Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday that the Trump administration secured the release of the 47th unjustly detained American citizen since taking office 100 days ago.
Youras Ziankovich was released without a prisoner swap this week and brought to neighboring Lithuania by a team of American officials including Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Chris Smith, CNN reported. Ziankovich was detained in Moscow in 2021 and brought to Minsk, Belarus, where he was accused of being involved in a planned United States-backed coup against Belarus’s dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
“Thanks to<a href="https://x.com/POTUS" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> @POTUS</a>&#8216;s leadership, Belarus has released another wrongfully detained U.S. citizen,” Rubio <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1917610906944499821">tweeted</a>. “No president has done so much, so quickly, to keep Americans safe abroad.”
The 47 unjustly detained Americans were released from countries including Afghanistan, Russia, and Venezuela through high-level diplomatic efforts, according to Rubio.
“I knew this day would come. It took 1,480 days, but he survived and is on his way home to me and to America,” Ziankovich’s wife, Alena Dzenisavets said, reported CNN. “I want to thank President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and Special Envoy Boehler and the SPEHA staff. I also want to express my appreciation to Rep. Morgan Luttrell and the nonprofits Global Reach and the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation for their help advocating for Youras.”
The Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-administration-secures-release-of-american-citizen-wrongfully-detained-in-belarus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously negotiated</a> the release of two other Americans from Belarus, one who wishes to remain anonymous, and Anastasia Nuhfer.
“We have one American citizen, which is a huge win and a response to President Trump’s peace through strength agenda,” Smith said when the unnamed American was released in February. “The Belarusians are responding to this and we are going to keep working until we get all Americans out.”
The release comes after the Trump administration secured the freedom of two Americans from Russia who caught national media attention including American <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/president-trump-is-a-hero-marc-fogel-welcomed-at-white-house-after-release-from-russian-prison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">schoolteacher Marc Fogel</a> in February and Russian-American amateur ballerina Ksenia Karelina in April.
Fogel, sentenced to 14 years in 2021 for possessing medical marijuana, was welcomed at the White House upon his return and called Trump “a hero.” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-administration-secures-release-american-ballet-dancer-wrongfully-detained-russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karelina was arrested</a> in 2024 while visiting her grandmother and sentenced to 12 years for treason after donating $51.80 to Razom, an American charity providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Family waving American flags

Trump Admin Secures Release Of 47th Wrongfully Detained American Citizen Abroad

Donald Trump

Hostages

Marco Rubio

Russia

On Friday, the Oil Minister of Iran <a href="https://www.jpost.com/international/article-851626?utm_source=jpost.app.apple&amp;utm_medium=share" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that Russia would fund the construction of a new nuclear plant in Iran.
“Iran and Russia will continue their cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy and the construction of new nuclear energy facilities and the completion of phases two and three of the Bushehr power plant using Moscow’s credit line,” Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2025/04/25/russia-fund-new-nuclear-power-plant-iran-bilateral-ties-deepen-amid-us-talks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “Multilateral cooperation between Iran and Russia through membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS, the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, and OPEC+ has led to the provision of common interests, peace, stability, and international security, and I am confident that this cooperation will deepen.”
“Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law officially ratifying a <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2025/04/22/russia-ratifies-strategic-partnership-iran-strengthening-military-ties/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">20-year strategic partnership agreement with Tehran</a>, further deepening their military cooperation,” the Algemeiner reported.
In January, Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran, which <a href="https://irangov.ir/detail/456479" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>, “The Contracting Parties shall confirm their commitment to develop military-technical cooperation.”
In 2007, Russia sent 80 tons of uranium fuel to Iran to help the Islamist dictatorship build a nuclear reactor in Bushehr. Russia stood to gain $1 billion, since the plant was to be constructed by the Russian state-owned Atomstroyexport.
Russia’s ties with the terrorist group Hamas, which acts as a proxy for Iran, run deep; roughly two weeks after the Hamas massacre of more than 1,200 people in Israel in October 2023, the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/garantex-russian-crypto-hamas-crime-sanctions-a3648357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that a Moscow-based crypto exchange, Garantex, acted as a conduit for illicit funds for Palestinian terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre to finance their operations. “Digital wallets controlled by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which joined Hamas in the attacks, received a portion of $93 million via Garantex, according to analysis by researcher Elliptic, which said Hamas also used a similar financing strategy.”
“Russia has been actively engaged in expanding security and military ties with the Houthis, including providing weapons to the organization,” The Jamestown Foundation <a href="https://jamestown.org/program/russias-increases-ties-with-irans-axis-of-resistance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in November 2024. “Media reports indicate that Russian intelligence officers were spotted in the Houthis-held territory, and Moscow has even considered sending significant military support to the Iran-backed militia (<a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202409256862" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iran International</a>, September 25).”
“The <a href="https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title22/chapter95&amp;edition=prelim" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iran Freedom and Counterproliferation Act of 2013</a> prohibits the ‘sale, supply or transfer of certain materials to and from Iran related to the regime’s nuclear, military, and ballistic missile programs and allows the president to submit sanctions waivers every 180 days containing exemptions based on national security reasons,” the Foundation for Defense of Democracies <a href="https://www.fdd.org/analysis/policy_briefs/2025/01/22/russia-touts-illicit-nuclear-work-in-iran/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in January. “Absent a waiver, the president is obliged to sanction foreign individuals and financial institutions that violate the act.&#8221;
The Obama administration issued waivers for certain Russian nuclear work in Iran as part of the 2015 nuclear deal, and upon taking office, the first Trump administration <a href="https://apnews.com/us-clamps-down-on-waivers-tied-to-irans-nuclear-cooperation-ef68a5ccab2f3e0b2247e0ebeda37147" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ended</a> U.S. participation in the agreement and the waivers. The Biden administration <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/biden-administration-restores-sanctions-waiver-iran-talks-final-phase-2022-02-04/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">restored</a> the waivers soon after taking office to help restart Iran talks.

