President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened “Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions” on Russia and its allies unless Moscow strikes a deal to end the war with Ukraine.
Trump posted the threat on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling for an end to the “ridiculous War.” The president made the statement on his third day in office, calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin by name.
“I’m not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin &#8211; and this despite the Radical Left’s Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX. We must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113872782548137314" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
“All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE,” he continued. “If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.”
The “various other participating countries” likely include China, as well. Beijing and Moscow have grown closer in recent years, with China becoming a significant buyer of Russian energy and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-states-china-russia-ukraine-war-265df843be030b7183c95b6f3afca8ec" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supplier</a> of technology and equipment to support Russia’s war effort. Chinese President Xi Jinping <a href="https://apnews.com/article/putin-xi-trump-russia-china-ukraine-6947659b99fb84e204132ca5aca354a8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke</a> with Putin on Tuesday in a show of solidarity after Trump was sworn into office the day prior.
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Russia has also received help in the war from North Korea, which recently dispatched thousands of its own soldiers to join the fight against Ukraine.
“Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way &#8211; and the easy way is always better. It’s time to ‘MAKE A DEAL.’ NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST!!!” Trump wrote.
Trump’s threats are the latest example of the president’s willingness to wield the United States’ economic might to pressure other countries. Trump has also threatened Canada and Mexico with tariffs unless they take action on issues such as securing their borders against illegal immigration and drug smuggling. 
The war between Russia and Ukraine has lasted nearly three years since its beginning in February 2022 with a failed Russian blitz to take Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.

Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin

Trump Threatens Tariffs, Sanctions Unless Russia Strikes Deal To End War

Donald Trump

Global Politics

Politics

Russia

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

Marco Rubio was sworn in as the 72nd U.S. Secretary of State Tuesday morning after a 99-0 vote from the Senate to confirm him on Inauguration Day.
In an interview on CBS Mornings shortly after being sworn in, Rubio emphasized the importance of ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, saying, &#8220;It&#8217;s going to be the official policy of the United States that the war in Ukraine needs to come to an end.&#8221; President Donald Trump vowed on the campaign trail to end the nearly three-year-long stalemate within the first 24 hours of being in office.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a war and a conflict that was started by Russia, but it is now a stalemate, a protracted and bloody conflict,&#8221; Rubio said. &#8220;It&#8217;s been incredibly destructive, I would argue for both Russia and Ukraine, but Ukraine is paying the biggest price of all to its energy infrastructure. To the people whose lives that are lost, to the millions of Ukrainians that have had to leave their countries and are living overseas, the conflict needs to end.&#8221;
&#8220;And it&#8217;s a policy of the United States that we want it to end, we want to do everything we can to help it end,&#8221; Rubio added.
Rubio said the Trump administration must secure peace between Russia and Ukraine and ensure that it is &#8220;sustainable.&#8221;
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&#8220;We don&#8217;t just want the conflict to end and then restart in two, three, four years down the road. We want to bring stability,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We have a lot of important and pressing issues around the world, and I think everyone should wake up this morning and be very happy that we have elected as our 47th president a man in Donald J. Trump that wants to promote peace in the world and bring an end to these conflicts.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Secretary of State Rubio: It is going to be the official policy of the United States that the war in Ukraine needs to come to an END. <a href="https://t.co/QoahJwgBUV">pic.twitter.com/QoahJwgBUV</a>
&mdash; Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1881702137690050871?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In an interview on the &#8220;Today&#8221; show, Rubio said that Trump&#8217;s foreign policy will be &#8220;as straightforward as any in modern times.&#8221;
&#8220;The priority of the Department of State of the United States is going to be the United States,&#8221; Rubio said.
<a href="https://store.dailywire.com/?srsltid=AfmBOop3MOeEHXGGtDls4eN32gVHv1qMv2_o013YPOFyTZvOlqX2hOjG" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-862379 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/INAUG_MERCHBANNER-6-1024x391.png" alt="" width="1024" height="391" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/INAUG_MERCHBANNER-6-1024x391.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/INAUG_MERCHBANNER-6-300x115.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/INAUG_MERCHBANNER-6-768x293.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/INAUG_MERCHBANNER-6-1536x587.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/INAUG_MERCHBANNER-6-2048x782.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Secretary of State <a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@marcorubio</a>: &quot;The priority of the Department of State of the United States is going to be the United States.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/o58BjWVU6r">pic.twitter.com/o58BjWVU6r</a>
&mdash; Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1881687842885407175?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rubio was sworn in by Vice President JD Vance after the Senate&#8217;s unanimous vote to confirm him. On his first day as secretary of state, Rubio will meet with the foreign ministers of QUAD member countries Australia, India, and Japan.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Vice President Vance swears in Marco Rubio as Secretary of State.
Full video here: <a href="https://t.co/hzNSC919DE">https://t.co/hzNSC919DE</a> <a href="https://t.co/Cdh76lakDa">pic.twitter.com/Cdh76lakDa</a>
&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1881717644291653784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio Sworn In, Says War In Ukraine Must End

