead.
Top Trump officials appear to acknowledge this reality, even if the president has yet to hammer Putin with new pressure such as sanctions or more military aid to Ukraine.
“President Putin, he doesn't know quite how to get out of the war,” Vice President JD VANCE told reporters today. If Russia isn’t “willing to move beyond the mistakes that have been made in the past” in West-Russia relations, Vance said, then “we're eventually just going to have to say, ‘This is not our war.’"
Trump said he spoke briefly to Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY before the Putin call and then spoke to Zelenskyy and other European leaders after the call. EU Commission President URSULA VON DER LEYEN, who was on that call, said afterward that “it’s important that the U.S. stays engaged.”
As for Zelenskyy himself, he continued to stress that Putin is the impediment here. “We really want to end this war. I am not sure Russia is ready to do this. We don't trust them,” Zelenskyy told reporters after the call. “I would want a ceasefire from them as a demonstration of readiness. I was satisfied to hear from President Trump about an unconditional ceasefire. And we were getting ready for it,” he added.
Notably, Trump’s post about his call with Putin only focused on the proverbial carrots for Russia. He touted “largescale TRADE with the United States” if Moscow agreed to end the war — and none of the sticks.
Republicans in Congress are champing at the bit to unleash a new wave of sanctions on Russia for slow-walking negotiations in legislation that has been teed up with broad bipartisan support. But so far the Trump administration has held off on pushing the Republican-controlled Congress to act on it.
European powers, however, aren’t waiting on the United States to act — showing another visible split between Trump’s Washington and its NATO allies. Germany announced shortly after the call that European powers would move to impose their own new round of sanctions on Russia’s already war-battered economy. The German statement made no mention of a timeline on the new sanctions."
"In a joint statement, the United Kingdom, France, and Canada yesterday threatened to take “concrete actions” if Israel “does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid” entering Gaza.The three countries “strongly oppose” the expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and find the amount of aid allowed into the territory “wholly inadequate,” the statement added. Victoria Bourne reports for BBC News.
Vice President JD Vance skipped today's potential trip to Israel due to the expansion of Israel's military operation in Gaza, according to a senior U.S. source, who added that Vance did not want the trip to suggest that the Trump administration endorses Israel’s latest actions. Vance told reporters “logistics” were the reason why he did not travel to Tel Aviv. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
The first five aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, but they have not reached any communities yet, the U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, said today. The U.N. fears that 14,000 babies will die in the next 48 hours in Gaza if the aid supplies do not reach them, Fletcher added, citing assessments by “teams on the ground.” BBC Newsreports; Tia Goldenberg, Samy Magdy, and Wafaa Shurafa report for AP News.
Israel will “take over all the areas of” Gaza and has allowed “minimal” aid into the territory after Israel’s backers in the U.S. Senate said the extreme hunger in Gaza could affect their continued support for Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday. Feliz Solomon and Anat Peled report for the Wall Street Journal.
Recent Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha have not led anywhere due to “fundamental differences between the parties,” Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said today. Reuters reports.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels yesterday announced what they called a “maritime blockade” of Israel’s Haifa port in response to Israel's ongoing conflict in Gaza. Reuters reports."
"Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday refused to agree to an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine during a two-hour call with President Trump, stating that “Russia will propose and is ready to work with [Ukraine] on a memorandum” that could include “a possible ceasefire for a certain period if the relevant agreements are reached.” While Trump said that Russia and Ukraine agreed to “immediately” resume direct talks on a truce agreement, the Russian RIA state news agency quoted a Kremlin spokesperson as saying that “there are no deadlines” on the peace talks and “there cannot be any.” Alexander Ward and Alan Cullison report for the Wall Street Journal; Steve Holland, Guy Faulconbridge, and Olena Harmash report for Reuters.
Ukraine and Russia both accused the other of launching drone attacks overnight, hours after Trump’s conversation with Putin. The status quo “has not changed” following the phone call, one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s aides said. Svitlana Vlasova and Ross Adkin report for CNN."The United Kingdom yesterday paused trade negotiations with Israel, summoned the Israeli ambassador to the U.K., and imposed new sanctions on West Bank settlers, as the European Union announced it would review its relationship with Israel in response to Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “intolerable,” while European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas described it as “catastrophic.” The Israeli foreign ministry said Kallas was strengthening Hamas’ position by criticising Israel. Catherine Nicholls reports for CNN; Reutersreports.
President Trump has been frustrated by Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza and images of Palestinian children suffering, and has instructed his aides to tell Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to wrap up the conflict, according to two White House officials. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
The United Arab Emirates yesterday announced it had agreed with Israel to allow delivery of aid from the UAE to Gaza, the UAE’s state news agency WAM reported. Reuters reports.