Iran-Life And Fun Under The Shadow Of Nuclear Power Plant

Russia Will Fund New Nuclear Plants In Iran

Global Politics

Iran

Nuclear

Politics

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Monday that Russia would observe a three-day ceasefire with Ukraine from the start of May 8 to the end of May 10, citing &#8220;humanitarian&#8221; reasons and to commemorate the end of World War II.
Putin&#8217;s announcement comes as the Trump administration has put increasing pressure on both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to reach a deal to end the war. On Saturday, Trump met with Zelensky while in the Vatican for the funeral of Pope Francis. Meanwhile, his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, arrived in Moscow on Friday to meet with Putin.
&#8220;By order of Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the Russian side, guided by humanitarian motives, announces a ceasefire for the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War,&#8221; the Kremlin announced on Monday. &#8220;Any military operations will be ceased during this period.&#8221;
&#8220;Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example. In the event of any violations of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian side, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will give a proportionate and efficient response,&#8221; the Kremlin added. &#8220;The Russian side reiterates its willingness to enter peace talks without preconditions, with a view to eliminating the root causes behind the Ukraine crisis and establishing constructive interaction with international partners.&#8221;
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stop-the-bloodshed-trump-says-russia-and-ukraine-are-very-close-to-peace-deal?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘Stop+The+Bloodshed’%3A+Trump+Says+Russia+And+Ukraine+Are+‘Very+Close’+To+Peace+Deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Friday that Ukraine and Russia were &#8220;very close&#8221; to bringing the war to a close, calling for top leadership in the two countries to &#8220;finish off&#8221; a peace deal. He has been critical of both leaders in recent days, slamming Putin for continuing to launch air attacks into Ukraine and Zelensky for not signing a rare earth mineral deal with the United States.
&#8220;There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,&#8221; Trump posted Saturday on Truth Social. &#8220;It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through &#8216;Banking&#8217; or &#8216;Secondary Sanctions?&#8217; Too many people are dying!!!&#8221;
On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-where-we-stand-after-trump-met-with-zelensky-at-the-vatican?author=Daniel+Chaitin&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Here’s+Where+We+Stand+After+Trump+Met+With+Zelensky+At+The+Vatican" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the coming week would be &#8220;critical&#8221; for the future of the negotiations.
&#8220;This week is going to be a really important week in which we have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in, or if it’s time to sort of focus on some other issues that are equally, if not more, important in some cases, but we want to see it happen,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There are reasons to be optimistic, but there are reasons to be realistic, of course, as well. We’re close, but we’re not close enough.”

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CONFLICT

Putin Declares 3-Day Ceasefire As Trump Pushes For End Of War

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

A &#8220;really important week&#8221; in peace talks is coming up after President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-meets-with-zelensky-at-vatican-ahead-of-popes-funeral-very-productive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">met</a> with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Vatican over the weekend amid the funeral for Pope Francis, according to the Trump administration&#8217;s top diplomat.
Russia and Ukraine are &#8220;closer in general than they&#8217;ve been any time in the last three years&#8221; to reaching an end to their war, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday on NBC&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/marco-rubio-says-russia-and-ukraine-both-have-to-give-something-up-for-peace-full-interview-238424645879" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meet The Press,</a>&#8221; although he conceded the two sides have not yet reached a resolution.
This past week, Rubio told moderator Kristen Welker, &#8220;has really been about figuring out how close are these sides really, and are they close enough that this merits a continued investment of our time as a mediator in this regard.&#8221;
Rubio said he thinks it would be &#8220;silly&#8221; to set a specific date for a peace agreement. &#8220;I can just tell you that almost 100 days into this presidency, the president has dedicated a tremendous amount of time and energy to this, and we think we brought the sides closer than they&#8217;ve been in a very long time,&#8221; he added.
&#8220;But we&#8217;re not there yet, and it needs to start happening,&#8221; Rubio continued. &#8220;We need to start — I think this is going to be a very critical week. This week is going to be a really important week in which we have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in, or if it&#8217;s time to sort of focus on some other issues that are equally, if not more, important in some cases, but we want to see it happen. There are reasons to be optimistic, but there are reasons to be realistic, of course, as well. We&#8217;re close, but we&#8217;re not close enough.&#8221;
The White House said the meeting at the Vatican was &#8220;very productive,&#8221; a sign of progress after an explosive <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-explodes-on-zelensky-for-making-the-worst-statement-on-the-ukraine-russia-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confrontation</a> between Trump and Zelensky at the White House earlier this year. Trump also criticized Russia for continuing to attack Ukraine. He <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-putin-might-have-to-be-dealt-with-differently" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> that Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to be “dealt with differently” moving forward. All that happened after Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/apr/25/steve-witkoff-moscow-vladimir-putin-volodymyr-zelenskyy-russia-ukraine-peace-plan-talks-europe-latest-updates-news" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traveled</a> to Moscow on Friday to meet with Putin and discuss ending the war.
One major point of contention has been territory. While Zelensky <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/world/europe/ukraine-cease-fire-talks.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">insisted</a> that Ukraine will not &#8220;legally recognize&#8221; Russia&#8217;s occupation of Crimea, Trump <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-crimea-stay-with-russia-ukraine-war/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that Crimea will &#8220;stay with Russia.&#8221;
In an <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6371995251112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> on &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures,&#8221; National Security Advisor Mike Waltz emphasized both Russia and Ukraine need a desire to end the war for the years-long conflict to come to a close when anchor Maria Bartiromo asked him if Zelensky understands that he&#8217;s likely not going to get more land back.
&#8220;There&#8217;s been a number of discussions of territory, of what they need to make sure that this war never continues, that it is permanent,&#8221; Waltz said. &#8220;We have talked to our European partners, who you saw the images of both Starmer from the United Kingdom and Macron from France, that Europe has to step up. I know that you have ambassador Whitaker, our new NATO ambassador, who&#8217;s fantastic coming on, on talking about how the Europeans need to take the lead in the future.&#8221;
He added: &#8220;All of those things are key parts of the discussion with both Zelensky and with Putin. And next is to drive both sides to the table, but they both have to want it. And the president has expressed his frustrations in whether both sides genuinely want to end this war. But he is determined to have the United States of America and him — I will just say this: the current leader of NATO, who was here this week, said only President Trump could break the deadlock that we saw 100 days ago under the Biden administration. And he&#8217;s done just that, starting with his call with both Putin and Zelensky just a few months ago.&#8221;
Uncertainty also rests with a rare earth minerals deal between the United States and Ukraine that has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stop-the-bloodshed-trump-says-russia-and-ukraine-are-very-close-to-peace-deal">discussed</a> for months but has yet to be finalized.
The agreement is &#8220;going to get done,&#8221; Waltz said. &#8220;The negotiators were working hard over the weekend. That is first and foremost on both [Treasury] Secretary Bessent and the president&#8217;s mind. It&#8217;s going to get done, Maria. The president is determined to make it so.&#8221;

Secretary Of State Marco Rubio

Here’s Where We Stand After Trump Met With Zelensky At The Vatican

Mike Waltz

National Security

Tim Walz

U.S.