Marco Rubio Sworn In, Says War In Ukraine Needs To End

State Department

Trump Administration

Incoming national security adviser Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) said during an interview over the weekend the reason that Ukraine has been unable to beat Russia is because their conscription age is significantly higher than it should be, meaning that there are hundreds of thousands of soldiers that it could have access to that are not on the battlefield.
Waltz made the remarks during an interview on ABC News&#8217; &#8220;This Week&#8221; with Jonathan Karl when asked about President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s plans to end the war in Ukraine.
Waltz said: &#8220;It&#8217;s been striking to me just since President Trump&#8217;s election, how many people have gone from just unqualified blank checks — as long as it takes, whether that&#8217;s months, years, decades in terms of perpetuating this war, which really has bogged down to a World War I style meat grinder of people and resources with World War III consequences — to now even President Zelensky walking in the room in Paris and saying, &#8216;Ready to work with you to end this war. Let&#8217;s end it justly, responsibly, in a way that protects Ukraine&#8217;s future, but ends this thing and so, the entire world can move on from it.'&#8221;
He said that Trump is working hard to get a deal done between the two sides to bring the war to a quick close.
&#8220;The other thing that we&#8217;re going to need to see is really stabilizing things on the battlefield,&#8221; Waltz said. &#8220;And one of the things that we&#8217;ll be asking of the Ukrainians is they have real manpower issues. Their draft age right now is 26 years old, not 18, I don&#8217;t think a lot of people realize that.&#8221;
&#8220;They could generate hundreds of thousands of new soldiers,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;So when we hear about morale problems, when we hear about issues on the frontline, look, if the Ukrainians have asked the entire world to be all in for democracy, we need them to be all in for democracy.&#8221;
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&#8220;And they certainly have fought bravely. They certainly have taken a very noble and tough stand,&#8221; he added. &#8220;But we need to see those manpower shortages addressed. This isn&#8217;t just about munitions, ammunition, or writing more checks. It&#8217;s about seeing the frontlines stabilized, so that we can enter into some type of deal.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Rep. Mike Waltz: &#8220;There are going to be consequences to those who think they can take an American. There is going to no longer be any upside for anyone who harms Americans abroad.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/GNWOQzOXGc">pic.twitter.com/GNWOQzOXGc</a>
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1878568332741259523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2025</a></blockquote>

Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump

Mike Waltz Reveals Ukraine Holding Back Key Resources That Could Help It Win

Congress

Mike Waltz

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> refused to answer on Friday why he waited until the final days of his administration — after he and Vice President Kamala Harris both failed to defeat President-elect Donald Trump during last year&#8217;s election — to enact new sanctions against Russia that he himself acknowledged will raise the price of gasoline.
CNN reported that the new sanctions targeting Russia&#8217;s oil industry were some of the &#8220;harshest sanctions to date meant to cut off funding for Moscow’s war against Ukraine.&#8221;
A reporter asked Biden at a press conference if he was concerned about prices going up and why he waited until today to impose the sanctions and not years ago.
&#8220;The sanctions are imposed today because they will have profound effect on the growth of the Russian economy and make it more difficult for Putin to conduct his wars,&#8221; Biden said in avoiding answering why he waited to issue the sanctions until just a few days before Trump takes office.
Biden claimed that the sanctions would only cause gas prices to go up by three to four cents per gallon.
The sanctions targeted Russia&#8217;s largest oil companies and hundreds of oil-carrying vessels, including those that are covertly carrying oil to avoid sanctions.
The administration said that the sanctions will cost Russia “upwards of billions of dollars per month.”
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The report said that oil prices &#8220;climbed sharply&#8221; once rumors surfaced that the sanctions were coming.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Reuters’s <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffmason1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JeffMason1</a>: “Mr. President, you talked about gas prices coming down. You made today’s decision about sanctions against Russia. Are you concerned that that decision will perhaps lead to gas prices going up? And can you explain why those sanctions were imposed today and… <a href="https://t.co/cN1vGTseyE">pic.twitter.com/cN1vGTseyE</a>
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1877857178263879736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2025</a></blockquote>

