[DM] President Donald Trump revealed he has begun negotiations with Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
In a 90-minute phone call on Wednesday the two leaders also laid the groundwork for historic summits between them in the U.S. and Moscow.
Trump made the bombshell announcement in a lengthy post to his Truth Social account, declaring that 'the war must end.'
He also said the two leaders agreed to visit each other's countries soon. Trump would be the first U.S. President to visit Russia since Barack Obama in 2013.
Announcing the negotiations, Trump wrote: 'We want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine. President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, 'COMMON SENSE'.
'We both believe very strongly in it. We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other's Nations.'
He added: 'We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now.'
Trump then phoned Zelensky and, afterwards, declared that the Ukrainian leader also wants an end to the war.
The U.S. President wrote: 'The conversation went very well. He, like President Putin, wants to make PEACE.'
Trump said Zelensky would meet on Friday in Munich with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
He wrote: 'I am hopeful that the results of that meeting will be positive. It is time to stop this ridiculous War, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, DEATH and DESTRUCTION. God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine!'
Trump's pronouncement will send shockwaves around the world.
#3
I have no doubt Marco is listening in. He's just not driving the bus at this point
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/12/2025 17:50 Comments ||
Top||
#4
President Putin needs a peer-to-peer ego stroke from The Donald in order for this deal to happen. Bibi Netanyahu spent something like four hours in conference with President Trump on his recent visit to our shores before spending hours more with Secretary Rubio. That’s the way the game has to be played at the beginning of this particular presidency.
[DM] A second American hostage is expected to be released from Russia today, following the release of teacher Marc Fogel, as President Donald Trump revealed what he had to give Vladimir Putin in exchange for his freedom.
Last night, Special Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler and Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CNN: 'We have another American coming in [Wednesday].'
Neither official would confirm the identity of the soon-to-be-released hostage, or where they were located.
Boehler added in a later interview with Fox News: 'It'll be unilateral as well, and I can't release until the person is released. Obviously, it could endanger a hostage release, and that I can't do.
'But I can say that we expect another one [Wednesday] and hopefully a lot more through that because the president has made it a priority to get all Americans home.'
Trump hosted Marc Fogel at the White House last night just hours after the teacher was released from Russian custody.
'I'm so excited,' Fogel told Trump of being back in the US after arriving at a snowy White House with an American flag draped around his neck, tearfully adding: 'I feel like the luckiest man on Earth right now.'
Trump later claimed that Fogel's release did 'not [cost] much', adding that it was a show of good faith from the Kremlin.
But this morning the Kremlin claimed a Russia citizen was freed in an exchange for Mr Fogel.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 21.30 In the Kiev region, sappers have defused an air-to-ground cruise missile Kh-69. This was reported by the press service of the State Emergency Service.
The State Emergency Service specialists identified the find as the latest Russian high-precision air-to-ground cruise missile Kh-69. The sappers successfully neutralized the missile and then handed it over to specialists for further study.
In the Kyiv region, sappers have defused the latest Russian cruise missile Kh-69
18:55 The new US administration is not going to send troops to Ukraine. This was stated by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth at the headquarters of the US Africa Command in Germany. At the same time, he confirmed that President Donald Trump is committed to quickly concluding an agreement to end the war between Ukraine and Russia.
18.29 Private hacker groups have begun working on the Russian side, attacking Ukrainian information systems. This was reported by the head of the State Special Communications Service, Oleksandr Potiy, in an interview with Ukrinform.
18.01 In Sumy Oblast, two people were killed as a result of an enemy airstrike on the Krasnopolskaya community. An investigation has been launched. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General on Tuesday, February 11.
17.48 Russians accused the Ukrainian Armed Forces of attacking two customs points in the Bryansk region, where the Russian Armed Forces were based.
The Russian Federation claims that on February 9, the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly attacked the administrative building at the Troebortnoye checkpoint in the Sevsky District of the Bryansk Region, which is located on the border with Ukraine. The attack was allegedly carried out with two guided aerial bombs.
As a result, the second floor of the building where Russian soldiers were based was destroyed. One of them was killed and eight more were injured.