Volodymyr Zelensky

When it comes to the United States and our allies, one of the great failures of American foreign policy since the end of World War II is this bizarre idea in the United States that if our allies are imperfect, it somehow makes sense to abandon them. 
This is what we did in Vietnam. Our allies were imperfect, so we abandoned them, and then the Viet Cong took over. The same thing happened in Afghanistan, where our allies were seriously imperfect. And by imperfect, I mean there were a lot of terrible people involved in the Northern Alliance, along with tremendous corruption in Afghanistan’s government. The Taliban, it turns out, were significantly worse. 
So when it comes to determining what&#8217;s happening with Russia and Ukraine and what should happen next, the question is less about whether Ukraine is perfect. It certainly is not. The questions are: What exactly does Russia want? What is in America&#8217;s best interest?
I can tell you what is not in America&#8217;s best interest: a larger, more powerful Russia. In determining how to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war that originally broke out in 2014 with the Russian takeover of the Donbas and Crimea, and then was reignited by the full-scale Russian invasion of 2022, it&#8217;s simply not enough to try to figure out what the “rational middle ground” looks like. 
What the Trump administration is currently trying to do is find a solution. Well, you can find a solution, but unless you have a way to actually implement the solution, any solution you propose is meaningless.
No matter how hard you try, you cannot impose the solution from the outside in the way the United States would if, for example, we had boots on the ground — and we don&#8217;t want boots on the ground. That means you somehow have to get the Russians to the table. Both sides need to be at the table. The Ukrainians are at the table. Right now, however, the Russians are not at the table.
America is not the dominant force in the region, nor do we want to be. However, the Ukrainians being at the table means it&#8217;s now time for the Russians to come to the table. So, how do you get them there? 
As Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned in our interview, he&#8217;s already agreed to an immediate three-day ceasefire. The Russians have not.
He&#8217;s already agreed to a rare earth minerals deal with the United States that is heavily slanted toward the United States.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2186?elementPosition=0&amp;location=Home%20Tab&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Home%20Featured%20Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
We already know what the Ukrainians want. They want the Russians to stop the war. Again, Ukrainians did not start this war — they did not cross the Russian border.
They want security guarantees, more durable security guarantees than the ones they gave in 1994 to give up their nuclear weapons. The Ukrainians want security guarantees that are material realities, not just promises.
The Ukrainians have already figured out that European and American promises tend to fade over time. They gave up their own nuclear weapons for a promise that the U.S. and the UK would respect Ukrainian territorial sovereignty, and it didn&#8217;t work out very well for them.
The Ukrainians want the freedom to pursue a closer relationship with the EU and NATO. That makes sense because the Russians continue to press while the Ukrainians want to press back the other way.
President Zelensky basically wants what happened at the end of the Korean War: an armistice. In 1953, South Korea and North Korea drew a line and created a demilitarized zone. They agreed to a cessation of hostilities and repatriation of peace. Then the war ended.
Officially, the war is still active but in practice the war ended because North Korea understands that if it crosses the South Korean border, it will be obliterated, partially because of the American troops stationed on that border.
Now, to be clear, the Ukrainians are not asking for American troops to be stationed on their border, but they&#8217;re ready for an armistice today. They do want security guarantees. We know what they want. They&#8217;re at the table.
The real question in all of this, the question that people do not want to ask, is what exactly do the Russians want? What would bring the Russians to the table?
Well, we actually know what the Russians want.
According to a speech Vladimir Putin gave last June, he wants:
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">No NATO membership for Ukraine, ever.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Ukrainian recognition of Crimea and Donbas as Russian territory.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Ukraine&#8217;s demilitarization and what he calls “Denazification.” What he really means is he wants the installation of a puppet regime in Kyiv and the lifting of all anti-Russia sanctions.</li>
</ol>
That’s just called surrender.
Now, Ukraine can&#8217;t surrender her entire government and autonomy and live at the whim of Vladimir Putin, who has literally killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians in an aggressive war and kidnapped tens of thousands of Ukrainian children into Russia.
So again, I ask, what would get Russia to the table?
Now, Steve Witkoff is supposedly a magical negotiator. President Trump has deployed him to Iran, Gaza, and now Ukraine, and seems to think that either Ukraine is the problem or that Russia can be wheedled into dropping its core demands, and that if you tweet hard enough at them, Vladimir Putin will suddenly become friendly. Witkoff and the administration are now threatening to walk away from negotiations if the two sides don&#8217;t come together.
This misses the entire point.
Russia would love for that to happen. They want the war to continue, because when Russia says they want negotiation, that&#8217;s code for they want a continuation of the war.
What they want is either to take giant chunks out of Ukraine until they eat the whole thing over time, or they want the war to continue until the West gives way.
Why? Because Ukraine is extraordinarily key to Russia&#8217;s entire vision of itself as an empire. And that empire is geared in absolutely irremediable fashion against the United States of America.

TOPSHOT-RUSSIA-POLITICS-PUTIN-INAUGURATION

What Exactly Does Russia Want?