US-POLITICS-FIRE-BIDEN

Biden Refuses To Answer Why He Waited To Issue New Russian Sanctions That Will Increase Gas Prices

Executive

Gas Prices

Joe Biden

Rep. Micheal McCaul (R-TX), Chairman Emeritus of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Homeland Security, said during an interview over the weekend that the special envoy President-elect Donald Trump has tapped for Ukraine and Russia believes that the U.S. cannot afford to lose Ukraine to Russia.
McCaul&#8217;s remarks on ABC News&#8217; &#8220;This Week&#8221; come just a couple weeks before Trump takes office and retired Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg begins his task of trying to bring the Russia&#8217;s war inside of Ukraine to a quick conclusion.
&#8220;Keith Kellogg, the special envoy, I&#8217;ve talked to him many times,&#8221; McCaul said. &#8220;He believes that we cannot afford to lose Ukraine to Russia. That would be a horrible foreign policy decision that would put us in the position of losing to Russia in Ukraine, and threatening Eastern Europe.&#8221;
&#8220;And the fact is, I can&#8217;t overemphasize, as I have to my colleagues, it&#8217;s not just Putin,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Putin is aligned with Chairman Xi in China, who threatens the Indo-Pacific. He&#8217;s also aligned with the Ayatollah in the Middle East who we have seen threatened Israel. And they&#8217;re all in this together. And Kim Jong-un sent 10,000 troops of his own to fight Ukraine&#8217;s.&#8221;
&#8220;I just think that they&#8217;re all in this together,&#8221; he added. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got to take it seriously. If we can negotiate a peaceful settlement, great, but I think the Ukrainians need more leverage that the current administration has not given them and when they have that leverage going to the table they&#8217;ll have more, I think, power.&#8221;
He said that whatever terms are that are negotiated to bring the war to an end, they need to be ones that &#8220;do not throw Ukraine under the bus.&#8221;
&#8220;They were thrown under the bus in the Budapest agreements where they gave up all their nuclear weapons in assurance for security, and guess what happened? There was none,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And if there is a deal cut, we have to have teeth in that enforcement agreement such that if Russia ever invades again, there will be consequences because they gave up all their nuclear weapons, Ukraine did, and there was no response after the Budapest agreement on that.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
On Russia’s war in Ukraine, GOP Rep. Michael McCaul says, “I think President Trump does want to end the war, have a peaceful negotiation. We&#8217;re all for that, but it&#8217;s got to be on terms that do not throw Ukraine under the bus.” <a href="https://t.co/uWVTJmJW4w">https://t.co/uWVTJmJW4w</a> <a href="https://t.co/uI5yKbjz0g">pic.twitter.com/uI5yKbjz0g</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1875946037904302194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2025</a></blockquote>

China Task Force Presser

McCaul: Trump’s Incoming NatSec Team Believes ‘We Cannot Afford To Lose Ukraine To Russia’