No aid has been distributed in Gaza to date despite aid lorries starting to cross into the territory after Israel’s 11-week blockade, a U.N. spokesperson said yesterday, adding that Israel has not allowed the U.N. teams to access the supplies. Israeli officials said 93 trucks entered Gaza yesterday, while the U.N. said it confirmed the entry of only a few dozen trucks. Tom Bennett reports for BBC News; Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy, and Tia Goldenberg report for AP News.
According to new intelligence obtained by the United States, Israel is preparing a possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, multiple U.S. officials say. It is not clear whether Israeli leaders have come to a final decision on whether to carry out the attack, and there is deep disagreement in the U.S. government on the likelihood of Israel acting, the sources cautioned. Jim Sciutto, Katie Bo Lillis, and Natasha Bertrand report for CNN.
EU foreign ministers yesterday agreed to lift the remaining economic sanctions on Syria to “help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria,” top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said yesterday. The bloc will maintain weapons-related sanctions “based on security grounds, including arms and technology that might be used for internal repression.” Jeanna Smialek reports for the New York Times.
The United States eased its Syria sanctions after U.S. officials concluded that Syria was in imminent danger of descending back into “potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday. Alexander Ward and Laurence Norman report for the Wall Street Journal."
"Ukraine will ask the EU to consider more aggressive steps to isolate Moscow, including by seizing Russian assets and imposing secondary sanctions on some buyers of Russian oil, according to a Ukrainian white paper that will be presented to the bloc. The EU yesterday approved a new package of sanctions on Russia taking aim at Moscow’s “shadow fleet” of tankers used to covertly transport and sell Russian oil. Tom Balmforth reports for Reuters; Jeanna Smialek reports for the New York Times.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday accused Russia of “trying to buy time” by stalling peace talks and called for “tough consequences” if Moscow “continues to put forward unrealistic conditions.” Rachel Hagan reports for BBC News.
The United States awaits Russia’s “write-up [of] terms for what they would require in order to reach a ceasefire,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing yesterday. Felicia Schwartz reports for POLITICO.
Radio communications intercepted by Ukraine and obtained by CNN appear to capture a Russian military leader’s order for Russian troops to execute surrendering Ukrainian troops in violation of international law. A forensic expert said that the footage, which seems to correspond in time with drone footage of a suspected execution of Ukrainian troops by Russian soldiers last November, does not appear to have been manipulated. Nick Paton Walsh, Victoria Butenko, Kosta Gak, Andrew Carey, Gianluca Mezzofiore, and Saskya Vandoorne report."
"President DONALD TRUMP and his top aides have threatened to walk away from efforts to broker peace in Ukraine as attempts to break the logjam with Russia fall short. But what does walking away from talks mean for Ukraine?
In short, it leaves Kyiv and its European backers in a bind. U.S. sanctions on Russia remain in place, and the pipeline of U.S. military aid to Ukraine set up under the Biden administration continues to flow. But Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN has made clear that in any negotiations, he only wants to deal with Trump.
Europe isn’t sitting on its feet. The European Union and the United Kingdom unveiled a new round of sanctions intended to undercut Russian energy exports. At the same time, Italian Prime Minister GIORGIA MELONI announced that POPE LEO XIV is open to hosting future talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
Ukrainian officials concede that all the support in Europe can only go so far. “It will be extremely difficult without Americans,” a senior Ukrainian official, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the talks, told our own Veronika Melkozerova. The official added that Kyiv’s new strategy has been “say what Trump wants to hear” in a bid to try and keep him in negotiations.
The United States has been the primary source of military aid to Ukraine throughout the conflict, providing around $175 billion in support since the full-scale invasion. Washington’s global economic might could be used to inflict more pain on Putin’s purse than if Europe were to act alone.
“Obviously Europe has a lot less clout, and they have far fewer capabilities,” said ANDREA KENDALL-TAYLOR, director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.
Some European officials insist that Ukraine will continue to be able to hold the line if Trump walks away — so long as that doesn’t also include lifting U.S. sanctions on Russia or halting military aid.
“If the U.S. keeps sanctions and sells weapons to Ukraine and Europe, then Ukraine will be able to hold the front with the help of Europe,” said one European official. “Europe, at the same time, must do much more.”
Losing the Biden-era level of U.S. support “will not be an end game for Ukraine,” the European official said. But losing all U.S. support “would make the situation very difficult.”
Trump’s Republican allies on Capitol Hill, meanwhile, seem eager to unleash new sanctions on Russia if Putin continues to dig in his heels on peace talks. Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) said in a statement today that a bill he’s introduced with Sen. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-Conn.) to set up new primary and secondary sanctions on Russia’s economy has over 80 co-sponsors in the Senate.
While MAGA world has balked at U.S. support to Kyiv, it’s still a powerful point of leverage that could be used to persuade Moscow to climb down from its very maximalist negotiating positions. Ending that support is also one of Putin’s primary goals.