Afghanistan

Ben Shapiro

Opinion

President Trump

Steve Witkoff

President Donald Trump said Friday that Russia and Ukraine were &#8220;very close&#8221; to a peace deal, and called for top leadership of the countries to &#8220;finish it off.&#8221;
Trump made the comments on Truth Social as he landed in Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis. Trump&#8217;s special envoy Steve Witkoff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/team-trump-arrives-in-russia-as-ukraine-hit-by-more-strikes-top-russian-general-assassinated?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Team+Trump+Arrives+In+Russia+As+Ukraine+Hit+By+More+Strikes%2C+Top+Russian+General+Assassinated" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrived</a> in Moscow on Friday to speak with President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials and push for a peace deal.
&#8220;Just landed in Rome,&#8221; Trump posted on Truth Social. &#8220;A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine. They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to &#8216;finish it off.&#8217; Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!&#8221;
That post came just hours after he called for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to sign a mineral deal with the United States, saying that he was &#8220;at least three weeks late.&#8221;
&#8220;Ukraine, headed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has not signed the final papers on the very important Rare Earths Deal with the United States,&#8221; he posted. &#8220;It is at least three weeks late. Hopefully, it will be signed IMMEDIATELY. Work on the overall Peace Deal between Russia and Ukraine is going smoothly. SUCCESS seems to be in the future!&#8221;
The deal over rare earth minerals was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-says-trump-will-likely-be-done-with-ukraine-russia-peace-talks-if-no-progress-is-made-soon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supposed</a> to be signed months ago, but came to a standstill in February after Zelensky was asked to leave the White House following a contentious meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Last week, several Ukrainian officials signaled that the country was coming close to finalizing the agreement.
At the same time, Trump has pushed both Zelensky and Putin to stop the hostilities and come to the negotiating table. Witkoff&#8217;s arrival in Russia came after Ukraine was hit with a pair of deadly air strikes this week and Russian Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a high-level military official, was killed in a car bombing in Balashikha.
Before Witkoff&#8217;s arrival, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sergey-lavrov-russia-urkaine-ceasefire-deal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CBS News that his country &#8220;ready to reach a deal&#8221; on Ukraine.
&#8220;The President of the United States believes, and I think rightly so, that we are moving in the right direction,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The negotiations continue, and until the end of the negotiations, we cannot disclose what it is about.&#8221;
As he was leaving for Rome, Trump <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1915758936667390137" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that he thought negotiations with the two countries were &#8220;coming along,&#8221; but added that they were &#8220;very fragile&#8221; at the moment.
While en route to Rome, Trump declined to tell reporters on board Air Force One whether he would be meeting with Zelensky while at the funeral. Trump also said that he would soon be talking to Witkoff about how his meeting with Putin went and said he hadn&#8217;t heard about the car bomb assassination of Moskalik.
&#8220;He’ll be calling me,&#8221; Trump said, according to a transcript provided by the White House foreign pool service. &#8220;They just left the meeting. I haven’t been briefed yet. But, he had — I hear, a pretty good meeting.&#8221;

ITALY-VATICAN-RELIGION-POPE-FUNERAL-TRUMP

‘Stop The Bloodshed’: Trump Says Russia And Ukraine Are ‘Very Close’ To Peace Deal

World

President Donald Trump&#8217;s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Russia Friday morning to push for peace as Ukraine was hit with another series of deadly airstrikes overnight and a top Russian general was assassinated in a car bombing near Moscow.
Witkoff&#8217;s arrival comes after Trump said on Thursday that he was &#8220;not happy&#8221; with Russian strikes against Ukraine and urged President Vladimir Putin to stop the attacks. After those comments, Ukraine was hit with another wave of drone attacks, and Russian Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a high-level military official, was killed in a car bombing in Balashikha.
Witkoff <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/trumps-envoy-witkoff-arrives-moscow-interfax-reports-2025-04-25/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrived</a> in Moscow on Friday morning, where he met with Putin and other Russian officials. His trip comes one day after the Trump administration urged both sides to accept the terms the United States had proposed to end the war.
“This war is endable. Both sides just have to agree to it. We’ve shown them a pathway forward. We’ve discussed those ideas,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-hopeful-ukraine-russia-war-endable?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘We’ve+Shown+Them+The+Finish+Line’%3A+White+House+Remains+Hopeful+That+Ukraine-Russia+War+Is+‘Endable’" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Thursday. “It was a good meeting yesterday. There will be good meetings over the weekend. We’ve shown them the finish line. We need both of them to say yes.”
“What happened (Wednesday) night with those missile strikes should remind everybody of why this war needs to end,” the Secretary of State continued. “It’s horrible that those missiles landed. It’s even worse … that people were alive yesterday that are not alive today because this war continues.”
Ukrainian officials <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-says-russia-kills-3-in-drone-attack-after-trump-rebukes-putin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Friday that another Russian drone attack overnight in southeastern Ukraine had killed at least three people, including a 76-year-old woman and a child, and injured 10 more. Ukraine reported that five different regions had been hit by 103 Shahed and decoy drones.
That came after attacks on Thursday in Kyiv, where Ukrainian officials reported that at least 12 people were killed and another 87 wounded. Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admonishes-putin-over-airstrikes-on-kyiv-vladimir-stop?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Admonishes+Putin+Over+Airstrikes+On+Kyiv%3A+‘Vladimir%2C+STOP%21’" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called out</a> Putin for those attacks, saying that it was hurting peace negotiations.
&#8220;I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying,&#8221; Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. &#8220;Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!&#8221;
Trump has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-blasts-zelensky-over-inflammatory-statements-making-it-difficult-to-settle-this-war?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Blasts+Zelensky+Over+‘Inflammatory+Statements’+Making+It+‘Difficult+To+Settle+This+War’" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressed frustration</a> with Zelensky, accusing him of making &#8220;inflammatory statements&#8221; that are not helping negotiations.
“He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,” Trump said Wednesday. “I have nothing to do with Russia, but have much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, who are dying for no reason whatsoever.”

RUSSIA-US-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY

Team Trump Arrives In Russia As Ukraine Hit By More Strikes, Top Russian General Assassinated