Michael McCaul

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> announced another $2.5 billion in military aid for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a> on Monday as he continues ramping up financial support for the country in the final days of his presidency before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in for his second term. 
The assistance includes a $1.25 billion military aid package from the Defense Department and a $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. 
&#8220;Since Russia launched its further assault against Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has rallied the world to stand with the Ukrainian people, and it has been a top priority of mine to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to prevail,&#8221; Biden said in a statement.
&#8220;I’ve directed my Administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible—including drawing down older U.S. equipment for Ukraine, rapidly delivering it to the battlefield, and then revitalizing the U.S. defense industrial base to modernize and replenish our stockpiles with new weapons,&#8221; Biden added.
The military aid includes air defense munitions, artillery ammunition, Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems munitions, ammunition for rocket systems, air-to-ground munitions, missiles, communications equipment, and demolition equipment.
“This support is crucial to stabilizing the front lines—every additional supply from our partners means more saved lives of our soldiers,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1873454861645197577" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Sunday, anticipating the aid. “We are also working to ensure that other partners maintain their support at the necessary level.”
Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-announces-another-725-million-in-ukraine-military-aid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> an additional $725 million in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine earlier this month and another $275 million last month. Under Biden, the U.S. has committed more than $183 billion to Ukraine. 
The Treasury Department also announced Monday that it would be given Ukraine $3.4 billion in direct budget support for &#8220;maintaining the critical government services.&#8221;
Trump has promised to wind down the war in Ukraine and negotiate a quick peace settlement. Earlier this month, he met with Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, where they spoke about bringing the war to a close. 
“He wants to make peace,” Trump <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/12/08/us-news/trump-says-zelensky-is-ready-for-peace-as-he-dishes-to-post-on-meetings-with-world-leaders-and-jill-biden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the New York Post about his conversation with Zelensky. “That’s new.”
“He wants to have a cease-fire,” he added. “He wants to make peace. We didn’t talk about the details. He thinks it’s time, and Putin should think it’s time because he’s lost — when you lose 700,000 people, it’s time.”
Trump has also been critical of Biden&#8217;s recent policy changes, such as allowing Ukraine to launch long-range American-supplied missiles into Russia. He described Biden&#8217;s decision as a &#8220;very stupid thing&#8221; to do.
Trump has maintained that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine had he been president, blaming the Biden administration for the costly war.

US-POLITICS-BIDEN-CARTER

Biden Sends Ukraine Another $2.5 Billion In Military Aid Before Trump Takes Office

Department of Defense

Volodymyr Zelensky

An Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed on Christmas, killing dozens of people, was shot down by Russian antiaircraft fire, according to an investigation.
An investigation by Azerbaijan indicated that the plane was &#8220;hit by a Russian antiaircraft missile, or shrapnel from it,&#8221; The Wall Street Journal reported. Separate aviation experts said that there was visible evidence that the plane had been hit by a munition.
The flight from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, was headed for Grozny, Russia when it &#8220;suddenly diverted course when flying over a part of Russia where the military had been shooting down Ukrainian drones,&#8221; the report said. &#8220;The plane went down in western Kazakhstan near the Caspian Sea city of Aktau.&#8221;
Sources familiar with the investigation told The Journal that Russia refused to allow the plane to land on its soil and that Russia intentionally jammed the plane&#8217;s GPS.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
This is a full length video of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan. What the hell happened? <a href="https://t.co/7CL6SwMne8">pic.twitter.com/7CL6SwMne8</a>
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) <a href="https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1871938369086959783?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2024</a></blockquote>
Of the 62 passengers and five crew members who were on board, 38 were killed and 29 survived — many of whom are in critical condition.
Those who survived said they heard a loud explosion that happened before the flight started having problems.
“Everyone heard the explosion,” said Subkhonkul Rakhimov, who survived the crash, in an interview with RT.
Russia’s Federal Air Traffic Agency claimed that the plane hit a flock of birds.
WSJ Chief Foreign-Affairs Correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov highlighted a report from an Azerbaijani publication that highlighted how Russia turned the aircraft out of its airspace and what Azerbaijani officials believe the reason was:
<blockquote>As is known, the Grozny airport refused to allow the aircraft to land. Moreover, the Azerbaijani aircraft was also denied landing permissions at the airports in Makhachkala and Mineralnye Vody. The disoriented crew, subjected to air defence fire and electronic warfare (EW) systems, was redirected to the Kazakh city of Aktau. It can be assumed that this recommendation was given with one goal: to have the aircraft crash into the Caspian Sea, where all witnesses would perish and the aircraft would sink.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Kill and hide. Azerbaijani officials tell local media that Russia hit flight J2-8243 with an anti-aircraft missile and then jammed electronics and denied permission to land in three airports, steering the damaged plane into the Caspian Sea so that it would crash there and… <a href="https://t.co/BuXePAteTJ">pic.twitter.com/BuXePAteTJ</a>
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) <a href="https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/1872277323254268292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
Zaur Shiriyev, a Baku-based nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said that Azerbaijan expects &#8220;not only an apology but also an explanation as to why the pilots’ request to land was denied and why their GPS was jammed over the Caspian Sea—both of which could have saved the plane and its passengers.&#8221;
An Azerbaijan official <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/azerbaijan-airlines-flight-was-downed-by-russian-air-defence-system-four-sources-2024-12-26/">told</a> Reuters that no one believes that the aircraft was intentionally shot down but they do expect Russia to confess to what happened.
Sources told the publication that they believe a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system is what shot the plane down.
A U.S. official said that preliminary findings from the investigation showed that there were signs that the plane was hit by a Russian anti-aircraft system.
The incident was similar to a 2014 incident when Russia-backed separatists shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine, killing 298 people.