On the same day, the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly used drones to strike another customs point in the region - Pogar. As a result, the driver of the aircraft platoon was killed.
17.33 In January 2025, short-range drones were the main cause of civilian deaths and injuries in Ukraine. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), such drones resulted in the deaths of 38 people (27% of the total number of victims) and the injury of 223 people (30% of the total number of victims).
16.55 A soldier, journalist and director Yaroslav Shapochka died in the war, he was considered missing for almost two years. This was reported by director Alina Khoroshilova on Facebook.
Shapochka died on March 20 or 21, 2023, in the Bakhmut area of Donetsk region.
16.15 Drone operators from the Phoenix strike unmanned aerial systems unit hit three long-range Russian Giatsint-B cannons in the Kharkiv region.
The military destroyed the guns by burning holes in their barrels. After this, the gun is no longer capable of firing, the barrel needs to be replaced, and this part is in very short supply.
15.33 As part of the initiative of the President of Ukraine Bring Kids Back UA, four children who were under Russian occupation were brought home. This was reported by the head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak.
15.06 In Belozerka in the Kherson region at 13.30 Russian troops attacked a local utility vehicle with a drone, as a result of which two workers were injured. This was reported by the Kherson OVA on Tuesday, February 11.
14.43 The Cabinet of Ministers has approved mandatory polygraph testing for foreigners wishing to serve under contract in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard and the State Special Transport Service. This was reported by MP Oleksiy Goncharenko on Tuesday, February 11.
13.53 Russian troops dropped three FAB-250 on Konstantinovka in Donetsk Oblast. As a result, three people were wounded. This was reported by the head of the OVA Vadim Filashkin on Tuesday, February 11.
13.45 All children have been evacuated from 90 settlements in the border area of Sumy Oblast. This was reported by the head of Sumy OVA Vladimir Artyukh on air during a telethon. We are talking about 777 children.
13.20 The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced five members of the Ukrainian assault battalion in the case of "participation in a terrorist organization." This is reported by Russian media. The prisoners of war in question are Ukrainian citizens Ivan Bezlepkin, Yuriy Makarenko, Dmitry Reyvakha, Gleb Petruk and Vladimir Puzanov.
12.49 Ukrainian military discovered and destroyed a rare Smerch-2 naval mortar launcher installed by the Russians on a Ural truck. The corresponding video was released by the press service of the operational-strategic group of forces Khortytsia on Tuesday, February 11.
12.01 On February 12, Russians will conduct anti-sabotage exercises in the north of occupied Crimea. In the morning, for an hour, cellular communications will be disconnected in the area where the exercises are taking place. This was reported by Russian media.
11:35 North Korea has sent about 200 long-range artillery pieces to Russia and is likely to send more troops and weapons to support its war against Ukraine, Yonhap News reports, citing the South Korean Defense Ministry.
11.28 Emergency power outages introduced due to the massive Russian attack have been cancelled in Ukraine, Ukrenergo reported.
11.22 On Tuesday night, Russian aggressors launched a combined attack on Ukraine with missiles and drones. Most of the targets were either destroyed or suppressed by electronic warfare. The details were reported by the Ukrainian Air Force.
11.15 A Russian drone without a warhead was found in the Romensky district. This was reported on February 11 by the Main Directorate of the National Police in Sumy Oblast. At the scene, police bomb disposal experts examined the UAV and established that, most likely, it was used by the enemy as a false target to distract the Air Defense Forces.
11.05 On Tuesday night, the Saratov Oil Refinery was hit in Russia. Units of the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Main Intelligence Directorate and the Special Operations Forces were involved in cooperation with other components of the Defense Forces, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.
11.02 Russian troops attacked the territory of Cherkasy Oblast at night. This was reported by the head of Cherkasy OVA Igor Taburets. According to him, two men were injured by debris. They were taken to hospital. The condition of both is moderate. It is noted that 17 Russian UAVs were destroyed within the region.
10:45 Soldiers of the 82nd separate Bukovina airborne assault brigade of the Ukrainian Airborne Forces successfully carried out offensive actions in one of the areas of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. This was reported by the communications department of the Airborne Assault Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces command, which published a video. The footage shows how the offensive actions of the Airborne Assault Forces units and other components of the Ukrainian Armed Forces took place.