Russia <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/europe/russia-strikes-ukraine-trump-vladimir-intl-hnk/index.html">reportedly</a> continues to hit Ukraine with deadly strikes after President Donald Trump issues a rebuke to Russian President Vladimir Putin. A group of religious parents sue their school district over their children&#8217;s forced exposure to LGBTQ content. And, the White House is warning parents and teens about the rise in child exploitation, enlisting the help of country music star John Rich.
It’s Friday, April 25, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/russian-derails-ceasefire-talks-combating-sexual-extortion/id1576594336?i=1000704872841" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2>Russia Bombs Ukraine, Frustrates Peace Efforts</h2>
<div id="attachment_912089" style="width: 848px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-912089" class="size-large wp-image-912089" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Miffed-Don-838x576.jpg" alt="" width="838" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Miffed-Don-838x576.jpg 838w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Miffed-Don-300x206.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Miffed-Don-768x528.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Miffed-Don-1536x1056.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Miffed-Don-2048x1408.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 838px) 100vw, 838px" />(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital with a series of missiles and drones on Thursday, and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/europe/russia-strikes-ukraine-trump-vladimir-intl-hnk/index.html">according</a> to CNN, inflicted another round of strikes on Friday. The surprise attacks have derailed United States-led ceasefire negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
Thursday’s attack on Kyiv left at least a dozen dead and dozens more wounded, and also killed what momentum there was toward a ceasefire. The following night, Moscow reportedly launched another round, killing at least eight more people. Before the attacks, the White House had sounded optimistic about a deal, but after Russia&#8217;s Thursday attacks, the President <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioT5YuxsrU8&amp;t=4m">appeared</a> much less sanguine.
<blockquote>TRUMP: We’re in the midst of talking peace and missiles were fired, and I was not happy with it…
REPORTER: …If the bombs keep falling, will you consider additional sanctions for Russia, or what will you do?
TRUMP: I’d rather answer that question in a week, I want to see if we can have a deal. No reason to answer it now, but I won’t be happy, let’s put it that way. Things will happen.</blockquote>
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been willing to work with the United States on peace terms – more willing since his disastrous White House meeting in February. Since then, Zelensky has agreed to sign a minerals deal with the United States, and last month, he said Ukraine would agree to a full ceasefire to set up peace negotiations. But Moscow never bought in – all they could agree to was a 30 day pause on attacks against energy infrastructure.
Over the weekend, diplomats released a proposed peace deal constructed by the United States and Europe that recognized Russian control of Crimea and accepted Russia’s control of land in Ukraine’s east. It would also ban Ukraine from NATO membership and start the United States and Russia on a path of economic normalization – with all sanctions lifted from Russia. The proposal didn’t set limits on Ukraine’s military – something Moscow had wanted – and it included the minerals deal with the United States. Notably, it did not include any security guarantees from either the United States or Europe for Ukraine. Vice President JD Vance called it a “very fair proposal.”
Zelensky has already said that giving any occupied territory over to the Russians would be a red line. Zelensky has also taken issue with how the Trump administration has approached the negotiating table. “We would like to have this common understanding that Russia is the aggressor, not [Ukraine],&#8221; Zelensky told Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro in an interview this week.
<h2>SCOTUS Hears Case On Religious Opt-Outs From LGBTQ Curriculum</h2>
<div id="attachment_912091" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-912091" class="size-large wp-image-912091" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Let-Kids-Be-Kids-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Let-Kids-Be-Kids-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Let-Kids-Be-Kids-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Let-Kids-Be-Kids-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Let-Kids-Be-Kids-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Let-Kids-Be-Kids-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Let-Kids-Be-Kids-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Let-Kids-Be-Kids-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by OLIVER CONTRERAS/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: The Supreme Court looks poised to rule in favor of religious parents who want the right to opt their kids out of LGBTQ material at school.
In 2022, Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland’s largest school district, introduced a new gender and sexuality curriculum. At first, they allowed parents to opt their kids out, but then, the school district decided it was too difficult to allow opt outs and made attendance mandatory. In response, a group of parents that included Muslims, Catholics, and a Ukrainian Orthodox Christian brought a case against the school district.
One of the books in the new curriculum is called “Prince and Knight,” about a prince who rejects princesses and falls in love with a knight. Another book is called “Born Ready” about a boy named Penelope, and another book tells the story of a girl attending her uncle’s same-sex wedding, and yet another book is called “Pride Puppy” about a puppy who gets lost during a Pride parade.
“They can keep the books,” one plaintiff said on the steps of the Supreme Court. “They can read it to their children if there are parents who feel this is appropriate for their 3-year-old, 4-year-old and elementary kids, they can teach it to them, but we don’t think it’s right. We don’t want it read to our kids.”
The more conservative justices seemed highly skeptical of the school district’s arguments. Justice Brett Kavanaugh quizzed the lawyer for the school superintendent about why it’s supposedly too hard to let parents opt out their children from reading LGBTQ books in class. “The plaintiffs here are not asking the school to change its curriculum. They’re just saying look, we want out. Why isn’t that feasible?”
Even some of the usual critics seemed sympathetic to parents in this case. Teachers union boss Randi Weingarten of the ​​American Federation of Teachers admitted she would not actually recommend these books to elementary schoolers, although she still called for “inclusivity.”
<h2>John Rich Promotes Awareness Of Sextortion</h2>
<div id="attachment_912093" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-912093" class="size-large wp-image-912093" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Hidden-Hoodie-Guy-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Hidden-Hoodie-Guy-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Hidden-Hoodie-Guy-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Hidden-Hoodie-Guy-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Hidden-Hoodie-Guy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Hidden-Hoodie-Guy-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Hidden-Hoodie-Guy-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Hidden-Hoodie-Guy-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by dashu83 via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Country music star and entrepreneur John Rich has teamed up with the Department of Homeland Security to warn Americans about the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dozens-of-teen-boys-take-their-own-lives-as-online-sextortion-cases-spike">dangers of child sexual extortion</a>.
The Department of Homeland Security has a campaign called “Know2Protect” – you can find that on the DHS website. Its goal is to raise national public awareness about a rapidly growing crime called sexual extortion – also known as sextortion. Sextortion is when a predator coerces or tricks a minor into sending them sexually explicit images or video footage, and then threatens to release that material unless the minor either produces additional explicit content or gives them money. A Daily Wire investigation covered this topic <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dozens-of-teen-boys-take-their-own-lives-as-online-sextortion-cases-spike">in-depth</a> earlier this month, but in summary, there were 36 million reports of suspected online child exploitation in 2023 alone.
John Rich is amplifying DHS’ awareness effort. The country star heard about sextortion a few months ago, after his wife and 15-year-old son attended a related talk from DHI Special Agent Dennis Fetting. Immediately, Rich reached out to DHS with ideas to get out something more accessible to the public. This week, Rich, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and Agent Fetting hosted a livestream event on sextortion. It was <a href="https://x.com/johnrich/status/1915190100058923202">reposted</a> online by President Trump, and so far, it has racked up millions of views.
“I&#8217;m fully aware of the dangers that are out there for our kids right now,” Rich said. “They are being targeted on apps, video games, social media – places you would never dream of, like innocent sounding games like Roblox, Minecraft, things like that, where predators are acting like they&#8217;re another kid and they&#8217;re creating a relationship with your kid, and then they lower the boom, then they start to extort and extort. They do everything from force the kids to send nude pictures of themselves, to take pictures of their parents&#8217; credit cards front and back so they can extort money. They threaten them with killing their family, burning their house down, posting the pictures all online. It results in kids, some of them becoming suicidal – it’s a major, major problem. So to me, millions of parents needed to hear about this.”