CORRECTION / KAZAKHSTAN-PLANE-CRASH

Dozens Killed After Russia Shoots Down Passenger Jet: Report

Drones

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russian</a> authorities arrested an Uzbekistan national on Wednesday who they say admitted to killing Russian general Igor Kirillov in a bombing on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old suspect, who was not named, was captured in a village on the outskirts of Moscow following the assassination.
Russian authorities claimed that the suspect confessed to being hired by Ukraine’s military intelligence service, known as the HUR, to carry out the attack.
The assassination came just a day after Ukraine accused Kirillov — who was the head of Russia’s nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces — of war crimes involving the use of banned chemical weapons on the battlefield.
The suspect allegedly traveled to Moscow and placed a bomb under a scooter that was near Kirillov&#8217;s home. When Kirillov and one of his aides walked outside of the building where the scooter was located, the bomb detonated, killing both men.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
VIDEO: 🇷🇺 Russian army&#8217;s chemical weapons chief killed in Moscow blast
Igor Kirillov was killed in a brazen attack which has been claimed by Kyiv, becoming the most senior military figure assassinated in Russia yet as the Kremlin&#8217;s campaign in Ukraine drags on<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFPVertical?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AFPVertical</a> <a href="https://t.co/vw0yHF30vz">pic.twitter.com/vw0yHF30vz</a>
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1869056017972986185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
The suspect drove a rental car to the scene and used a live video camera to give Ukraine&#8217;s intelligence services a live feed monitoring the general&#8217;s movements.
He was promised $100,000 and help getting to Europe, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/world/europe/russia-general-killing-suspect-uzbekistan.html?smid=tw-nytimes&amp;smtyp=cur">reported</a>.
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Kirillov was accused by Ukraine of using the banned chemical weapon chloropicrin nearly 5,000 times against troops in Ukraine. He was sanctioned by the U.S. and the U.K. for using the weapon.
“Kirillov was a war criminal and an absolutely legitimate target, as he gave orders to use banned chemical substances against the Ukrainian military,” a Ukrainian official told CNN. “Such an inglorious end awaits all those who kill Ukrainians. Retribution for war crimes is inevitable.”
Ukraine has killed other top Russian military officials in targeted assassinations, including two in just the last month.
Ukraine&#8217;s security services took credit for the assassination of a senior commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Russian-occupied Crimea and the assassination of a senior Russian naval officer who ordered missile strikes on civilian targets.

