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Tag: vladimir putin

  • Merz: Putin is ‘perhaps the most serious war criminal of our time’

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    Russian President Vladimir Putin is “perhaps the most serious war criminal of our time,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in an interview set to air on Tuesday evening.

    “He is a war criminal,” Merz told the broadcaster Sat.1, referring to the Russian leader.

    “We simply have to be clear about how to deal with war criminals. There is no place for leniency,” he added.

    Merz has levelled severe criticism against Russia since taking office in May, accusing Moscow of “the most serious war crimes” and “terror against the civilian population.”

    The personal description of the Russian president as a war criminal, however, is new.

    Merz’s comments came after he was asked what name he would give Putin after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the Kremlin leader as a “predator” during a trip to Poland.

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  • Putin and Kim Jong Un join Xi Jinping for parade to showcase China’s power, and a growing anti-U.S. union

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    Beijing — China will host its biggest military parade ever on Wednesday, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and Japan’s formal surrender. The massive procession will go down Chang-an Avenue, the name of which means “Eternal Peace.”

    Joining Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping for the “Victory Day” event — which will showcase some of China’s newest and most advanced weapons — will be Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

    Rehearsals have been underway for weeks, and security in the sprawling Chinese capital has been extra tight. All buildings overlooking the parade route will be locked down as the leaders and other dignitaries from 26 countries take in the spectacle, along with some 50,000 spectators.

    For China’s 72-year-old leader Xi, it will be a landmark moment. It’s the third and most important military parade he will have overseen since coming to power in 2012. As commander-in-chief of the world’s largest standing armed forces, he will watch as tens of thousands of troops under his orders march toward Tiananmen Square in central Beijing.

    Xian H-6N jet bombers fly in a formation past a Chinese national flag during a flyover rehearsal ahead of a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2025.

    Tingshu Wang/REUTERS


    It will be a visceral display not only of China’s growing military might and newest hardware, including hypersonic weapons, nuclear capable missiles, fighter jets and underwater drones, but of its growing clout as a geopolitical power, with deepening ties to some of the United States’ most potent adversaries.

    North Korea’s Kim arrived in Beijing Tuesday aboard his green armored train, stopping to inspect one of his own country’s missile production facilities on the way before crossing into China. 

    The parade will be the first time that Kim appears together with both Xi and Putin — offering him a first multilateral diplomatic event.

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expected to arrive in Beijing

    A North Korean flag flutters from a train believed to have carried North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as it arrives in Beijing, China, Sept. 2, 2025.

    Go Nakamura/REUTERS


    The symbolism of the three leaders together on a stage with Xi’s military thundering past in formation will be undeniable. Xi is expected to be flanked by Putin and Kim. Together, they have been dubbed an “Axis of Upheaval” by some Western analysts.

    Xi is bringing together the leaders of some of the most heavily sanctioned nations in the world. Iran‘s President Masoud Pezeshkian and the leader of Myanmar’s ruling military junta, President Min Aung Hlaing will also be attending, according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    It is a clear show of solidarity against the West, and it’s being seen as a direct challenge to the U.S.-led world order that has prevailed for a century. Xi and Putin have made their ambition to shake up that status quo clear for at least several years.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing

    Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin walk at the personal residence of the Chinese leader, Zhongnanhai, in Beijing, China, Sept. 2, 2025.

    Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool/REUTERS


    “We, together with you and with our sympathizers, will move towards a multipolar, just, democratic world order,” Russia’s longtime Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in 2022, ahead of a meeting with his Chinese counterpart.

    The gathering in Beijing will make represent a clear challenge to President Trump’s claim to be fostering close working relationships with Xi, Putin and Kim. Xi’s bond with Putin was on clear and deliberate display in the days leading up to the parade.

    China and Russia have declared their “no limits partnership,” and while China claims to maintain a neutral stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine, Beijing’s support of the war effort — by providing dual-use technology and continuing to purchase Russian oil and gas in defiance of Western sanctions, has proven to be an economic lifeline funding Putin’s three and a half year war.

    During talks at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Tuesday, Putin hailed “unprecedentedly high relations” with China and thanked his “dear friend” Xi for the warm welcome.

    Kim’s support for Russia’s war has been even more direct. Since October last year, North Korea has sent around 13,000 troops, along with conventional weapons, to support Russia’s war effort. South Korea’s intelligence services estimate that around 2,000 North Korean troops have been killed fighting alongside Russian forces.

    NKOREA-RUSSIA-DIPLOMACY

    A pool photograph distributed by the Russian state media shows North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a welcoming ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, June 19, 2024.

    GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP/Getty


    The parade will be a show of both China and Russia’s implicit support for Kim’s nuclear weapons program, which remains the subject of numerous United Nations sanctions.

    Xi burnished his credentials as a geopolitical powerbroker at a regional security summit in Tianjin, northern China, that ended on Monday. He hosted more than 20 world leaders there, including Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    “We should uphold fairness and justice,” Xi declared at the gathering of the Shanghai Corporation Organization, seemingly trying to claim moral high ground amid the upheaval and strained relationships caused by President Trump’s global trade war and isolationist policies. “We must oppose the Cold War mentality, block confrontation and bullying practices.”

    Without mentioning the U.S. or its president by name, Xi told the assembled leaders of non-Western countries: “We must continue to take a clear stand against hegemonism and power politics.”

    2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (center) speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, Sept. 1, 2025 in Tianjin, China.

    Suo Takekuma/Pool/Getty


    On Monday Xi, Putin and Modi were shown together smiling and laughing at the summit — a deliberate public display of warmth and camaraderie. Just last week, the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on India for buying Russian oil.

    U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a close ally of Mr. Trump, called the summit “performative” and accused China and India of being “bad actors” for fueling Russia’s war.

    At the parade this week, Xi is not only asserting China as a reliable and stable partner, but also showing off his country’s burgeoning alliances, influence and its military might and power. It is a message that many will see as being aimed squarely, if not entirely, at China’s rival across the Pacific.

    Tucker Reals

    contributed to this report.

    Anna Coren

    Anna Coren, CBS News foreign correspondent based in Hong Kong, is an Emmy Award-winning international correspondent who covers the Asia-Pacific region.

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  • Trump expresses some doubt over one-on-one meeting between Putin, Zelenskyy

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    President Trump, in an interview with the Daily Caller, a conservative U.S. news site, that was published Saturday, said he believed three-way talks involving Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and himself would still happen.

    After his separate meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy this month, Mr. Trump said he was arranging face-to-face talks between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders and then he might meet with the two if necessary. But in the Daily Caller interview, Trump expressed less confidence he will be able to arrange those bilateral talks between Zelenskyy and Putin.

    “We got along. You saw it, we’ve had a good relationship over the years, very good, actually,” Mr. Trump said of Putin. “That’s why I really thought we would have this done. I would have loved to have had it done.”

    Mr. Trump added, “A tri would happen. A bi, I don’t know about, but a tri will happen.”

    For his part, Zelenskyy on Friday expressed frustration with what he called Russia’s lack of constructive engagement. He accused Russia of dragging out negotiations, including by putting off a Russia-Ukraine summit with the argument that the groundwork for a possible peace settlement must be thrashed out first by lower officials before leaders meet.

    That reasoning, Zelenskyy told reporters, is “artificial … because they want to show the United States that they are constructive, but they are not constructive.”

    “In my opinion, leaders must urgently be involved to reach agreements,” Zelenskyy added.

    Ukraine has accepted a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire and a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, but Moscow has raised objections. Mr. Trump said last week he would know within two weeks whether Russia was serious about entering negotiations.

    Ukraine’s European allies have accused Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian troops move deeper into the country.

    Moscow’s forces are waging a “nonstop” offensive along almost the whole 620-mile front line in Ukraine, and have the “strategic initiative,” the chief of Russia’s general staff said Saturday. Valery Gerasimov’s address to his deputies was published by Russia’s Defense Ministry.

    Since March, Moscow has taken more than 1,351 square miles of Ukrainian territory, and captured 149 settlements, Gerasimov said. It was not immediately possible to verify the situation on the battlefield.

    Russian forces this month broke into Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, a Ukrainian military official said Wednesday, pressing into an eighth Ukrainian province in a possible bid to strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating hand. Gerasimov on Saturday said Moscow’s troops have so far taken seven settlements in Dnipropetrovsk.

    Russia launched a large aerial attack on southern Ukraine, officials said Saturday, two days after a rare airstrike on central Kyiv killed 23 people and damaged European Union diplomatic offices.

    Among other locations hit, the assault overnight into Saturday struck a five-story residential building, killing at least one civilian and wounding 28 people, including children, in the Zaporizhzhia region, Gov. Ivan Fedorov reported.

    Russia launched 537 strike drones and decoys, as well as 45 missiles, according to Ukraine’s air force. Ukrainian forces shot down or neutralized 510 drones and decoys and 38 missiles, it said.

    The Kremlin on Thursday said Russia remained interested in continuing peace talks, despite the air attack on Kyiv that was one of the largest and deadliest since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

    And following another overnight attack on Aug. 21 in which Russia targeted Ukraine with 574 drones and 40 missiles, Zelenskyy criticized Moscow for launching the strike “as if nothing had changed at all. As if there were no efforts by the world to stop this war.”

    “So far, there has been no signal from Moscow that they are really going to engage in meaningful negotiations and end this war. Pressure is needed. Strong sanctions, strong tariffs,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media at the time.   

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  • Massive Russian attack on Ukraine’s capital leaves several dead and dozens wounded, officials say

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    Kyiv, Ukraine — A massive Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine’s capital early Thursday, including a rare strike in the center of the city, killed at least 12 people and wounded some 48, local authorities said.

    It was the first major Russian combined attack on Kyiv in weeks as U.S.-led peace efforts to end the three-year war struggled to gain traction.