10.33 The Russian army has become more active in several directions of the front in eastern Ukraine, but the situation around Pokrovsk remains the most tense. As a result of assault actions and fire impact, some positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units were destroyed, OSGV Khortytsia reports.
10:25 In Kirovograd Oblast, a Russian agent and his minor henchman were detained for attempting to install a GPS tracker on a special transport escorting Ukrainian Armed Forces columns to the front. The SBU reported this on February 11.
9:24 On the night of February 11, Russian troops used drones during a massive attack, and air defense was in operation. As a result of the attack, a kindergarten and a school in the Boryspil district were damaged. This was reported by the acting head of the Kyiv OVA Mykola Kalashnik.
8:52 Over the past 24 hours, the missile troops and artillery of the Defense Forces hit six areas of personnel concentration, six artillery systems and four other important objects of the Russian invaders. This was reported on February 11 by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On the front, over the past 24 hours, on February 10, 139 combat clashes were recorded.
8:30 As a result of falling debris from downed drones in the Voznesensky district, the building of an out-of-service lyceum was damaged. This was reported by the Mykolaiv OVA. It is noted that on the night of February 11, air defense forces and means destroyed six Shahed 131/136 UAVs in the Mykolaiv region.
8:07 The Russians launched a missile strike on Poltava region. This was reported by the Poltava OVA on February 11. As a result of the shelling, nine settlements in the Myrhorodsky district were left without gas supply.
7:45 The Ukrainian military destroyed 1,390 Russian occupiers in 24 hours. The enemy's total combat losses from 24.02.22 to 11.02.25 were approximately 851,880 people. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
7:20 The Russians attacked gas infrastructure at night, as of this morning, the energy sector remains under attack. This was reported by Energy Minister German Galushchenko. According to Ukrenergo, emergency power outages are being implemented in Ukraine due to a massive ballistic attack.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] There have been 15 combat encounters in the Kursk direction since the beginning of the day.
The Russians also stormed the positions of Ukrainian units in the Toretsk direction thirteen times.
The situation in the Pokrovsk direction and in the Kursk region remains hot. In total, 90 combat clashes took place on the front as of the evening of February 11. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on its Facebook page.
In the Kupyansk direction, the aggressor carried out offensive actions in the areas of Kondrashovka, Petrovpavlovka, Novaya Kruglyakovka and Zagryzovoye, where the Ukrainian defenders stopped all seven enemy attacks. The enemy dropped a KAB on Osinovo.
In the Liman direction, Russian invaders, with air support, attacked the positions of the Defense Forces nine times near the settlements of Novosergeevka, Novoye, Zelenaya Roshcha, Novolyubovka and Yampolevka.
In the Seversky direction, our defenders repelled one assault by occupation forces near Belogorovka.
In the Kramatorsk direction, the enemy stormed the positions of our defenders near Vasyukovka, Grigoryevka and Vremenny Yar. The defense forces repelled one attack by the invaders, and currently battles are being fought in three more locations. Stupochki and Druzhkovka were subjected to air strikes. Thirteen times, the Russians stormed the positions of Ukrainian units in the Toretsk direction in the areas of Toretsk, Dilievka and Shcherbinovka.
In the Pokrovsk direction, since the beginning of the day, the enemy has attacked in the areas of the settlements of Vodyanoye Vtoroye, Peschanoye, Pokrovsk, Uspenovka, Ulakli, Tarasovka, Elizavetovka, Luch, Lisovka, Kotlino, Molodetskoye, Udachnoye, Nadezhdinka, Alekseyevka, Dachnoye and Shevchenko. Our defenders have stopped all 30 assault actions of the enemy. Pokrovsk, Grodovka, Zverevo, Leontovichi and Muravka received air strikes. Today, 261 infidels were neutralized in this direction, 116 of them irretrievably. Ukrainian soldiers destroyed a tank, one combat armored vehicle, three MT-LBs, twelve vehicles, three UAV control points, two trench electronic warfare systems, and one UAV antenna.