RUSSIA-BLAST-MILITARY

Russia Arrests Suspect In Assassination Of Top General In Moscow

World

Ukraine assassinated a top Russian general inside Moscow on Tuesday morning, just a day after the country accused him of war crimes involving the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield.
General Igor Kirillov, 54, became the highest-ranking Russian official killed inside Russia since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago.
Kirillov and an aide were killed after they walked out of a residential building, and a scooter packed with explosives was detonated when the two men walked by.
The blast was so powerful that it damaged windows as high as the third floor of the building and shattered windows in buildings across the street, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/17/world/europe/russian-general-bombing-moscow.html">reported</a>. Investigators said that the bomb had the same explosive yield as two pounds of TNT.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
VIDEO: 🇷🇺 Russian army&#8217;s chemical weapons chief killed in Moscow blast
Igor Kirillov was killed in a brazen attack which has been claimed by Kyiv, becoming the most senior military figure assassinated in Russia yet as the Kremlin&#8217;s campaign in Ukraine drags on<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFPVertical?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AFPVertical</a> <a href="https://t.co/vw0yHF30vz">pic.twitter.com/vw0yHF30vz</a>
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1869056017972986185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
Kirillov was the head of Russia’s nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces and was wanted by Ukraine for his use of the banned chemical weapon chloropicrin against troops in Ukraine. He was sanctioned by the U.S. and the U.K. for using the weapon.
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“Kirillov was a war criminal and an absolutely legitimate target, as he gave orders to use banned chemical substances against the Ukrainian military,” a Ukrainian official told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/russian-general-kirillov-moscow-explosion-ukraine-12-17-24-intl/index.html">CNN</a>. “Such an inglorious end awaits all those who kill Ukrainians. Retribution for war crimes is inevitable.”
The report said that there had been nearly 5,000 recorded instances of Russian troops using the illegal chemical weapon under Kirillov’s orders. 
. 
Ukraine has killed other top Russian military officials in targeted assassinations, including two in just the last month.
Ukraine&#8217;s security services took credit for the assassination of a senior commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Russian-occupied Crimea and the assassination of a senior Russian naval officer who ordered missile strikes on civilian targets.

Head of Russian nuclear protection forces killed in Moscow explosion

Ukraine Kills Top Russian General In Moscow

assassination

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> announced on Monday that it would be sending another $725 million to Ukraine as it ramps up military aid to the country before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
The State Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/united-states-announces-significant-new-military-assistance-for-ukraine-14/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that it would be giving Ukraine a variety of military equipment including Stinger missiles, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, artillery ammunition, drones, tube-launched, optically guided, wire-tracked missiles, small arms and ammunition, and other military supplies. 
“As part of the surge in security assistance that President Biden announced on September 26, the United States is providing another significant package of urgently needed weapons and equipment to our Ukrainian partners as they defend against Russia’s ongoing attacks,” the State Department said. “The United States and more than 50 nations stand united to ensure Ukraine has the capabilities it needs to defend itself against Russian aggression.”
The aid was supplied in addition to another $275 million in military aid the Biden administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-sending-another-275m-in-military-aid-to-ukraine-before-trump-takes-office" target="_blank" rel="noopener">committed</a> to on November 20. 
The aid comes as Biden enters the final month of his presidency and just after he made a major policy change to <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/11/17/us-news/donald-trump-jr-claims-biden-administration-is-trying-to-start-world-war-3-ahead-of-trumps-presidency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">authorize</a> Ukraine to launch long-range American-supplied missiles into Russia. Donald Trump Jr. accused the Biden administration of trying to start a world war before his father’s inauguration in January.
“The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives. Gotta lock in those $Trillions. Life be damned!!! Imbeciles!” he <a href="https://x.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1858242971373637784">posted</a> on X in response.  
The policy change was met with <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/4998825-us-ukraine-missile-policy-shift-biden-gop/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mixed reactions</a> from Republicans who asked why Biden was making the change now. 
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-zelenskyy-nato-92069fae6a05fc03d6fb2643ecbb4b2a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserted</a> last week that the war could end if the country became part of NATO.  
“If we want to stop the hot stage of the war, we should take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control. That’s what we need to do, fast. And then Ukraine can get back the other part of its territory diplomatically,” he said.
Trump <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-military-weapons-nuclear-42d5d374faf445b811c6abe422da05eb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has promised</a> to bring a quick end to the war, saying that he will negotiate peace. 
“We’re going to work very hard on Russia and Ukraine. It’s got to stop. Russia and Ukraine’s gotta stop,” he said in November.