    Russia launched 598 strike drones and decoys and 31 missiles of different types across the country, according to Ukraine’s Air Force, making it one of the war’s biggest air attacks. Ukraine’s forces shot down and neutralized all but 41 of them, its Air Force said.

    Firefighters work at the site of a burning building after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 28, 2025.

    Efrem Lukatsky / AP


    Among the dead were two children, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said, citing preliminary information. The numbers were expected to rise. Rescue teams were on site to pull out people trapped underneath the rubble.

    “Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X following the attack. “We expect a response from everyone in the world who has called for peace but now more often stays silent rather than taking principled positions.”

    Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Thursday it shot down 102 Ukrainian drones overnight, mostly in the country’s southwest. A drone attack sparked a blaze at the Afipsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, local officials said, while a second fire was reported at the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in the Samara region.

    Ukrainian drones have repeatedly struck refineries and other oil infrastructure in recent weeks in an attempt to weaken Russia’s war economy, causing gas stations in some Russian regions to run dry and prices to spike.

    Moscow denies targeting civilians but has increased strikes in the last few months on cities and towns a long way from the war’s front lines.

    Russia launched decoy drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s city administration. At least 20 locations across seven districts of Kyiv were impacted. Nearly 100 buildings were damaged, including a shopping mall, and thousands of windows were shattered, he said.

    Aftermath of a Russian missile and drone attack in Kyiv

    A man embraces a child as they stand at the site of buildings hit by Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv, Ukraine on August 28, 2025.

    Alina Smutko / REUTERS


    Russian strikes hit the central part of Kyiv, one of the few times Russian attacks have reached the heart of the city since the start of the full-scale invasion. Residents cleared shattered glass and debris from damaged buildings.

    Smoke billowed from the crumbled column of a five-story residential building in the Darnytskyi district that suffered a direct hit. An acrid stench of burning material wafted in the air as firefighters worked to contain the blaze.

    Amid the destruction, emergency responders searched for survivors and extracted bodies. Crowds of residents stood nearby, waiting for relatives to be retrieved from the rubble. Bodies in black bags were placed at the side of the building.

    Residents in the neighborhood said it wasn’t the first time their district was targeted.

    Oleksandr Khilko arrived at the scene after a missile hit the residential building where his sister lives. He heard screams from people who were trapped under the rubble and pulled out three survivors, including a boy.

    “It’s inhuman, striking civilians,” he said, his clothes covered in dust and the tips of his fingers black with soot. “With every cell of my body I want this war to end as soon as possible. I wait, but every time the air raid alarm sounds, I am afraid.” 

    Ukraine’s national railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, reported damage to its infrastructure in the Vinnytsia and Kyiv regions, causing delays and forcing trains to use alternative routes.

    Ukraine’s national power grid operator said Russia’s attack damaged facilities in several regions, prompting local power cuts, the Reuters news agency reported. An attack on critical infrastructure in the Vinnytsia region cut power to tens of thousands of customers, regional officials said.

    Thursday’s attack is the first major combined Russian mass drone and missile attack to strike Kyiv since President Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska earlier this month to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

    While a diplomatic push for peace appeared to gain momentum shortly after that meeting, few details have emerged about next steps.

    Western leaders have accused Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian troops move deeper into Ukraine. This week, Ukrainian military leaders conceded Russian forces have broken into an eighth region of Ukraine seeking to capture more ground.

    Zelenskyy hopes for harsher U.S. sanctions to cripple the Russian economy if Putin doesn’t demonstrate seriousness about ending the war. He reiterated those demands following Thursday’s attack.

    “All deadlines have already been broken, dozens of opportunities for diplomacy ruined,” Zelenskyy said.

    Mr. Trump bristled this week at Putin’s stalling on an American proposal for direct peace talks with Zelenskyy. He said Friday he expects to decide on next steps in two weeks if direct talks aren’t scheduled.

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  • Woody Allen Takes Part in Russian Film Festival, Infuriating Ukraine: “A Disgrace and an Insult”

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    Woody Allen is in hot water after taking part in an interview for Moscow’s International Film Week. Allen appeared virtually and was interviewed by Russian director Fyodor Bondartchuk—an outspoken supporter of Vladimir Putin.

    The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned the filmmaker’s appearance, calling it “a disgrace and an insult to the sacrifice of Ukrainian actors and filmmakers who have been killed or injured by Russian war criminals.” The statement also accuses Allen of turning “a blind eye to the atrocities Russia” committed in Ukraine, and declares, “Culture must never be used to whitewash crimes or serve as a propaganda tool.”

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    During the discussion, the Annie Hall director reaffirmed his admiration for Russian cinema, citing Sergei Bondartchuk’s 1969 Oscar-winning adaptation of War and Peace as a favorite, according to the Russian outlet RIA Novosti. Allen also reportedly said that while he has no plans to make a movie in Russia, he has “only good feelings for Moscow and St. Petersburg.”

    These comments have provoked outrage from Ukraine, which has been campaigning for Russia’s total cultural isolation since Putin began his war against the nation in 2022. Ukrainian authorities have systematically denounced the participation of Western personalities in rare but symbolically significant Russian events.

    Allen reacted to the criticism in a statement to the Guardian. While asserting that “Putin is totally in the wrong” and that “the war he has caused is appalling,” the Oscar winner also defended his participation in the festival: “Whatever politicians have done, I don’t feel cutting off artistic conversations is ever a good way to help.”

    This controversy comes years after Allen largely left American filmmaking to focus his career in Europe. Nearly 10 years ago, Allen was rejected by a large swathe of the Hollywood establishment after his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow renewed her accusation that Allen sexually assaulted her when she was a child. Allen has always maintained his innocence, but his recent films, 2020’s Rifkin’s Festival and 2023’s Coup de Chance, were shot in Spain and France, respectively. Neither movie received a wide theatrical release in the US, though they’re available on streaming platforms.

    Original story in VF France.

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    La rédaction de Vanity Fair

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  • ‘Constructive’? Look again at the smoke and mirrors of the Trump-Putin summit

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    We’ve read quite a bit about President Trump’s “hot mic” comment, during a meeting with European leaders about the Russian war against Ukraine, that Vladimir Putin “wants to make a deal for me, as crazy as it sounds.”

    Pundits debated whether this was an embarrassment for Trump; they wondered why he would say such an important thing in a whisper to French President Emmanuel Macron — as if Trump’s verbal goulash were something new. Headlines were full of the word “deal” for a while, including three days later, when they were reporting that Trump said Putin might not want “to make a deal.” And, of course, there is no deal.

    The press coverage of the meeting in Alaska said there were lots of “constructive” conversations. Putin spoke about “neighborly” talks and the “constructive atmosphere of mutual respect” in his conversations with Trump. There were reports about agreements “in principle” on various things under discussion, although there were no details about what they might be.

    I covered more than a few superpower summits, first as a reporter for the Associated Press and later for the New York Times. Although that was more than 30 years ago, the smoke and mirrors nonsense usually produced by meetings like these has not changed. Verbal gas is abundant and facts almost nonexistent. Trump’s comments were worth about as much as anything else he has said on the subject, which is almost nothing. And yet, they were reported and parsed endlessly as if they had the same meaning as other presidents’ words had in the past.

    I had a powerful sense of deja vu from a five-day trip to Afghanistan in January 1987. The Kremlin had finally agreed to let a group of Western journalists visit Kabul and Jalalabad to witness the “cease-fire” that had been announced a few days before we arrived. The visit was billed as an Afghan government tour, which nobody — especially the Afghan government — believed.

    We saw no fighting, although we could see artillery fire in the hills at night. Some of the “specials,” as we wire service correspondents called the major media then, reported that we were fired on. We were not.

    Mostly, we shopped for rugs and drank cold Heinekens, which were unavailable in Moscow but mysteriously well stocked at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul. We were ushered to various peace and unity events between the Afghan and Russian peoples and toured the huge Soviet military camps just outside Kabul with a U.S. official (allegedly a diplomat from the Embassy, but we knew from experience that this person was from the Central Intelligence Agency).

    On Jan. 19, we were taken (each reporter in an individual government car with a minder) to a news conference by Mohammad Najib, the Afghan leader whose name had been Najibullah until he changed it to make it sound less religious for his Bolshevik friends. Najib said that Afghanistan and the Soviet Union had agreed “in principle” on a “timetable for withdrawal” of Soviet occupation forces.

    At that point, the Reuters correspondent, who was fairly new to Moscow still, bolted from the room and raced back to our hotel, where there was one Telex machine for us all to send our stories back to Moscow. He filed a bulletin on the announcement. When the rest of us made our leisurely return, we were greeted with messages from our home offices demanding to know about the big deal to end the war in Afghanistan.

    We wrote our stories, which were about a business-as-usual press conference that yielded no real news. We each appended a message to explain why the Reuters report was just plain wrong. Talk of Soviet withdrawal was common, and always wrong. The very idea that the puppet government in Kabul had something to say about it or was a party to any serious discussions about ending the war was absurd. The most pithy comment came from the Agence France-Presse reporter, who told her editors that the Reuters story was “merde.” The Soviet military did not withdraw until February 1989, more than two years later, following its own schedule.

    Much of the recent coverage about Russia and Ukraine reminds me of that Afghan news flash in 1987. The Kremlin has never been, was not then and is not now interested in negotiation or compromise. Under Soviet communism and under Putin, diplomacy is a zero-sum game whose only goal is to restore Russian hegemony over Eastern Europe. And yet, for some reason, the American media and the country’s diplomats seem as oblivious today as they always were. After the summit, they announced breathlessly that there was no peace deal out of the summit, although they all knew going in that there was no deal on the table and there never was going to be one.