In the Novopavlovsk direction, the enemy tried to break through the defense of our defenders in the Constantinople area eight times. One combat clash is currently ongoing.
In the Gulyai-Polye direction, three clashes with the enemy took place in the area of the settlements of Novosyolka and Volshebnoye.
In the Kursk direction, there have been 15 combat contacts since the beginning of the day, and the invading army has also carried out 28 airstrikes, dropping 39 KABs and carrying out 532 shellings.
As already written, Ukrainian defenders destroyed a column of Russian tanks and infantry fighting vehicles that tried to break through the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kharkiv region.
Linked article is available only through a VPN
[EngMilRu] Last night, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a long-range high-precision ground-, air-, and sea-based group strike as well as unmanned aerial vehicle attack, destroying gas and power infrastructure facilities that support the work of the Ukrainian military industry, infrastructure of military airfields, storage and training areas for the use of UAVs.
The goals of the strike were achieved.
In Kharkov direction, units of the Sever Group of Forces hit manpower and hardware of one tank brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and one territorial defence brigade close to Veliky Burluk and Olkhovatka (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses were up to 20 troops, one armoured fighting vehicle, one artillery gun, and one ammunition depot.
Units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Russian troops delivered strikes at manpower and hardware of three mechanised brigades, one mountain assault brigade, one jaeger brigade of the AFU, and one territorial defence brigade close to Druzhelyubovka, Zelyony Gai, Petropavlovka, Boguslavka (Kharkov region), Novolyubovka (Lugansk People's Republic), Yampolovka, and Zvanovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were up to 215 troops, two tanks, two U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carriers, and two motor vehicles. Three field artillery guns, four ammunition depots, and two electronic warfare stations were eliminated.
Units of the Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Russian troops inflicted fire damage on units of three mechanised brigades, one mountain assault brigade near Katerinovka, Seversk, Chasov Yar, and Predtechino (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were up to 210 troops, two U.S.-made HMMWV armoured fighting vehicles, two field artillery guns, and three motor vehicles.
As a result of decisive actions, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces liberated Yasenovoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
Russian troops hit formations of four mechanised brigades, one motorised infantry brigade, one jaeger brigade of the AFU, one territorial defence brigade, and two National Guard Brigades near Belitskoye, Rodinskoye, Novosergeyevka, Andreyevka, Uspenovka, Dimitrov, and Udachnoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were up to 505 troops, one tank, one armoured fighting vehicle, four artillery guns, and seven motor vehicles.
Units of the Vostok Group of Forces continued advancing into the depth of enemy defences. Russian troops launched an attack on manpower and hardware of one tank brigade, three mechanised brigades,one territorial defence brigade close to Bogatyr, Skudnoye, Shevchenko, Burlatskoye, Novosyolka, Novopol (Donetsk People's Republic), and Gulyaipole (Zaporozhye region).
The AFU losses were up to 155 troops, two motor vehicles, six field artillery guns, including two NATO-made ones.
Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces defeated formations of two mechanised brigades, two coastal defence brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and one territorial defence brigade close to Novodanilovka, Kamenskoye (Zaporozhye region), Pridneprovskoye, and Antonovka (Kherson region).
The AFU losses were up to 55 troops, two artillery guns, and seven motor vehicles.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces engaged AFU manpower and hardware clusters in 137 areas.
Air defence facilities destroyed three French-made Hammer guided aerial bombs, one U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectile, and 128 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 653 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 42,979 unmanned aerial vehicles, 592 anti-aircraft missile systems, 21,287 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,514 MLRS combat vehicles, 21,495 field artillery guns and mortars, and 31,459 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region.
In the course of offensive actions, the Sever Group of Forces' units inflicted fire damage on formations of two tank brigades, one heavy mechanised brigade, five mechanised brigades, three air assault brigades, one naval infantry brigade, one assault brigade, one territorial defence brigade, and three assault regiments of the AFU near Gogolevka, Goncharovka, Guyevo, Zaoleshenka, Kazachya Loknya, Lebedevka, Malaya Loknya, Makhnovka, Melovoy, Nikolayevka, Nikolsky, Oleshnya, Sverdlikovo, and Sudzha.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, artillery inflicted fire damage on AFU manpower and hardware close to Viktorovka, Pervy Knyazhy, Kolmakov, Kositsa, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Loknya, Martynovka, Rubanshchina, Sverdlikovo, Staraya Sorochina, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye as well as Basovka, Belovody, Vodolagi, Zhuravka, Miropolye, Pisarevka, and Yunakovka in Sumy region.