RUSSIA-POLITICS-RELIGION

Morning Brief: Russia Bombards Ukraine Amid Peace Talks, SCOTUS School Case & Sextortion Awareness

California Supreme Court

Child Abuse

Crime

LGBTQ

Sexual Abuse

On Wednesday night, Vladimir Putin’s Russia blanketed Ukraine with missiles and drones in what was perhaps the largest-scale air attack on the country since 2022. One missile reportedly struck an apartment building in Kyiv, killing nine and wounding another 63.
This is a war zone.
Earlier in the day, the Trump administration rolled out its proposed outline for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine – a peace deal under which Ukraine would have been forced to accept Russian annexation of Crimea and control of Eastern Ukraine; been removed from NATO membership; provided little or nothing in the way of security guarantees for Ukraine; and ended sanctions on Russia.
Russia has not accepted a peace arrangement along these lines. Essentially, this proposal was the United States, Europe and Ukraine presumably negotiating against themselves. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky rejected handing over Crimea legally, since that would be making a major concession without actually receiving anything from Russia.
Zelensky has accepted the Trump proposal for a thirty-day ceasefire without any preconditions. Putin has not. Which is why last night, Russian missiles fell on Kyiv.
Putin has at no point actually given any sign he wants the war to end. Instead, he seems to be biding his time, waiting for the United States to pull out negotiations and out of funding Ukraine – a bet that may pay off, given the Trump administration’s repeated statements that if a deal cannot be found, the United States will walk away. Vice President JD Vance said just that on Wednesday.
The Trump administration’s pressure has been almost solely relegated to pressure on Ukraine to this point. President Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114388111141848447" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unleashed a post</a> on TruthSocial attacking Zelensky and blaming him for the continuation of the war. He stated:
<blockquote>Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is boasting on the front page of The Wall Street Journal that, “Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea. There’s nothing to talk about here.” This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion. Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired? The area also houses, for many years before “the Obama handover,” major Russian submarine bases.
It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War. He has nothing to boast about! The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country. I have nothing to do with Russia, but have much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, who are dying for no reason whatsoever. The statement made by Zelenskyy today will do nothing but prolong the “killing field,” and nobody wants that! We are very close to a Deal, but the man with “no cards to play” should now, finally, GET IT DONE. I look forward to being able to help Ukraine, and Russia, get out of this Complete and Total MESS, that would have never started if I were President!”</blockquote>
President Trump’s frustration is clear and understandable. But for the conflict to end, Russia must come to the table. And the American people must understand just why it’s important for Ukraine not to collapse amidst the escalation of Russia’s invasion.
With the Russia-Ukraine war now in its third year, with tens of thousands of dead on each side and hundreds of thousands wounded, with Eastern Ukraine and Crimea in Russian hands – and with the Trump administration desperately trying to end the war through negotiations – we felt that now was a vital time to travel to Ukraine to discuss this crisis with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The American people have a right to know why they ought to care about this conflict in a far-away place – and to have their questions answered on matters ranging from how their tax dollars are being spent to the treatment of Christians in Ukraine, from the nature of Russia’s aspirations in Ukraine to the Ukrainian desire to remain free of Russian domination.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2185?elementPosition=0&amp;location=Home%20Tab&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Home%20Featured%20Carousel">WATCH: Ben Shapiro&#8217;s interview with President Volodymyr Zelensky</a></h3>
The trip into Ukraine isn’t easy – it is, of course, a war zone. We traveled some 12 hours from Florida to Krakow, and then took a ten-hour car ride with security from Poland to Kyiv. The border crossing was nearly deserted – few people are trying to get into Ukraine at this point in time.
The country itself is beautiful – the breadbasket of the continent – and Western Ukraine is rolling farmland dotted with forest. My great-great-grandparents came originally from this general region – Belarus, Poland, Ukraine – so I tried to see it through their eyes. What it must have been like a hundred and fifty years ago, before the carnage of the Ukrainian Holodomor – the Stalinist-created genocidal starvation campaign against Ukrainian farmers and their families, and against those who opposed the evil of Soviet communism. Before the Nazi invasion in 1941 and the mass slaughter of Jews, with roving bands of SS mowing down tens of thousands of Jews over the open pits in Babi Yar, shipping Jews via train to death camps all over Europe.
Timothy Snyder, historian and author of “Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin,” <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bloodlands-Europe-Between-Hitler-Stalin/dp/0465002390/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">writes</a>:
<blockquote>During the years that both Stalin and Hitler were in power, more people were killed in Ukraine than anywhere else in the bloodlands, or in Europe, or in the world…For both Hitler and Stalin, Ukraine was more than a source of food. It was the place that would enable them to break the rules of traditional economics, rescue their countries from poverty and isolation, and remake the continent in their own image.</blockquote>
If you know history, the voices of all of our brothers’ blood cry out from the ground of Ukraine. And the history of Ukraine’s suffering doesn’t stop with World War II. After the war, Ukraine became a part of the Soviet Union; its history was steamrolled and homogenized to fit Soviet presumptions. In the aftermath of the Cold War, Ukraine broke free — it gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from the West.
Torn between the attraction of joining the post-Soviet West and Russian pressure from the East, the country was governed by a series of corruption-ridden governments, culminating in the rule of Viktor Yanukovych, whose pro-Russian swing led to the so-called Maidan Revolution of 2014. Yanukovych was ousted, and Vladimir Putin, dictator of Russia, seeing Ukraine slipping out of his grasp, launched invasions of the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine and Crimea – both largely Russian-speaking areas that favored a closer relationship with Russia but not full rule by Russia. Citizens of those areas were brought under Russian control.
And then came 2022. Sensing weakness from the American-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the aftermath of Joe Biden’s surrender of Afghanistan to the Taliban, Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the rest of Ukraine. When the war began, few expected Ukraine to survive – indeed, the first Russian push into Ukraine came within mere kilometers of Kyiv, the capital city.
<div id="attachment_912063" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2185?elementPosition=0&amp;location=Home%20Tab&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Home%20Featured%20Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-912063" class="wp-image-912063 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-24-Apr-2025-04-41-PM-2462-1024x576.jpg" alt="Screenshot: Ben Shapiro and President Zelensky" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-24-Apr-2025-04-41-PM-2462-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-24-Apr-2025-04-41-PM-2462-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-24-Apr-2025-04-41-PM-2462-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-24-Apr-2025-04-41-PM-2462-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-24-Apr-2025-04-41-PM-2462-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>Screenshot: DailyWire+. Ben Shapiro and President Zelensky</div>
But Ukraine fought back. Their forces pushed the Russians back toward the East and the South. After three years of war, that is where the lines remain. 
Carnage continues in Kharkiv and Zaporizhiya; bombs continue to fall and drones continue to fly. The Russian government, since 2014, in an effort to Russify Ukrainian children, has abducted tens of thousands of them back into Russia. 
 