    But of course Putin wants a “deal” on Ukraine. It’s the same deal he has wanted since he violated international law (not for the first time) and invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. He wants to redraw the boundaries of Ukraine to give him even more territory than he has already seized, and he wants to be sure Ukraine remains out of NATO and under Moscow’s military thumb as he has done with other former Soviet regions, like Georgia, which he invaded in 2008 as soon as the country dared to suggest it might be interested in NATO membership. His latest nonsense was to demand that Russia be part of any postwar security arrangements. He wants the NATO allies to stop treating him like the war criminal that he is and to be seen as an equal actor on the international stage with NATO and especially the United States.

    That he got, in abundance, from Trump in Alaska, starting with the location. Trump invited Putin to the United States during a period of travel bans to and from Russia, immediately giving the Russian dictator a huge PR win. It also, conveniently, put him in the only NATO country where he is not wanted on charges of crimes against humanity.

    As for peace talks, check the headlines from Ukraine before, during and after the Alaska summit: The Russians have stepped up their killing and destruction in Ukraine with new ferocity and have been grabbing as much land in eastern Ukraine as they can. Every square inch of that land — and more the Kremlin has not yet occupied — will be part of any “deal” that Putin will accept. Trump himself has been talking about “land swaps” (as he has from the start of the war, by the way) — a nonsensical idea when you consider the land Ukraine holds is its sovereign territory and the land Russian holds was stolen.

    The brilliant M. Gessen, perhaps the leading authority on dictatorship, published an essay in the New York Review, “Autocracy: Rules for Survival,” shortly after the 2016 election. “Rule #2: Do not be taken in by small signs of normality,” they wrote.

    A U.S. president and a Russian leader sitting down to talk and emerging with bluster about progress seems normal enough, perhaps encouraging when American-Russian relations have been at a historic low. Just remember that coming from these two men, the comments signify nothing — or, worse, make us wonder what Trump has given away to Putin with his talk of land swaps.

    Andrew Rosenthal, a former reporter, editor and columnist, was Moscow bureau chief for the Associated Press and Washington editor and later editorial page editor for the New York Times.

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    Andrew Rosenthal

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  • The Mysterious Shortwave Radio Station Stoking US-Russia Nuclear Fears

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    Since early this year, RIA-Novosti has published roughly one story per week on UVB-76, suggesting its coded messages are related to missile strikes on Iran, the war in Ukraine, and negotiations with Trump.

    RT, which had once pooh-poohed the idea that UVB-76 was part of Moscow’s nuclear deterrence, began regularly posting its broadcasts on X, writing in April that the station often broadcasts “coded alerts pre-major events”—particularly around phone calls between Trump and Putin—and suggesting that it operates as a “nuke failsafe.”

    Chatter about the station grew on Telegram, the messaging app popular in Russia. Channels claimed that UVB-76 grew active “during periods of escalation” of military activity and that it served as a kind of oracle, sending its coded messages “before global events.” Some of these channels, some with millions of subscribers, are themselves close to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

    “In the time of tension between Russia and the West,” Goldmanis says, “such articles are ideal for mounting tension and fear.” There is some irony in the fact that Russians seem to be spooking themselves with tales of their own military communications network, but he argues that it speaks to a deeper fear in Russia: “Fear of losing the war, fear of the state collapse, fear of Western nuclear action, fear of their own government and military.”

    All of this domestic shadowboxing, in turn, drove international headlines. The British tabloid The Sun proclaimed that Russia’s “doomsday radio station” had transmitted its “cryptic ‘nuke’ code.” Belgium’s Het Laatste Nieuws reported that the radio messages had caused “heightened alertness among military analysts worldwide.” Politika, a Serbian daily newspaper, penned a lengthy article that claimed that UVB-76 “put fear in the hearts of NATO generals and the Pentagon,” which have been powerless to crack its code. (That article was republished in Russian by RT’s foreign translation service.)

    Amid this new attention, Moscow’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor—responsible for monitoring, regulating, and censoring all mass media, including both shortwave radio and the internet—commented on UVB-76 for the first time. A spokesperson for the agency didn’t say much, telling RT that information about the frequency and its purpose “is not publicly available.”

    As public interest increased, UVB-76 kept churning out messages. On May 23, an operator read out the code “БЕЗЗЛОБИЕ,” roughly translated to “the absence of malice,” and “ХРЮКОСТЯГ,” or “oink,” followed by a series of numbers. This message, in particular, caught the attention of Dmitry Medvedev.

    Medvedev has served as both president and prime minister of Russia and now serves on the hawkish Security Council of Russia as deputy chairman. Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War say Medvedev is frequently deployed by the Kremlin to “inflammatory rhetoric, often including nuclear blackmail, into the information space to spread fear among Western decision-makers and discourage future military aid to Ukraine.”

    “Doomsday Radio: May’s ‘lack of malice’ has been replaced by a fierce ‘oink,’” Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel. Invoking a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks that had roiled Moscow, Medvedev levied thematic insults against the Ukrainians and their backers in Europe: “Pigs,” “hogs,” and “boars.” He ended the post: “Password: ‘БЕЗЗЛОБИЕ.’ Answer: ‘ХРЮКОСТЯГ,’” the two UVB-76 codewords.

    “Spasms of the Dead Hand”

    Coincidental or intentional, Russia’s new fascination with UVB-76 comes just as it attempts to ratchet up fear of nuclear armageddon. To do that, Moscow is turning to that bit of Cold War lore: The Dead Hand.

    Throughout the Cold War, there was a pervasive idea that the Soviets had built some kind of doomsday device. Popularized by films like Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove, the idea went that Moscow had developed the ability to launch its ballistic missiles, even if all the Communist Party leadership were dead. Such a response could effectively end life on Earth.

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    Justin Ling

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  • Inside Donetsk as residents flee attacks on Ukrainian region Putin wants to control

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    The Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine has long been in Moscow’s sights. Vladimir Putin reportedly wants to freeze the war in return for full control of it.

    Russia already controls 70% of Donetsk and nearly all of neighbouring Luhansk and is making slow but steady advances.

    I’m heading to the front-line Donetsk town of Dobropillia with two humanitarian volunteers, just 8km (five miles) from Russia’s positions. They’re on a mission to bring the sick, elderly and children to safer ground.

    At first, it goes like clockwork. We speed into the town in an armoured car, equipped with rooftop drone-jamming equipment, hitting 130km/h (80mph). The road is covered in tall green netting which obscures visibility from above – protecting it from Russian drones.

    [BBC]

    This is their second trip of the morning, and the streets are mostly empty. The few remaining residents only leave their homes to quickly collect supplies. Russian attacks come daily.

    The town already looks abandoned and has been without water for a week. Every building we pass has been damaged, with some reduced to ruins.

    In the previous five days, Laarz, a 31-year-old German, and Varia, a 19-year-old Ukrainian, who work for the charity Universal Aid Ukraine, have made dozens of trips to evacuate people.

    Three people walk down a dirt path past a building and piles of weeds, carrying large bags

    Evacuees leave the town of Dobropillia in Donetsk, Ukraine [BBC]

    A week earlier, small groups of Russian troops breached the defences around the town, sparking fears that the front line of Ukraine’s so-called “fortress belt” – some of the most heavily defended parts of the Ukrainian front – could collapse.

    Extra troops were rushed to the area and Ukrainian authorities say the situation has been stabilised. But most of Dobropillia’s residents feel it’s time to go.

    Two people - a tall man in black and a small woman in khaki camouflage gear, both wearing padded body warmers and dark sunglasses - walk down a residential street. Neither are smiling

    Laarz and Varia make evacuation trips for the charity Universal Action Ukraine [BBC News]

    As the evacuation team arrives, Vitalii Kalinichenko, 56, is waiting on the doorstep of his apartment block, with a plastic bag full of belongings in hand.

    “My windows were all smashed, look, they all flew out on the second floor. I’m the only one left,” he says.

    He’s wearing a grey t-shirt and black shorts, and his right leg is bandaged. Mr Kalinichenko points to a crater beyond some rose bushes where a Shahed drone crashed a couple of nights earlier, shattering his windows and cutting his leg. The engine from another drone lies in a neighbour’s garden.

    As we are about to leave, Laarz spots a drone overhead and we take cover again under trees. His handheld drone detector shows multiple Russian drones in the area.

    Young woman Varia wearing khaki camouflage gear holding a device, standing next to a middle-aged man wearing a grey vest and blue trousers

    Varia holding a drone detector standing beside Dobropillia resident Vitalii Kalinichenko [BBC]

    An older woman in a summer dress and straw hat is walking by with a shopping trolley. He warns her about the drone, and she quickens her pace. An explosion hits nearby, its sound echoing off the nearby apartment blocks.

    But before we can attempt to leave, there is still another family to be rescued, just around the corner.

    Laarz goes on foot to find them, switching off the idling vehicle’s drone-jamming equipment to save battery power. “If you hear a drone, it’s the two switches in the middle console, turn it on,” he says as he disappears around the corner. The jammer is only effective against some Russian drones.

    A series of blasts hit the neighbourhood. A woman, out to fetch water with her dog, runs for cover.

    Map showing which areas of east of Ukraine are under Russian military control or limited Russian control highlighting the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Crimea

    [BBC]

    Laarz returns with more evacuees, and with drones still in the air above, drives out of town even faster than he arrived.

    Inside the evacuation convoy, I sit beside Anton, 31. His mother stayed behind. She cried as he departed and he hopes she will leave too soon.

    In war, front lines shift, towns are lost and won and lost again, but with Russia advancing and the fate of the region hanging on negotiations, this may be the final time Anton and the other evacuees see their homes.

    Anton says he’s never left the town before. Over the roar of the engine, I ask him if Ukraine should relinquish Donbas – the resource-rich greater region made up of Donetsk and Luhansk.