Over the course of the day, the AFU losses were over 300 troops, two tanks, one armoured personnel carrier, 11 armoured fighting vehicles, 16 motor vehicles, one artillery gun, two mortars, and six UAV command posts. Two AFU servicemen surrendered.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk direction, the AFU losses amounted to more than 59,550 troops, 359 tanks, 260 infantry fighting vehicles, 208 armoured personnel carriers, 1,844 armoured fighting vehicles, 1,924 motor vehicles, 424 artillery guns, 48 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and six of MLRS made by the USA, 18 anti-aircraft missile launchers, eight transport-loading vehicles, 106 EW stations, 15 counter-battery warfare radars, six air defence radars, 38 units of engineering and other materiel, including 18 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, one bridge launcher as well as nine armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 23:57 Official summary of the Office for Documentation of War Crimes of Ukraine from 00:00 02/11/2025 to 00:00 02/12/2025.
Eight facts of armed attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
There were reports of three civilians being injured.
DAMAGED:
One city bus.
Eight armed attacks in the Gorlovka direction.
A total of 24 units of various ammunition were fired.
19:40 In the period from 16:40 to 17:45 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed four Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles:
three UAVs over the territory of the Belgorod region and
one over the territory of the Kursk region.
19:07 Calculations of the 122mm BM-21 MLRS "Grad" of the group of forces "South" beat at places where enemy manpower and equipment are concentrated, strongholds and observation posts, as well as along the routes of movement of mobile fire weapons of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
18:03 Russian Armed Forces advance near Sverdlikovo and Nikolayevo-Daryino –MAP.
16:56 Servicemen of the "Center" group told about the liberation of Druzhba DPR.
Reconnaissance UAV crews identified enemy firing positions, which were destroyed by artillery and FPV drone crews. Small groups of attack aircraft cleared basement after basement, house after house, driving the Ukrainians out of the settlement.
16:32 Operators of fiber optic FPV drones "KVN" destroyed M-113AS4 armored personnel carrier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the village of Constantinople, DPR.
15:20 Pokrovskoe (Krasnoarmeyskoye) direction. Left flank:
The enemy's advance southeast of Kotlino has been blocked.
The enemy was unable to break through to Zverevo.
In Peschanoye, the Ukrainian Armed Forces broke through to the western part. But the statements of Ukrainian soldiers about the complete transfer of Peschanoye under their control do not correspond to reality.
In the area of Zverevo and Peschanoye, the enemy used ground drones with remotely controlled machine guns.
Our units counterattack and destroy the enemy that has broken through.
In Udachny our assault forces broke through to the station.
South of Udachny, north of the Solyonaya River, our units advanced in the eastern part of Novosergeevka.
15:09 Bogatyrskoe direction:
The Russian Armed Forces units have increased pressure in this direction. There is progress in almost all areas.
The enemy is demoralized by the fact that Andreyevka, with the exception of a few houses in the northwestern part, has come under the control of the 114th Motorized Rifle Brigade.
Our assault groups begin to tighten the "pincers" from the north and southeast of Constantinople. Its defending units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces suffer heavy losses. The enemy in the pocket finds itself in operational encirclement.
At the same time, the units of the Vostok Group of Forces increased pressure on Bogatyr and Razliv, which threatens a physical blockade of the supply route to Constantinople from the west as well.
The situation for the enemy east of Bogatyr is becoming critical.
In addition, our troops are striking at Alekseyevka, which is beyond the Volchya River north of Bogatyr.
In Zelenovka, our units are carrying out assault operations.
Units of the Russian Armed Forces are attacking west and east of Zelenovka in the direction of Ulakly.