As the New York Times reported in 2023, “Russian officials have made clear that their goal is to replace any childhood attachment to home with a love for Russia.” Hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers and contractors have died, according to the BBC; around 50,000 Ukrainians had been killed, according to Zelensky’s government, as of February.
President Trump’s entry into office provided the possibility of something new. Pledging to the end the war, the Trump administration insisted on negotiations – and to that end, put pressure on both Zelensky and Putin to come to the table. After a fraught conversation with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office, Zelensky has agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
Putin has agreed to nothing.
The United States, under special envoy Steve Witkoff, continues to advocate for Ukrainian concessions ranging from recognition of Russian territorial annexation to abandonment of intent to join NATO. This week, the United States has threatened to walk away from the conflict and negotiations entirely. Putin, for his part, has mouthed words of interest but shown little willingness to make any concessions at all.
And that is where things stood as we traveled into Ukraine.
It grew dark as we traveled; as we neared the city, an app on our phones sounded a drone alert in Kyiv. Drone warfare has become one of the most highly-publicized aspects of the war in Ukraine – Ukrainian forces, at a material disadvantage in the early days of the war, engaged in technological creativity to counter Russian advances; Russia has responded by building new drones with Chinese help, as well as importing drones from Iran. By the time we reached Kyiv, the drone sirens had stopped.
After a short night in the center of Kyiv, we visited the site of the Babi Yar massacre, just across the street from a television tower struck by a Russian missile in the early days of the war; a blown-out building hit multiple times in a variety of Russian attacks; a memorial to the victims of the Holodomor. The city was beautiful but feels empty: approximately seven million Ukrainians have left the country during the war, out of a total population of perhaps 44 million in 2021.
I attended a meeting of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, with representatives of fifteen different religious sects attending to discuss religious freedom and traditional values with Zelensky. A member of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was joined by a member of the Catholic Church to ask for a Ministry of Family to foster higher birth rates and support for more children in Ukraine; other members of the council asked Zelensky about military deferment for members of the clergy.
And then it was time to sit with President Zelensky in the shadow of the St. Sophia Cathedral, the first foundations of which were laid in 1011 – centuries before the tsardom of Russia.
* * *
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2185?elementPosition=0&amp;location=Home%20Tab&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Home%20Featured%20Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: Ben Shapiro&#8217;s interview with President Volodymyr Zelensky</a></h3>

Ben Shapiro and President Zelensky.24-Apr-2025

Journeying To Ukraine

Trump Administration

President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that they are still hopeful that they can guide Ukraine and Russia to a peace deal and end the years-long war.
Trump and some of his top administration officials, including Rubio, were in the Oval Office for a meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store to discuss the ongoing conflict in Europe. The White House has struggled to push Ukraine and Russia toward a peace deal, and Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Kyiv early Thursday morning, killing at least eight people and wounding around 70 more.
Despite multiple setbacks, Secretary of State Rubio said on Thursday that the administration still believes the war &#8220;is endable.&#8221;
&#8220;This war is endable. Both sides just have to agree to it. We&#8217;ve shown them a pathway forward. We&#8217;ve discussed those ideas,&#8221; Rubio added. &#8220;It was a good meeting yesterday. There will be good meetings over the weekend. We&#8217;ve shown them the finish line. We need both of them to say yes.&#8221;
&#8220;What happened last night with those missile strikes should remind everybody of why this war needs to end,&#8221; the Secretary of State continued. &#8220;It&#8217;s horrible that those missiles landed. It&#8217;s even worse &#8230; that people were alive yesterday that are not alive today because this war continues.&#8221;
Trump added that his administration is &#8220;using a lot of pressure&#8221; on both Ukraine and Russia to get them to agree to end the war.
&#8220;If you think we&#8217;re just in there because we&#8217;re nice people — and we are nice people — but we are using a lot of pressure,&#8221; the president said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecRubio</a>: &quot;This war is endable. Both sides just have to agree to it. We&#39;ve shown them a pathway forward. We&#39;ve discussed those ideas&#8230; We&#39;ve shown them the finish line. We need both of them to say yes.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/iyEYmtVzwI">pic.twitter.com/iyEYmtVzwI</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1915468254446838041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
U.S. officials met with representatives from Ukraine and the United Kingdom in London on Wednesday, but those talks only <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/officials-ukraine-us-uk-meet-london-latest-push-121073666" target="_blank" rel="noopener">involved</a> lower-ranking officials after Rubio could not make it due to scheduling issues. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, and Trump said that he will meet with the Russian leader in the near future.
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admonishes-putin-over-airstrikes-on-kyiv-vladimir-stop?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Trump+Admonishes+Putin+Over+Airstrikes+On+Kyiv%3A+%E2%80%98Vladimir%2C+STOP%21%E2%80%99" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he was &#8220;not happy with the Russian strikes&#8221; on Ukraine&#8217;s capital city, and urged Putin to &#8220;STOP!&#8221; Trump added on Thursday, &#8220;I didn&#8217;t like last night. I wasn&#8217;t happy with it. We&#8217;re in the midst of talking peace and missiles were fired. And I was not happy with it.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &quot;I didn&#39;t like last night. I wasn&#39;t happy with it. We&#39;re in the midst of talking peace and missiles were fired. And I was not happy with it.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/aSdPhsaOP0">pic.twitter.com/aSdPhsaOP0</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1915467155094544694?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The president has blasted both Putin and Zelensky for their failure to agree to end the bloodshed. Earlier this week, Trump blasted Zelensky for making “inflammatory statements” that make it “difficult to settle this War.” Zelensky angered Trump after he said that Ukraine would never recognize Russia’s occupation of Crimea.
“He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,” Trump said. “I have nothing to do with Russia, but have much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, who are dying for no reason whatsoever.”
Earlier this week, The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro traveled to war-torn Kyiv for an exclusive 60-minute, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2185?elementPosition=0&amp;location=Home%20Tab&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Home%20Featured%20Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">face-to-face interview</a> with Zelensky.
Speaking in front of the Saint Sophia Cathedral, Shapiro questioned Zelensky on several topics, including his tense March meeting with President Trump, the substantial amount of American taxpayer money Ukraine is receiving, and prospects for peace with Russia.