“Talks without the United States seem doomed for failure in large parts because a lot of what Putin is asking for are things that the United States would have to agree to,” said Kendall-Taylor.
Moscow has also sought guarantees that Kyiv would never be admitted to NATO, which, as a member of the alliance, Washington would also have to sign off on.
European officials and long-time Russia watchers see few signs that Putin has backed off his goal of permanently controlling Ukraine and using the war as a way to renegotiate the post-Cold War security order."
"The Israeli military said it had allowed 100 aid trucks into Gaza yesterday, as U.N. sources reported that none of the aid had yet reached people in need. Some supplies reached central Gaza warehouses late yesterday, the U.N. sources added. Israeli strikes killed at least 86 people across the territory yesterday, according to Palestinian health authorities. Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Maytaal Angel report for Reuters; Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy, and Melanie Lidman report for AP News.
Israel’s military operations and evacuation orders “are stretching [Gaza’s] health system beyond the breaking point,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, as hospital staff and aid groups reported that two of northern Gaza’s last surviving hospitals have been encircled by Israeli troops this week and have come under fire. Sarah El Deeb reports for AP News; David Gritten and Alice Cuddy report for BBC News.
Chronic shortages of water in Gaza are worsening amid Israel’s expanding military offensive, with a full shutdown of water and sanitation facilities possible by the end of the week, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said yesterday, citing warnings it has received from its partners in the region. Yolande Knell reports for BBC News.
Netanyahu yesterday said he will end the war in Gaza only if Hamas releases all hostages and steps down from power and Trump’s plan to relocate Palestinians from the territory is implemented. Israel is also “days away” from implementing a new “sterile zone” aid system in Gaza, Netanyahu added. The U.N. and humanitarian groups have previously rejected Israel's aid system proposal, arguing it would enable Israel to use aid as a weapon and forcibly displace Gaza’s population. Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy, and Melanie Lidman report for AP News.
The U.S. has been talking with Hamas in Doha this week through Bishara Bahbah, a U.S.-Palestinian intermediary, in hopes of brokering an Israel-Gaza ceasefire agreement, sources say. Multiple sources also said Trump is “annoyed” with the slow pace of the talks and wants the war in Gaza to end. Kylie Atwood and Alayna Treene report for CNN."
Several Gaza bakeries began producing bread yesterday after more than 90 lorries’ worth of "supplies had been collected by U.N. aid teams inside Gaza, according to the U.N. The Israeli military said that a total of 107 aid trucks entered the territory yesterday. The amount of aid is still “nowhere near enough,” the U.N. said, as Palestine Red Crescent Society President Younis Al-Khatib warned that only a third of PRCS ambulances in Gaza are operational due to fuel shortages. David Gritten reports for BBC News; Reuters reports.
The Israeli airstrike that the Israeli military said killed the leader of Hamas, Mohammed Sinwar, struck a meeting of the group’s highest-ranking militants and killed several important operatives, leaving a void in Hamas’ top leadership, according to Arab and Hamas officials. Hamas operatives found Sinwar’s body after the strike and buried it in a temporary grave in a tunnel, the officials added, confirming Israeli claims that he was likely dead. Summer Said reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Iran increasingly does not believe the nuclear talks with the United States will lead to an agreement due to the U.S. demand that Tehran stop all uranium enrichment activity, according to Iranian sources. Frederik Pleitgen reports for CNN."
Russian armed forces are creating a “buffer zone” along the Russia-Ukraine border, Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday. A Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson said the plan was “aggressive” and demonstrated that “Russia is the obstacle to peace efforts.” Svitlana Vlasova, Anna Chernova, and Billy Stockwell report for CNN.
There are no direct peace talks scheduled between Russia and Ukraine, the Kremlin said yesterday. Following his Monday call with Putin, Trump said that Russia and Ukraine would start ceasefire negotiations “immediately.” AP Newsreports.Payments by importers of US customs duties rose to a record $16.5 billion for goods received in April as the full weight of President Donald Trump’s tariffs came down on companies. But if the levies—currently the subject of lawsuits asserting they’re illegal—are upheld and continue at their present rate, the Republican’s pledge that they will pay for record GOP tax cuts will come up short.
The new levies being collected consist largely of a 10% baseline tariff for most of the world, a 25% duty on steel and aluminum and 25% on autos. The tariff rate on China was about 20% when Trump took office, hit a high of 145% and is now 51%.
With monthly collections for April now accounted for, the Treasury will bring in at least $22.3 billion in customs duties and other excise taxes this month, data show. Measured in dollar terms rather than as a share of GDP, that would be a monthly record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg."
lousubcap said:
Ogden, UT, USA
Ogden, UT, USA