    “We need to sit at the negotiation table and after all resolve this conflict in a peaceful way. Without blood, without victims,” he says.

    A blonde woman, who looks distressed, tightly embraces a man with short brown hair. Her hand is round the back of his head and only the back of his head, back and rucksack can be seen.

    A mother says goodbye to her son before his evacuation [BBC News]

    But Varia, 19, feels differently. “We can never trust Putin or Russia, whatever they are saying, and we have experience of that. If we give them Donbas, it won’t stop anything but only give Russia more room for another attack,” she tells me.

    The situation in Donbas is increasingly perilous for Ukraine as Russia slowly but steadily advances. President Volodymyr Zelensky has scoffed at suggestions that it could be lost by the end of this year, predicting it would take four more years for Russia to fully occupy what remains.

    But it’s unlikely Ukraine will recapture significant territory here without new weaponry or additional support from the West.

    This part of Donetsk is critical to Ukraine’s defensive. If lost or given to Russia, neighbouring Kharkiv and Zaporizhia regions – and beyond – would be at greater risk.

    A man wearing just shorts lie on a bed, surrounded by six other men. There are shelves on the walls with various medical items, and medical items also rest on the bed next to the man.

    Injured people are transferred to field hospitals at night [BBC]

    The cost of holding on is measured in Ukrainian soldiers’ lives and body parts.

    Later on, I drive to a nearby field hospital under the cover of darkness. The drone activity never ceases, and the war injured, and the dead, can only be safely retrieved at night.

    Russian casualties are far higher, perhaps three times as much or more, but it has a greater capacity to absorb losses than Ukraine.

    The wounded begin to arrive, the cases growing steadily more serious as night stretches into morning. The casualties are from fighting in Pokrovsk, a city that Russia has been trying to seize for a year, and is now partially encircled. It’s a key city in Donetsk’s defence, and the fighting has been brutal.

    The first man arrives conscious, a bullet wound to chest from a firefight. Next comes another man in his forties covered in shrapnel wounds. It took two days and three attempts to rescue him, such was the intensity of the fighting. Next a man whose right leg has been almost blown off entirely by a drone strike on the road from Pokrovsk to Myrnohrad.

    Surgeon and Snr Lt Dima, 42, moves from patient to patient. This is a medical stabilisation unit, so his job is to patch up the injured as quickly as possible and send them on to a main hospital for further treatment. “It’s hard because I know I can do more, but I don’t have the time,” he tells me.

    After all this carnage, I ask him too if Donbas should be surrendered to bring peace.

    “We have to stop [the war], but we don’t want to stop it like this”, he says. “We want back our territory, our people and we have to punish Russia for what they did.”

    He’s exhausted, casualties have been heavier, dozens a day, since Russia’s incursion, and the injuries are the worst the doctors have seen since the war began, mostly because of drones.

    “We just want to go home to live in peace without this nightmare, this blood, this death,” he says.

    A man is lying topless, wearing a breathing mask, as a pair of hands holding pliers appears to stitch up a wound under his armpit

    A surgeon at the field hospital said that injuries are the worst the doctors have seen since the war began [BBC News]

    On the drive out that afternoon, between fields of corn and sunflowers, miles of newly uncoiled barbed wire glint in the sunlight. They run alongside raised banks of red earth, deep trenches and neat lines of anti-tank dragon’s teeth concrete pyramids. All designed to slow any sudden Russian advance.

    It is believed that Russia has over 100,000 troops standing by, waiting to exploit another opportunity like the earlier breaches around Dobropillia.

    These new fortifications carved in the Ukrainian dirt chart a deteriorating situation here in Donetsk. What’s left of the region may yet be surrendered by diplomacy, but until then Ukraine, bloodied and exhausted, remains intent on fighting for every inch of it.

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  • Russian cruise missiles hit US company in massive Ukraine strike amid Trump’s peace push

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    In one of the largest overnight strikes since the war began, Russia unleashed some 614 drones, ballistic and cruise missiles across Ukraine, killing one, injuring dozens and destroying an American-owned electronics company less than an hour from two NATO borders, officials confirmed Thursday morning. 

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy said the strike on the private U.S. company, which involved “several” cruise missiles, was “very telling” following President Donald Trump’s attempts to force Moscow to end its invasion.

    Black smoke rises from the electronics manufacturing company as firefighters continue to extinguish the fire after the Russian army hit a large American company producing civilian electronics with two missiles in Mukachevo, Zakarpattia region of Ukraine on Aug. 21, 2025.    (Zakarpattia Regional Military Administration / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    RUSSIA’S LAVROV LOOKS TO DRAW CHINA IN ON UKRAINE’S ‘SECURITY GUARANTEES’

    “Last night, the Russian army set one of its insane anti-records,” Zelenskyy said.  “They targeted civilian infrastructure facilities, residential buildings, and our people. 

    “Several cruise missiles were lobbed against an American-owned enterprise in Zakarpattia,” he continued, describing the company as “a regular civilian business, supported by American investment, producing everyday items like coffee machines.” 

    “And yet, it was also a target for the Russians. This is very telling,” Zelenskyy added.

    The American business is believed to be Flex Ltd., whose corporate headquarters is in Austin, Texas but which has business locations across the globe.

    Some 15 people were apparently injured in the strike on the city of Mukachevo in the Zakarpattia region – which sits just 30 miles from two NATO nations, Hungary and Slovakia.

    Russian strike in Ukraine hits residential buildings

    A residential building destroyed after a Russian bombing, with at least four people trapped under the rubble, in the city of Kostiantynivka, Ukraine on Aug. 21, 2025.  (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    UKRAINE’S STOLEN CHILDREN CRISIS LOOMS LARGE AS NATO MEETS ON RUSSIA’S WAR

    Flex Ltd. did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions.

    The overnight strike included 574 drones and 40 missiles, and hit numerous locations across Ukraine. 

    The White House also did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions regarding the president’s reaction to the strike that targeted a U.S. company, though on Tuesday he said, “It’s possible that [Putin] doesn’t want to make a deal.”

    “We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks,” he added. 

    NATO leaders have repeatedly questioned Putin’s willingness to engage in good-faith negotiations as well as his desire to end his war ambitions – questions that gained little clarity even after Trump’s in-person meeting with the Kremlin chief in Alaska on Friday. 

    Zelenskyy meets with Trump and NATO leaders

    (L-R) Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte prepare to depart after a group photo prior to meeting at the White House on Aug. 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.  (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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    France – which has become a leading player backing Ukraine – on Thursday reiterated this point, and in a statement to Fox News Digital, said despite Russian claims that they are “ready to negotiate,” the overnight strikes suggest otherwise. 

    “These attacks, the most massive in a month, illustrate Russia’s lack of any genuine intention to engage seriously in peace talks,” a spokesperson with the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs told Fox News Digital. 

    “France reiterates its support for President Trump’s initiative in favor of a just and lasting peace and will continue to work with determination alongside Ukraine and its partners,” the spokesperson added. 

    Caitlin McFall is a Reporter at Fox News Digital covering Politics, U.S. and World news.

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  • Ukraine’s leader says huge Russian attack shows Putin isn’t “really going to engage” in peace effort

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    Russia targeted Ukraine overnight with 574 drones and 40 missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force said. Most of the weapons were intercepted by Ukraine’s air defenses, but the massive assault was far from unusual, and officials said at least one person was killed and 15 injured. 

    Ukrainian officials said the Russian attack hit energy infrastructure, private homes, an American electronics factory — where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the 15 injuries were sustained, and a kindergarten.   

    “Last night, the Russian army set one of its insane anti-records. They struck civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, and our people,” Zelenskyy said in a message posted on social media. He called the electronics plant an “American investment” and an “ordinary civilian enterprise” producing “everyday items as coffee machines.”

    “This is also a target for the Russians. Very telling. The fire is still being extinguished at the enterprise. As of now, 15 people are known to have been affected by this strike. All of them have been provided with the necessary assistance,” he said.

    Emergency services and firefighting teams work at the scene after a Russian missile attack hit a U.S.-owned factory in Zakarpattia, Ukraine, Aug. 21, 2025.

    Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu/Getty


    Alluding to President Trump’s efforts to broker a peace deal to end the war, including the bilateral summit between Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin just a week earlier, Zelenskyy condemned Moscow for launching the new strike “as if nothing had changed at all. As if there were no efforts by the world to stop this war.”

    “A response is needed,” he added. “So far, there has been no signal from Moscow that they are really going to engage in meaningful negotiations and end this war. Pressure is needed. Strong sanctions, strong tariffs.”

    There has been a lot of talk — outside of Ukraine — about a peace deal amid Mr. Trump’s ramped-up diplomacy. But inside Ukraine, people continue to live and die in a war zone more than three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Many in the country, like their president, simply don’t believe that Putin really wants to end the war. They think he’s just playing along with the ceasefire narrative to avoid angering Mr. Trump.

    And in the meantime, Putin’s army continues to expand its massive seizure of territory in eastern Ukraine. The Russian defense ministry claimed Thursday that forces had captured yet another village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

    wh-ukraine-map-bbc.jpg

    A map of Ukraine shows the percentage of different regions under Russian control, displayed in the Oval Office during President Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, on Aug. 18, 2025.

    BBC News


    Major Taras Berezovets of the Ukrainian forces told CBS News that even if Putin were to agree to a ceasefire, the Russian leader simply should not be trusted.

    “Absolutely not,” Berezovets told CBS News. “He’s a cheater, he’s a criminal… and he would never accept the fact that independent Ukraine still exists.”

    That is why Ukraine wants security guarantees — a promise of protection from the U.S. and its NATO allies in the event Russia should invade again after any eventual ceasefire is implemented.