President Biden Meets With Visiting Ukrainian President Zelensky At The White House

Biden Administration Announces Another $725 Million In Ukraine Military Aid

Biden Administration

Ukraine President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/volodymyr-zelensky" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Volodymyr Zelensky</a> signaled on Friday that he is shifting his position on his country&#8217;s war against Russia.
Zelensky is now reportedly willing to concede territory to Russia to bring an end to the war that was started in 2022 when Russian forces invaded.
&#8220;If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control,&#8221; Zelensky <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/zelenskyy-suggests-hes-prepared-to-end-ukraine-war-in-return-for-nato-membership-even-if-russia-doesnt-immediately-return-seized-land-13263085" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in an interview with Sky News.
&#8220;We need to do it fast,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And then on the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way.&#8221;
The Telegraph <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/zelensky-says-willing-cede-ukrainian-193636628.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Zelensky&#8217;s new remarks represented &#8220;a considerable shift in his position&#8221; after he previously indicated that Ukraine would fight Russia until the country regained complete control of all of its internationally recognized borders.
Zelensky said that he wants to work directly with President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised to bring a quick end to the war, but has declined to divulge details on how he will do it.
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&#8220;I want to work with him directly because there are different voices from people around him. And that&#8217;s why we need not to [allow] anybody around to destroy our communication,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It will be not helpful and will be destructive. We have to try to find the new model. I want to share with him ideas and I want to hear from him.&#8221;
He said that the two had a &#8220;very warm, good, constructive&#8221; conversation when they talked in September, adding that it was &#8220;an important first step.&#8221;
Zelensky&#8217;s remarks come after Trump appointed Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg to serve as his Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
Kellogg <a href="https://americafirstpolicy.com/issues/america-first-russia-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a policy paper at the America First Policy Institute that Russia’s war in Ukraine was “an avoidable crisis that, due to the Biden Administration’s incompetent policies and rejection of the America First approach to national security, has entangled America in an endless war.”
He said the administration’s “risk-averse pattern in the armament of Ukraine coupled with a failure in diplomacy with Russia has prolonged the war in Ukraine, which now finds itself in a war of attrition with Russia.”
He wrote that the U.S. plans to seek “a cease-fire and negotiated settlement” to bring the war in Ukraine to an end.
“The United States would continue to arm Ukraine and strengthen its defenses to ensure Russia will make no further advances and will not attack again after a cease-fire or peace agreement,” he said. “Future American military aid, however, will require Ukraine to participate in peace talks with Russia.”

HUNGARY-EU-SUMMIT-EUROPE-DIPLOMACY-CONFLICT

Zelensky Signals Shift In War Against Russia

President-elect <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> announced on Wednesday that he has selected retired Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg to serve as Assistant to the President and Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
&#8220;Keith has led a distinguished Military and Business career, including serving in highly sensitive National Security roles in my first Administration,&#8221; Trump said in a statement. &#8220;He was with me right from the beginning!&#8221;
&#8220;Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!&#8221; Trump added.
Kellogg served during Trump&#8217;s first term in office as a national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence.
&#8220;I am honored by @realDonaldTrump&#8217;s appointment to serve as Assistant to the President and Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia,&#8221; Kellogg said in a post on X.
&#8220;It was the privilege of my life working for President Trump, and I look forward to working tirelessly to secure peace through strength while upholding America’s interests,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I am ready with the commitment and dedication it deserves.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I am honored by <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>&#8216;s appointment to serve as Assistant to the President and Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia. It was the privilege of my life working for President Trump, and I look forward to working tirelessly to secure peace through strength while upholding… <a href="https://t.co/Nj6TFFEyui">pic.twitter.com/Nj6TFFEyui</a>
— Keith Kellogg (@generalkellogg) <a href="https://twitter.com/generalkellogg/status/1861867967111463363?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
During the Biden-era, Kellogg has served as the Co-Chairman of the Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute.
Kellogg <a href="https://americafirstpolicy.com/issues/america-first-russia-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a policy paper at the institute that Russia&#8217;s war in Ukraine was &#8220;an avoidable crisis that, due to the Biden Administration’s incompetent policies and rejection of the America First approach to national security, has entangled America in an endless war.&#8221;
He said the administration&#8217;s &#8220;risk-averse pattern in the armament of Ukraine coupled with a failure in diplomacy with Russia has prolonged the war in Ukraine, which now finds itself in a war of attrition with Russia.&#8221;
He wrote that the U.S. plans to seek &#8220;a cease-fire and negotiated settlement&#8221; to bring the war in Ukraine to an end.
&#8220;The United States would continue to arm Ukraine and strengthen its defenses to ensure Russia will make no further advances and will not attack again after a cease-fire or peace agreement,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Future American military aid, however, will require Ukraine to participate in peace talks with Russia.&#8221;

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