West of Slavyanka, our assault forces broke through the T-0515 road.
14:52 As part of the counterbattery warfare, a group of an officer with the call sign "Berkut" of the strike and reconnaissance division of the 238th Artillery Brigade of the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Russian Armed Forces began hunting for new targets in the Dnepropetrovsk region.
In the area of the village of Dachnoye, they were detected and successfully destroyed by an UAV crew a minibus and expensive Ukrainian Armed Forces equipment.
14:49 FPV drone operators of the 1st Guards Tank Army of the West Group of Forces destroyed three units of armored vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Khar'kov region.
13:59 FPV drones calculations of the "West" group of forces destroyed two Western-made armored personnel carriers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Khar'kov region.
13:35 Calculations of 122mm BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket systems of the naval infantry of the North Guard daily applied strikes on strongholds and concentrations of manpower and equipment of Ukrainian soldiers in the Sudzhan border area.
12:18 In the Khar'kov region, FPV operators GV "Sever" from the "Tilta" group are actively are destroying equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
12:11 Decisive actions by units of the Center group of forces released settlement of Yasenovo, Donetsk People's Republic.
11:47 FPV drone operators of the Vostok group are hitting the enemy and supporting the advance of our attack aircraft into the depths of the enemy’s defense in the South Donetsk direction –Ministry of Defense.
11:05 Detection and destruction by FPV drone operators of the "Southern" group of 105mm M101 guns of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in the area of the settlement of Dyleevka.
10:15 Another target destroyed by drone operators of the Rubicon Center. This time, FPV drone operators caught up with an armored vehicle of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Pokrovsk direction.
09:39 Destruction by Russian artillery 122mm towed howitzer D-30 "Molot" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of the settlement Burlatskoye in the Vrem'yevsk direction.
08:29 Powerful 122mm BM-21 Grad fire fell on the enemy.
Crews of the Grad multiple launch rocket systems of the separate guards naval infantry brigade as part of the North troop grouping during the performance of fire missions destroyed military equipment and concentrations of Ukrainian Armed Forces manpower in the border area of the Kursk region.
07:06 During the past night, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 40 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles:
18 UAVs over the territory of the Saratov region;
13 UAVs over the territory of the Rostov region,
six over the territory of the Bryansk region,
two over the territory of the Volgograd region and
one over the territory of the Belgorod region.
05:11 Productive hunting.
Crews of strike UAVs of the reconnaissance battalion of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army of the "West" group of forces destroyed automobile and armored vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Commentary by Russian military journalist is in italics.
[ColonelCassad] US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News that Ukraine should guarantee the safety of American investments, as it may one day "become Russia." According to him, Ukrainian soil has significant reserves of rare earth metals, oil and gas, and the United States, which has already invested hundreds of billions of dollars in the country, would like to get their equivalent back.
"I want our money to be safe. Because we spend hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars. They may make a deal, they may not make a deal. They may become Russia someday. They may not become Russia," the president said (quoted from ).
Donald Trump noted that Washington has allocated more than $300 billion to Ukraine, while Europe has allocated about $100 billion. Now he intends to return these funds. "I told them I wanted the equivalent of $500 billion in rare earth metals, and they essentially agreed to do it. So at least we won't feel stupid. Otherwise, we are stupid," the president stated.
Last week, Donald Trump said he planned to sign an agreement with Kiev that would pay for American aid with rare earth metals. In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to make a deal in exchange for security guarantees.
According to estimates by the Ukrainian magazine Forbes, as of April 2023, the total value of Ukraine's mineral resources is approximately $15 trillion. At the same time, more than 70% of the mineral reserves are in the DPR and LPR, which became part of Russia, as well as in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
1. You invest in a network of grant eaters for a couple of billion dollars + sponsor neo-Nazis.
2. You organize a coup d'etat and bring neo-Nazis to power.
3. You unleash a civil war and establish a Nazi dictatorship.
4. You sponsor this war by making money from arms sales.
5. You demand payment for arms deliveries by transferring all the mineral resources to yourself. As a result of the operation - the country is captured by neo-Nazis, who have transferred the mineral resources of the captured country to you.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