    President Trump has been adamant that such a guarantee would not involve U.S. boots on the ground, and Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that Europe would have to bear most of the costs.

    But getting all sides, including Russia, to agree to those security guarantees may be next to impossible. After his meeting with Putin, Mr. Trump met with Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington to hold separate talks.

    But Moscow has downplayed the prospects of a Putin-Zelenskyy summit any time soon, and officials have said Russia should be included in any looming discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine.

    Erin Lyall

    contributed to this report.

    Holly Williams

    Holly Williams is a CBS News senior foreign correspondent based in the network’s CBS London bureau. Williams joined CBS News in July 2012, and has more than 25 years of experience covering major news events and international conflicts across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

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  • Russia launches largest attack on Ukraine this month following Trump’s meetings with Putin, Zelenskyy

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    Russia launched its largest attack of the month against Ukraine while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders at the White House.

    The attack also comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Trump in Alaska last Friday, during which Putin refused an immediate ceasefire and demanded that Ukraine give up its eastern Donetsk region in exchange for an end to the conflict that began with a February 2022 invasion by Moscow. Trump later said he had spoken on the phone with Putin about arrangements for a meeting between the Russian president and Zelenskyy.

    Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles into Ukraine on Monday night and into Tuesday, but that 230 drones and six missiles were intercepted or suppressed. The air force reported that 40 drones and four missiles struck across 16 locations, and debris was said to have fallen on three sites.

    TRUMP’S PUSH FOR PUTIN-ZELENSKYY TALKS HINGES ON KREMLIN’S CONDITIONS

    Russia launched its largest attack of the month against Ukraine on Monday night. (Getty Images)

    “While hard work to advance peace was underway in Washington, D.C. … Moscow continued to do the opposite of peace: more strikes and destruction,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X. “This once again demonstrates how critical it is to end the killing, achieve a lasting peace, and ensure robust security guarantees.”

    Energy infrastructure in the central Poltava region was a target of the strikes, according to Ukraine’s Energy Ministry. The casualty figures were not immediately released by officials.

    WHITE HOUSE REJECTS ‘BLANK CHECKS’ FOR UKRAINE, PRESSES NATO TO SHOULDER COSTS

    Ukrainian firefighters search for survivors after a Russian air strike on a residential building

    Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles into Ukraine. (Getty Images)

    “As a result of the attack, large-scale fires broke out,” the ministry said in a statement.

    Oil refining and gas facilities were attacked, the ministry added, saying the strikes were the latest “systematic terrorist attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which is a direct violation of international humanitarian law.”

    The attack was the largest since Russia launched 309 drones and eight missiles into Ukraine on July 31, according to the air force.

    Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 23 Ukrainian drones on Monday night and into Tuesday morning.

    Ukrainian firefighters search for survivors

    The attack was the largest since Russia launched 309 drones and eight missiles into Ukraine on July 31. (Getty Images)

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    Both sides have been targeting infrastructure, including oil facilities.

    Zelenskyy had criticized Moscow for earlier strikes on Monday ahead of his meeting at the White House in which at least 14 people were killed and dozens more were injured.

    “The Russian war machine continues to destroy lives despite everything. Putin will commit demonstrative killings to maintain pressure on Ukraine and Europe, as well as to humiliate diplomatic efforts. That is precisely why we are seeking assistance to put an end to the killings,” he wrote Monday morning on X.

    Reuters contributed to this report.

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  • Sen. Lindsey Graham says Trump ready to ‘crush’ Russian economy if Putin avoids talks with Zelenskyy

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    By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and MARY CLARE JALONICK

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Tuesday that he believes President Donald Trump is prepared to “crush” Russia’s economy with a new wave of sanctions if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the coming weeks.

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  • Despite a flurry of meetings on Russia’s war in Ukraine, major obstacles to peace remain

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    By BARRY HATTON and KATIE MARIE DAVIES, Associated Press

    The second Oval Office meeting in six months between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went off smoothly Monday, in sharp contrast to their disastrous encounter in February.

    European leaders joined the discussions in a show of transatlantic unity and both they and Zelenskyy repeatedly thanked Trump for his efforts to end Russia’s three-year war on Ukraine.

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  • Trump, Zelensky To Meet At White House After No Deal With Putin At US-Russia Summit

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    Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is headed to the White House on Monday after being left out of President Donald Trump’s nearly three-hour meeting with Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, in Alaska on Friday. Trump and Putin met to discuss a potential ceasefire deal in Ukraine—but left without such an agreement.

    The US-Russian summit in Anchorage between the two leaders featured Trump rolling out a literal red carpet welcome for Putin, clapping as he arrived, and taking several friendly photo-ops together—a contrast from other world leaders who are more icy with the Russian head of state.

    Putin accepted Trump’s invitation to ride in the back of the armored presidential Cadillac limousine, known as “The Beast,” from the tarmac at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to the meeting location before sitting down with aides for both men. Trump brought Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff into the room with him.

    Trump rolled out a literal red carpet welcome for Putin.

    ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/Getty Images

    Trump has already changed course from the plan he previously said he would pursue to apply pressure to Putin to end his offensive in Ukraine.

    Following the meeting, as The New York Times reports, “Trump on Saturday split from Ukraine and key European allies after his summit” and is now “backing Mr. Putin’s plan for a sweeping peace agreement based on Ukraine ceding territory it controls to Russia, instead of the urgent ceasefire Mr. Trump had said he wanted before the meeting.”

    Much of Europe quickly moved to back Ukraine following Trump’s post-summit strategy shift, though, the Times’ explained, “the leaders treaded carefully to not openly contradict Mr. Trump as he aligned himself with Russia’s vision of ending the war.”

    As The Associated Press reported on late Friday, “The U.S. president had offered Putin both a carrot and a stick, issuing threats of punishing economic sanctions on Russia while also extending a warm welcome at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, but he appeared to walk away without any concrete progress on ending the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.”

    Since the onset of the war, according to reporting from the Times in June, “Nearly one million Russian troops have been killed or wounded,” and “close to 400,000 Ukrainian troops have also been killed or wounded.”

    Following Putin and Trump’s meeting, the US president posted on his social media platform Truth Social about the summit, calling it a “great and very successful day in Alaska!”

    Trump wrote that he had spoken with Zelensky and other European leaders and claimed that “It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.”

    Zelensky confirmed the Monday meeting on X, writing, “I am grateful for the invitation.”

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    Katie Herchenroeder

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  • Donald Trump’s Self-Own Summit with Vladimir Putin

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    Nothing says standing up to Russian aggression quite like welcoming the aggressor on a red carpet and applauding him. On Friday, Donald Trump did both at the start of his summit in Alaska with Vladimir Putin. This triumphant greeting was followed by multiple friendly handshakes, a cordial pat or two on the arm, and a companionable stride past an enfilade of American F-22 fighter jets at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. When the pair got within shouting distance of the American press corps, a bit of harsh reality crept in. “President Putin, will you stop killing civilians?” someone called out. But, on the twelve-hundred-and-sixty-eighth day since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Putin and Trump never wavered from the chummy cordiality with which they had greeted each other for their first meeting in six years. Putin pantomimed not being able to hear the question and shrugged. In an instant, Trump ushered him away for an apparently impromptu ride in his Presidential limousine; pictures of the Beast rolling slowly toward the venue where their formal talks would be held showed Putin, through the window, grinning broadly.

    When they emerged a little more than three hours later, after a shorter-than-expected session that did not include a scheduled lunch, the mutual admiration still flowed freely. Both men smiled. Trump gushed to the media about the “fantastic relationship” he’d always had with Putin and praised his “very profound” opening statement. Putin was, if anything, more over the top than Trump, praising the American President’s personal commitment to “pursuing peace,” as the logo projected on the stage behind them put it. Putin even played to Trump’s loathing of his predecessor, Joe Biden, adopting his talking point that the war with Ukraine never would have happened if Trump, not Biden, had been the American President. After twenty-five years in power, the former K.G.B. agent has learned well how to stroke the ego of his fifth U.S. counterpart.

    What Putin did not offer, however, was what Trump has been demanding, without any success, for months: a ceasefire in Russia’s war with Ukraine. “There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump acknowledged in his brief remarks. While he spoke of “great progress” and Putin gestured at unspecified agreements that had been reached, “we didn’t get there,” Trump admitted. And that was it. After twelve minutes, and without a single question, the press conference adjourned, leaving stunned journalists to interpret the cryptic outcome: Was that really it, after all Trump’s hype?

    Sometimes the news is what it seems to be, meaning, in this case: No deal. The day began with a hellish war in Ukraine, with air-raid sirens in Kyiv and fierce battles in the east, and that is how it ended. The only difference is that Putin got one hell of a photo op out of Trump, and still more time on the clock to prosecute his war against the “brotherly” Ukrainian people, as he had the chutzpah to call them during his remarks in Alaska. The most enduring images from Anchorage, it seems, will be its grotesque displays of bonhomie between the dictator and his longtime American admirer.

    Right around the time that Trump was on the tarmac, clapping for the butcher of Bucha, his fund-raising team sent out the following e-mail:

    Attention please, I’m meeting with Putin in Alaska! It’s a little chilly. THIS MEETING IS VERY HIGH STAKES for the world. The Democrats would love nothing more than for ME TO FAIL. No one in the world knows how to make deals like me!