President Trump Hosts Prime Minister Of Norway Jonas Gahr Store To The White House

‘We’ve Shown Them The Finish Line’: White House Remains Hopeful That Ukraine-Russia War Is ‘Endable’

Executive

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he is &#8220;not happy&#8221; with Russia&#8217;s major missile and drone attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin&#8217;s latest offensive was &#8220;not necessary and very bad timing.&#8221;
Russia <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russia-hits-ukrainian-capital-with-worst-bombing-strike-since-summer-2024?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Russia+Hits+Ukrainian+Capital+With+Worst+Bombing+Strike+Since+Summer+2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hammered</a> the Ukrainian capital early Thursday morning, killing at least eight people and wounding around 70 more, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/putin-trump-zelenskyy-ukraine-russia-kyiv-kharkiv-war-peace-crimea-rcna202736" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The attack was the deadliest bombing on Ukraine since last summer and comes as the Trump administration struggles to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine and end a war that has entered its fourth year.
&#8220;I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets [sic] get the Peace Deal DONE!&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114392923237368367" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> on Truth Social.
Russia fired more than 70 missiles at Kyiv, 48 of which were shot down by Ukraine&#8217;s missile defense system. Kyiv was also attacked by 140 drones in the overnight bombing and shot down 64 of them, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Six children and a pregnant woman were among the wounded.
“The search is continuing for people under rubble. … Mobile telephones are heard ringing beneath rubble. The search will continue until it becomes clear that they have got everyone,” the State Emergency Service wrote on Telegram, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/air-defence-units-action-around-kyiv-officials-say-2025-04-23/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a>.
Trump Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is supposed to meet with Putin in Moscow this week, and it&#8217;s unclear if Russia&#8217;s attack on Kyiv will change those plans. Top Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have warned that the United States will walk away from negotiations with Ukraine and Russia if progress on the peace talks isn&#8217;t made soon.
After Russia&#8217;s attack on Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that the &#8220;brutal strikes show that Russia, not Ukraine, is the obstacle to peace.&#8221;
&#8220;Moscow, not Kyiv, is where pressure should be applied,&#8221; Sybiha added.
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with both Putin and Zelensky, and earlier this week, he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-blasts-zelensky-over-inflammatory-statements-making-it-difficult-to-settle-this-war?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Blasts+Zelensky+Over+%E2%80%98Inflammatory+Statements%E2%80%99+Making+It+%E2%80%98Difficult+To+Settle+This+War%E2%80%99" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blasted</a> Zelensky again after the Ukrainian president said his country would never recognize Russia&#8217;s occupation of Crimea. Trump called Zelensky&#8217;s comment &#8220;very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia,&#8221; adding that &#8220;Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion.&#8221;
The president then blasted Zelensky, saying he continues to make “inflammatory statements” that make it “difficult to settle this War.”
“He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,” Trump continued. “I have nothing to do with Russia, but have much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, who are dying for no reason whatsoever.”
Earlier this week, The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro traveled to war-torn Kyiv for an exclusive 60-minute, face-to-face interview with Zelensky, which will be released in two parts on the Ben Shapiro Show on Thursday and Friday.
Speaking in front of the Saint Sophia Cathedral, Shapiro questioned Zelensky on several topics, including his tense March meeting with President Trump, the substantial amount of American taxpayer money Ukraine is receiving, and prospects for peace with Russia.

Donald Trump/Vladimir Putin

Trump Admonishes Putin Over Airstrikes On Kyiv: ‘Vladimir, STOP!’

In the deadliest attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv since the summer of 2024, Russia launched a combined missile and drone offensive on Wednesday night, burying Ukrainians under rubble, killing eight people, and injuring more than 70 others.
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UkraineRussiaWar%EF%B8%8F%EF%B8%8F?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UkraineRussiaWar️️</a>
🚨 At least nine dead as Kyiv hit by massive missile and drone strike
FOLLOW LATEST UPDATES <a href="https://t.co/LWhpqwRXoO">https://t.co/LWhpqwRXoO</a> <a href="https://t.co/yHr3GIG5JP">pic.twitter.com/yHr3GIG5JP</a>
— The Independent (@Independent) <a href="https://twitter.com/Independent/status/1915267729445327152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
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“The search is continuing for people under rubble &#8230; Mobile telephones are heard ringing beneath rubble. The search will continue until it becomes clear that they have got everyone,” the State Emergency Service wrote on Telegram, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/air-defence-units-action-around-kyiv-officials-say-2025-04-23/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, formerly the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd7v0lgg18xo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that six children and a pregnant woman were injured in the attack. Kyiv is roughly 430 miles from the Polish border.
On July 8, 2024, Russia launched a massive bombing assault on Ukraine in which Russian missiles hit the largest children’s hospital in the country, the Okhmatdyt hospital in Kyiv.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for not recognizing Crimea as part of Russia. After the Soviet Union dissolved in 1992, the Republic of Crimea was formed. In 2014, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was pro-Russian, was removed after protests against him. Russian President Vladimir Putin <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-putin-ukraine-crimea-seizure-8245aec572fb71236febfa8735c42879" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invaded</a> Crimea and annexed it, a move only recognized by North Korea and Sudan.
In 2024, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, said bluntly, “Ukraine is Russia.”
“Yesterday&#8217;s Russian maximalist demands for Ukraine to withdraw from its regions, combined with these brutal strikes, show that Russia, not Ukraine, is the obstacle to peace. Moscow, not Kyiv, is where pressure should be applied,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.
Russia reportedly also attacked the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Wednesday night using drones and missiles.
In March, Putin <a href="https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/business/money-report/putin-and-trump-set-to-discuss-russias-demands-for-a-ukraine-ceasefire-deal/4137301/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that any peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia should “eliminate the root causes” of the war between Ukraine and Russia. In 2021, he <a href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>, “During the recent Direct Line, when I was asked about Russian-Ukrainian relations, I said that Russians and Ukrainians were one people – a single whole. These words were not driven by some short-term considerations or prompted by the current political context. It is what I have said on numerous occasions and what I firmly believe.”
The Daily Wire&#8217;s Ben Shapiro traveled to war-torn Kyiv this week for an exclusive 60-minute face-to-face interview with Zelensky.
Speaking in front of the Saint Sophia Cathedral, Shapiro questioned Zelensky on several topics, including his tense March meeting with President Trump, the substantial amount of American taxpayer money Ukraine is receiving, and prospects for peace with Russia.
The interview will be released in two parts on the Ben Shapiro Show on Thursday and Friday.

Missile Strikes Residential Building in Kyiv

Russia Hits Ukrainian Capital With Worst Bombing Strike Since Summer 2024

Kyiv

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