    The backdrop for this uniquely Trumpian combination of braggadocio and toxic partisanship was, of course, anything but a master class in successful deal-making; rather, the impetus for the summit was the President’s increasing urgency to produce a result after six months of failure to end the war in Ukraine—a task he once said was so easy that it would be done before he even returned to office in January. Leading up to the Alaska summit, nothing worked: Not berating Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, in the Oval Office. Not begging Putin to “STOP” his bombing. Not even a U.S.-floated proposal to essentially give Putin much of what he had demanded. Trump gave Putin multiple deadlines—fifty days, two weeks, “ten or twelve days”—to agree to a ceasefire and come to the table, then did nothing when Putin balked. When his latest ultimatum expired, on August 8th, instead of imposing tough new sanctions, as he had threatened, Trump announced that he would meet Putin in Alaska a week later, minus Zelensky, in effect ending the Russian’s global isolation in exchange for no apparent concessions aimed at ending the war that Putin himself had unleashed.

    In the run-up to the meeting, debates raged about the right historical parallel to draw between this summit and its twentieth-century antecedents: Was it to be a replay of Yalta, with two great powers instead of three settling the fate of absent small nations, and with the United States once again signing off on Russia’s dominance over its neighbors? Or perhaps Munich was the better analogy, with Trump in the role of Neville Chamberlain, ceding a beleaguered ally’s territory as the price of an illusory peace? For Ukraine and its supporters in the West, the prospect of a sellout by Trump loomed large.

    But history doesn’t repeat so neatly, and certainly not when Trump is involved. He is a sui-generis American President, who, at the end of the day, seemed to have orchestrated a self-own of embarrassing proportions. As ever, Trump’s big mouth offered up the best reminder of what he wanted in Alaska and what he did not get. On Friday morning, as Trump flew out of Washington aboard Air Force One, he told reporters, “I want to see a ceasefire rapidly. I don’t know if it’s going to be today, but I’m not going to be happy if it’s not today.” But, after his long-sought meeting with Putin, as he again boarded Air Force One for the long flight home, this was the chyron on Fox News that greeted him: “No Ceasefire After Trump-Putin Summit.”

    In the coming days, there will be endless explanations from Trump and his team as to why he didn’t get more out of the session. But, even in his post-summit interview with the great White House amplifier, Sean Hannity, the President struggled to alchemize the non-deal into Trumpian gold. “On a scale of one to ten,” Hannity asked the President, how would he grade the session? “The meeting was a ten in the sense that we got along great,” Trump responded. When Trump started talking, however, it was hardly about the summit at all, but about the “rigged election” in 2020 and how terrible Biden was and how he and Putin could have got so much done together if there had been no Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. Soon he was on to riffs about Iran and the border and his tariffs and how things in the U.S. are going so great that “Vladimir” told him, “Your country is hot as a pistol.” (Yeah, right.) On and on Trump went, about beating ISIS and why mail-in voting is terrible, about how big China is and how powerful America’s nuclear weapons are. Those tough-guy sanctions he once promised to place on Putin if he didn’t produce a deal weren’t so much as mentioned.

    The more he talked about anything other than Russia, in fact, the more it was obvious: Even Trump knew he had bombed. “Now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done,” he said at one point. If there’s one unwavering Law of Trump, this is it: Whatever happens, it is never, ever, his fault. ♦

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    Susan B. Glasser

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  • Fact-checks from Trump-Putin Alaska meeting

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    Trump-Putin Alaska meeting: Live fact-checks

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  • Donald Trump wins US presidency, GOP reclaims Senate majority

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    Republican Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts. With a win in Wisconsin, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency.

    Republicans reclaimed control of the Senate, picking up seats in West Virginia and Ohio. Top House races are focused in New York and California, where Democrats are trying to claw back some of the 10 or so seats where Republicans have made surprising gains in recent years.

    Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

    Here’s the latest:

    Slovakia’s prime minister congratulates Trump on his victory

    “We respect the choice of American people,” Prime Minister Robert Fico said at a news conference on Wednesday.

    Fico, who is known for pro-Russian views, said the result of the election is “certainly a defeat of liberal and progressivist ideas because the new American President is a conservative. We think he’ll focus on the economy issues in the United States.”

    Fico said what’s of importance is that “everybody is waiting for the first steps in regards of the war in Ukraine.”

    Fico added that Trump might reduce or halt the military aid for Ukraine or propose an immediate cease-fire to open the way for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

    Fico ended his state’s military aid for Ukraine.

    How are markets responding to the election results?

    Futures markets in the U.S. surged early Wednesday, with the Dow climbing 2.85% and the S&P 500 rising nearly 2%.

    Bitcoin, which many see as a winner under a Trump presidency, hit all-time highs above $75,000.

    Tesla, the company run by Trump surrogate Elon Musk, spiked 12% before the opening bell while other electric vehicle makers slumped.

    Banking stocks also moved solidly higher, with expectations of a pullback by regulators overseeing markets under Trump.

    US humanitarian group urges Trump, Congress to ‘reject policies that demonize immigrants and asylum seekers’

    The International Rescue Committee, a large humanitarian aid organization, urged the Trump administration to “continue America’s traditions of humanitarian leadership and care of the most vulnerable.”

    The New York-based nonprofit also urged the new administration and Congress to “reject policies that demonize immigrants and asylum seekers,” and noted that the U.S. program to resettle refugees has saved lives and strengthened the fabric of the United States.

    IRC is led by Britain’s former top diplomat, David Miliband, and says it provides relief services to people affected by crises in more than 40 countries.

    Barriers broken and history made in several congressional races

    With their victories, several candidates are set to be firsts.

    New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim, a Democrat, won his race to become the first Korean American elected to the Senate.

    Delaware State Rep. Sarah McBride, a Democrat, won her race to become the first openly transgender person elected to Congress. The former Obama administration official was elected to the Delaware General Assembly in 2021.

    Democrat Angela Alsobrooks won her race and is set to become Maryland’s first Black senator. Alsobrooks is currently the county executive for Maryland’s Prince George’s County, one of the most prosperous Black-majority counties in the nation.

    Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Democrat from Delaware, broke barriers again, becoming the first woman and first Black person elected to the Senate from the state. Seven years ago, when she was elected to the House, she was the first woman and first Black person to represent Delaware in the House. It will be the first time that two Black women will serve simultaneously in the Senate.

    North Dakota elected its first woman to Congress. Republican Julie Fedorchak, running for the House of Representatives, won her race handily in the deep red state. She’s currently a member of the state’s public service commission.

    Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio,defeated incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown to be the first Latino from the state elected to the Senate.

    Bitcoin hits new high as investors bet Trump’s victory will benefit cryptocurrencies

    Bitcoin jumped nearly 8% to a record $75,345.00 in early trading on Wednesday, before falling back and was recently trading at around $73,700.00.

    Trump was previously a crypto skeptic but changed his mind and embraced cryptocurrencies ahead of the election.

    He pledged to make America “the crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin. His campaign accepted donations in cryptocurrency and he courted crypto fans at a bitcoin conference in July.

    He also launched World Liberty Financial, a new venture with family members to trade cryptocurrencies.

    Abortion proposals win in 7 states

    Despite major losses for Democrats in the Senate and White House, the party’s central campaign issue surrounding protecting reproductive rights fared much better across the country as abortion rights advocates won on measures in seven states.

    The last state to pass such a measure by early Wednesday was Montana, where abortion rights advocates pushed to enshrine abortion rights until fetal viability into the state constitution as a safeguard against future rollbacks. Though there’s no defined time frame, doctors say viability is sometime after 21 weeks.

    In three others — Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota — voters rejected measures that would have created a constitutional right to abortion.

    Montana enshrines abortion rights

    Montana voters chose to protect the right to an abortion in their state constitution.

    The ballot initiative sought to enshrine a 1999 Montana Supreme Court ruling that said the constitutional right to privacy protects the right to a pre-viability abortion by a provider of the patient’s choice. Though there’s no defined time frame, doctors say viability is sometime after 21 weeks.

    The Associated Press declared the amendment was approved at 6:01 a.m. EST Wednesday.

    Republican Ryan Zinke wins reelection to U.S. House in Montana’s 1st Congressional District

    Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke won reelection to a U.S. House seat representing Montana on Wednesday.

    Zinke will serve a second term in the western Montana district, which was drawn after the state received an additional congressional seat from the 2020 census. Zinke faced a rematch against Democrat Monica Tranel, who fell a few points short of winning the seat in 2022. Zinke was U.S. interior secretary in the Trump administration for nearly two years before resigning while facing several ethics investigations. Zinke served as Montana’s lone U.S. House member from 2015 through early 2017, when he resigned to become interior secretary. The Associated Press declared Zinke the winner at 6:28 a.m. EST.

    Republican Tim Sheehy wins election to U.S. Senate from Montana, beating incumbent Jon Tester

    Republican Tim Sheehy won the U.S. Senate seat in Montana on Wednesday, defeating three-term incumbent Jon Tester and flipping a closely watched Senate seat.

    Tester was the only Democrat holding statewide office in Montana, which has voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential contest since 1992. Sheehy, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, ran as a Trump-supporting conservative in a state where the president-elect is immensely popular. The Associated Press declared Sheehy the winner at 6:26 a.m. EST.

    In Kamala Harris’ ancestral village, disappointment

    There was a sense of disappointment in Thulasendrapuram, a tiny village in southern India, where Kamala Harris’ mother’s family has ancestral ties and where people were rooting for the Democratic nominee for president.

    Residents in this village, who were keenly following the election results on their smartphones, were left silent as initial enthusiasm faded, even before the presidential race call, but many said they were proud that she put up a good fight. The villagers were hoping for a Harris victory and had Tuesday held special Hindu prayers for her at a local temple where Harris’ name is engraved in a list of donors. Some were also planning to blast off fireworks and distribute sweets had she won.

    “We are sad about it. But what can we do? It was in the hands of the voters of that country. They made Trump win. We can only wish Trump well for his victory,” said J. Sudhakar.

    As results became clearer, a gaggle of reporters that was stationed outside the village temple also quickly scattered away. The village — site of a brief media spectacle and euphoria since Tuesday — became almost deserted.

    FIFA’s president congratulates Trump

    “We will have a great FIFA World Cup and a great FIFA Club World Cup in the United States of America! Football Unites the World” FIFA president Gianni Infantino wrote on his Instagram account in a message of congratulations to Trump.

    Infantino had tried to build close ties to the first Trump administration, making at least two visits to the White House and joining then-President Trump at a dinner event in Davos, Switzerland during the World Economic Forum in January 2020.

    The United States will host most of the games at the 2026 World Cup in men’s soccer.

    Investors react to Trump’s victory in US election by buying on the German stock market

    The Dax rose significantly by 1.5% to 19,544 points in early Xetra trading, German news agency dpa agency reported.

    Robert Halver, Head of Capital Market Analysis at Baader Bank said that “since Donald Trump stands for the economy, it can be assumed that stock markets around the world will go up. With one exception: China, because he (Donald Trump) will definitely impose tariffs at least on China. That will certainly make life difficult for the Chinese.”

    “The nice thing is that European stocks, German stocks and export stocks can also benefit. Because we are still so well positioned in the industrial sector that we are helping America to become big again in the industrial sector, so to speak,” he added.

    No info on whether Putin will congratulate Trump, Kremlin says

    Ahead of the presidential race call, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he had no information on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to congratulate Donald Trump but emphasized that Moscow views the U.S. as an “unfriendly” country.

    Peskov reaffirmed the Kremlin’s claim that the U.S. support for Ukraine amounted to its involvement in the conflict, telling reporters: “Let’s not forget that we are talking about the unfriendly country that is both directly and indirectly involved in a war against our state.”

    Asked if Putin’s failure to congratulate Trump could hurt ties, Peskov responded that Russia-U.S. relations already are at the “lowest point in history,” adding that it will be up to the new U.S. leadership to change the situation. He noted Putin’s statements about Moscow’s readiness for a “constructive dialogue based on justice, equality and readiness to take mutual concerns into account.”

    Peskov noted Trump’s campaign statements about his intention to end wars, saying that “those were important statements, but now after the victory, while getting ready to enter the Oval Office or entering the Oval Office, statements could sometimes change.”

    Control of the US House is still up for grabs

    Republicans have taken the White House and Senate, but the House is still very much in play.

    With nearly 60 House elections still undecided, either party could gain control of the chamber. For Democrats, a House majority is the last hope of gaining a toehold in Washington and putting a check on Donald Trump’s power. Yet if Republicans win a House majority, they’ll be able to implement Trump’s agenda with more ease, including extending tax cuts, funding hardline border measures and dismantling parts of the federal government.

    Still, it might take some time before House control is decided. Neither party so far has a convincing advantage in the tally of key House races. There are tight races all over the country, including many in slow-counting California.

    Trump is elected the 47th president

    Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.

    With a win in Wisconsin, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency.

    The victory validates his bare-knuckle approach to politics. He attacked his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, in deeply personal — often misogynistic and racist — terms as he pushed an apocalyptic picture of a country overrun by violent migrants.

    The coarse rhetoric, paired with an image of hypermasculinity, resonated with angry voters — particularly men — in a deeply polarized nation. As president, he’s vowed to pursue an agenda centered on dramatically reshaping the federal government and retribution against his perceived enemies.

    Republican Mike Lawler wins reelection to U.S. House in New York’s 17th Congressional District

    Republican Rep. Mike Lawler won reelection to a U.S. House seat representing New York on Wednesday.

    Lawler is one of several Republicans who flipped traditionally Democratic New York districts in 2022. The 17th District contains the northern part of wealthy Westchester County and extends north and west to include suburban Rockland County and the Hudson Valley’s Putnam County. He defeated former Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones, who lost his seat after redistricting in 2022. The Associated Press declared Lawler the winner at 5:30 a.m. EST.

    Race to control the House intensifies with Michigan flip

    Republicans have flipped a House seat that was previously held by Democrats, giving them a valuable pickup in a frenzied race for House control.

    At this point, practically every seat matters when it comes to building a House majority. In Michigan’s 7th district, Republican Tom Barrett picked up a seat that Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin vacated to run for U.S. Senate. Barrett, a former state senator, defeated another former state lawmaker, Democrat Curtis Hertel.

    On the campaign trail, Barrett didn’t back away from his record of supporting abortion restrictions in the statehouse, but he also described abortion access as a settled issue in Michigan.

    Zelenskyy says he appreciates Trump’s ‘peace through strength’ mentality

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he appreciates Trump’s commitment to “peace through strength” as the Republican presidential nominee closes in on the electoral votes needed to win the White House.

    “I recall our great meeting with President Trump back in September, when we discussed in detail the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership, the Victory Plan, and ways to put an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine,” said Zelenskyy on X. Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is interested “in developing mutually beneficial political and economic cooperation that will benefit both of our nations.”

    “We look forward to an era of a strong United States of America under President Trump’s decisive leadership,” said Zelenskyy.

    “I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together,” he said.

    European Commission president says she’s looking forward to working with Trump

    The European Union’s top official says she’s looking forward to working with Trump again as the former president is on the cusp of victory in the U.S. presidential race.

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the E.U. and U.S. “are more than just allies. We are bound by a true partnership between our people, uniting 800 million citizens.”

    “Let us work together on a transatlantic partnership that continues to deliver for our citizens. Millions of jobs and billions in trade and investment on each side of the Atlantic depend on the dynamism and stability of our economic relationship,” she said in a statement.

    The tariffs that Trump slapped on steel and aluminum exports during his last term roiled the bloc’s economy.

    NATO leader looks forward to working with Trump

    NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says he looks forward to working with Trump “to advance peace through strength” as the former president closes in on the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.

    “We face a growing number of challenges globally, from a more aggressive Russia, to terrorism, to strategic competition with China, as well the increasing alignment of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran,” Rutte said.

    “Working together through NATO helps to deter aggression, protect our collective security and support our economies,” he added.

    Rutte also praised Trump for his work during his first term to persuade U.S. allies in NATO to ramp up defense spending.

    He noted that around two-thirds of the 32 NATO allies are due to meet the organization’s main defense spending target this year.

    World leaders offer their congratulations to Trump

    The AP’s current count has Trump three electoral votes shy of winning the White House, though he is leading in key battleground states.

    “Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback!” wrote Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X. “Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America.”

    French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X: “Ready to work together as we were able to do during four years. With your convictions and mine. In respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity.”

    Trump, a longtime source of division, calls on country to unite in election night speech

    Trump, someone whose political career has been defined by division and acrimony, told the audience at his election night party early on Wednesday that it was “time to unite” as a country.

    “It’s time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us,” Trump said. “It’s time to unite.”

    “We have to put our country first for at least a period of time,” he added. “We have to fix it.”

    Trump speaks at election party flanked by family, friends and top political supporters

    Most of the important people in Trump’s personal and political life have joined him on stage in West Palm Beach, Florida.

    Former first lady Melania Trump stood near her husband and was joined by Barron, the former president’s youngest son. Trump’s older children, Don Jr., Eric, Ivanka and Tiffany, all joined their father on stage, too.

    Trump’s top political minds, including top campaign advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, joined Trump on stage. And his political allies were on stage, too, including House Speaker Mike Johnson.

    Trump also celebrated a few celebrities in the audience and on stage. Dana White, the CEO of UFC, was on stage with Trump, and the former president called golfer Bryson DeChambeau on stage. Trump also shouted out Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, who has become one of his most high-profile supporters. “We have a new star. A star is born: Elon,” Trump said.

    Trump hails GOP’s congressional wins

    Donald Trump made sure to recognize GOP wins in down ballot races in his speech in the early morning Wednesday.

    “The number of victories in the senate was absolutely incredible,” Trump said.

    Republicans have so far won 51 seats, giving them a majority. But Montana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Nevada have not been called, and it’s possible Republicans could pick up more seats.

    Trump also said he expected Republicans to hold the House and complimented House Speaker Mike Johnson. The House, however, is still up for grabs.

    There are over 70 House races across the country that have not been called, and neither party has a convincing edge in the tally of House races.

    Trump vows in his election night speech to fight ‘for your family and your future’

    He promised that he would “not rest until we have delivered the strong safe and prosperous America.”

    “Every single day,” Trump said, “I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body.”

    Donald Trump has taken the stage

    The AP’s current count has him at 267 of the 270 electoral votes he needs to win the White House. He is leading in key races left to be called, including Michigan and Wisconsin.

    Pennsylvania puts Trump three electoral votes short of the presidential threshold

    Trump’s victory in Pennsylvania has put him three electoral votes short of winning the presidency. He could win the White House by capturing Alaska or any remaining swing state.

    Hugs, calls and celebration at Trump’s watch party

    Trump supporters gathered at his election night watch party were hugging one another, making calls, jumping up and down, and throwing their MAGA hats in the air every chance they got to celebrate as results continued to trickle in.

    Guests are still arriving at the convention center in West Palm Beach.

    Democrats flip another House seat in New York

    The pickups for House Democrats have mostly come from New York so far as the party flipped its second seat in the state.

    Democrat Josh Riley defeated Republican Rep. Mark Molinaro in a district that spans across the center of the state. Democrats earlier flipped a seat held by Rep. Brandon Williams.

    While a House majority is still up for grabs, the victories will buoy Democrats’ hopes, especially in House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ home state.

    Nevada polls close nearly 3 hours later

    Polls closed in Nevada nearly three hours late after voters waited in long lines to cast ballots, the state’s top election official said, and initial election results began to be posted just before 10 p.m. PST.

    Polls had been scheduled to close at 7 p.m., but state law allows anyone in line at that time to cast a ballot.

    Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar acknowledged Nevada’s position as an electoral battleground and promised to keep updating results as the counties receive “and cure” additional ballots.

    Mailed ballots are accepted and counted until Saturday, and thousands of voters whose ballots were set aside to allow for signature verification, or “curing,” have until 5 p.m. Nov. 12 to validate their vote with election officials.

    Aguilar, a Democrat, called Nevada’s elections “safe, secure and transparent” and said he was proud of reports of high voter turnout.

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joins Trump watch party

    The former presidential candidate has arrived at the Palm Beach Convention Center, entering and walking briskly as he made his way near the stage among crowds of supporters.

    Trump has said he will play a role when it comes to health policy but has not specified what that would be. Kennedy, who launched his own presidential bid as an independent before dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump, joined him at several rallies in the last stretch of the campaign.

    Republicans celebrate early turnout among Black and Hispanic voters

    As the election stretched into the early hours of Wednesday, Republicans — seeing a map trending positively for their party — began to point to a shift in demographic support among key voting groups who often lean Democrat.

    Preliminary AP VoteCast data suggested a shift among Black and Latino voters, who appeared slightly less likely to support Harris than they were to back Biden four years ago. About 8 in 10 Black voters backed Harris, down from the roughly 9 in 10 who backed Biden. More than half of Hispanic voters supported Harris, but that was down slightly from the roughly 6 in 10 who backed Biden in 2020. Trump’s support among those groups appeared to rise slightly compared to 2020.

    Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told AP at Trump’s election watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida, that he’s excited for the exit polling in states like Pennsylvania and Georgia, where Republicans are already seeing overperformance compared to this time in the election in 2020.

    “I’m just really excited not just because I think it’s going to be a victory but about how we won,” the Florida lawmaker said.

    There are serious 2016 echoes in Harris’ 2024 election night

    Forgive Democrats if they are having a bit of déjà vu.

    There are noticeable similarities between then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s election night in 2016 and the one that Harris had planned for tonight at Howard University.

    Neither Clinton nor Harris, appeared at their election night party, despite both heading into Election Day believing they were about to defeat Donald Trump.

    Both sent top aides to inform the demoralized audience that the woman would not speak. And there were noticeable similarities between what each man said.

    “We still have votes to count. We still have states that have not been called yet. We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted,” Cedric Richmond, Harris’ campaign co-chair, told the audience Tuesday. “So you won’t hear from the vice president tonight, but you will hear from her tomorrow.”

    “We’re still counting votes,” John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman, said in 2016. “And every vote should count. Several states are too close to call. So we’re not going to have anything more to say tonight.”

    Even the mood of the events — and the trajectory they took over the course of the night — was similar. The vibe at Clinton’s event at Javits Center started jubilantly, with people dancing, smiling and eager to make history — the campaign had even planned to launch reflective confetti in the air when Clinton won to resemble a glass ceiling shattering. The same was true for Harris, with the event resembling a dance party on the campus of the Democrat’s alma mater.

    By the time Podesta and Richmond had taken the stage, the party had stopped, people had left, and those who remained looked forlorn.

    Harris’ path to the White House is growing less forgiving

    Harris still has a path to the White House through the Northern battleground states, but the map is getting less forgiving.

    Harris’ campaign has long said her surest way to 270 electoral votes was through Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, states Trump won in 2016 and Biden captured narrowly in 2020.

    Harris cannot lose Pennsylvania and reach 270 electoral votes. However, she can lose pieces of the blue wall — so named for its longtime reputation as a Democratic firewall — and still reach 270.

    If she loses Michigan, she can make it up by winning Arizona and Nevada. She can lose Wisconsin and make up for it with Arizona.

    But the map has surely shrunk for Harris, who cannot lose more than one in the three-state northern arc.

    Trump campaign comments on Harris’ watch party mood

    A Trump campaign spokesperson is weighing in as the mood has shifted over at Harris’ watch party.

    “Sounds like the joy has left the building,” posted Karoline Leavitt, a campaign spokeswoman on X.

    The Harris campaign turned off its projected CNN broadcasts at its election night watch party at Howard University as midnight approached. And some Harris supporters began leaving the event.

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    By The Associated Press

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  • Thousands of North Korean troops mass at Ukraine’s border set to join war

    Thousands of North Korean troops mass at Ukraine’s border set to join war

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    A STAGGERING 8,000 North Korean troops are reportedly set to cross into Ukraine and start fighting for Vladimir Putin within days.

    Dictator Kim Jong-un has happily sent his pal in the Kremlin thousands of fighters who are now due to be led into battle by one of Kim’s closest allies.

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    A staggering 8,000 North Korean troops are reportedly set to start fighting for Vladimir Putin inside Ukraine within just days
    One of Kim Jong-un's closest allies, General Kim Yong Bok, is set to lead the North Koreans troops into battle, say Ukrainian intelligence

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    One of Kim Jong-un’s closest allies, General Kim Yong Bok, is set to lead the North Koreans troops into battle, say Ukrainian intelligenceCredit: Rex
    Images reportedly show thousands of Kim's troops are inside Ukraine and being trained up by Russia

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    Images reportedly show thousands of Kim’s troops are inside Ukraine and being trained up by Russia

    General Kim Yong Bok, the deputy head of the North Korean army, is reportedly set to march into Ukraine alongside Pyongyang’s troops, according to Kyiv’s intelligence.

    Bok, known as a veteran of the country’s Storm Corps special forces, is often pictured standing beside his tyrant boss and taking down notes.

    Ukraine believe Bok will be the highest ranked North Korean officer sent to help Russia, they told the United Nations this week.

    At the same meeting between Kyiv and the UN, shocking new figures emerged stating that over 8,000 North Koreans troops may enter the war zone in Kursk.

    At the start of the week, Western intelligence claimed only 4,500 foreign troops were ready to be deployed straight to the frontlines.

    Ukraine say in total 10,000 North Korean fighters are already working with Russia.

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference in Washington that he expects the troops to begin combat “in the coming days”.

    He added that Russian troops have been asked to train up the new recruits in artillery, drones and “basic infantry operations, including trench clearing”.

    In a stern warning to North Korea Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said: “Make no mistake, if these North Korean troops engage in combat or combat support operations against Ukraine, they would make themselves legitimate military targets.”

    Other US officials have previously said any foreign fighter helping out an enemy of the US will only ever return home in “body bags”.

    Chilling truth behind North Korean troops joining Putin’s war – and why it could ignite BIGGER conflict

    A paranoid Vlad is looking towards Kim to help him find more men to toss at Ukraine with officials saying over 600,000 Russian soldiers have fallen so far.

    Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said Putin’s desperation to find more troops only proves his back is up against the wall.

    He added that it demonstrates Putin is happy to oversee “a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war”.

    The first sighting of North Korean troops in Russian territory came last month.

    Footage appeared to show North Korean troops marching alongside Russian soldiers at a military base near Vladivosto.

    Video analysed by The Washington Post showed hordes of men who appeared to be of Korean descent at Sergeevka military training ground – near Russia’s eastern border with North Korea.

    The clips also included audible Korean phrases spoken with a North Korean accent.

    General Bok is often seen behind his leader with a notebook in hand

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    General Bok is often seen behind his leader with a notebook in handCredit: KCNA

    Putin bringing over thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight in Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II is set to only pile on more pressure to Ukraine’s weary and outnumbered army.

    But a group of nearly 200 defectors who have fled Kim Jong-un‘s regime are hoping to turn things around for Ukraine.

    They hope to fight for Ukraine and help demoralise and influence Pyongyang’s troops to join the right side.

    The ex-soldiers, currently living in South Korea, offered their military experience to help wage psychological warfare against Moscow’s allies, the South China Morning Post reports.

    Ahn Chan-il, a 69-year-old defector and member of the group, said: “We are all military veterans who understand North Korea’s military culture and psychological state better than anyone else.

    “We’re ready to go wherever needed to work as psychological warfare agents – through loudspeaker broadcasts, distributing leaflets, and even acting as interpreters.”

    Another important player in the initiative, Lee Min-bok, has made his appeal directly to the Ukrainian government.

    He asked President Zelensky for the green light to help rescue North Korean soldiers.

    It comes just days after North Korea fired a ballistic missile that flew for 86 minutes — setting a record for Pyongyang.

    The ICBM crashed into the sea 200 miles off Japan, which said it reached a height of 4,350 miles and flew 600 miles from the launch site.

    It has now raised fears that Kim is developing a new kind of weapon that could strike US soil.

    North Korea fired a ballistic missile that flew for 86 minutes — setting a record for Pyongyang

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    North Korea fired a ballistic missile that flew for 86 minutes — setting a record for PyongyangCredit: AP

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    Georgie English

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  • Russia works around international sanctions designed to cripple the economy amid war with Ukraine

    Russia works around international sanctions designed to cripple the economy amid war with Ukraine

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    When Russia invaded Ukraine it sparked international outrage. It also triggered a wave of international sanctions designed to cripple Russia’s economy so badly…it couldn’t fight the war. 

    And yet…two-and-a-half years later, the fighting continues and the International Monetary Fund predicts, this year, Russia’s economy will grow over 3%. More than the U.S. and Europe.

    The architect behind the United States sanction strategy is Daleep Singh – the deputy national security advisor for international economics at the White House.

    We first interviewed him in the weeks after the 2022 invasion…when he told us he expected a barrage of sanctions to bring Russia’s economy to its knees.

    Earlier this month, we went to Washington to ask Daleep Singh about those early predictions of a nosedive.…and he told us something we don’t hear very often on 60 Minutes.

    Daleep Singh: So let’s be– let’s be honest. This is not the nosedive that I predicted two years ago. But– I don’t think anybody should mistake Russia’s rebound with resilience. On the surface, Russia’s economy may appear to be a fortress, but underneath the foundations are fragile.

    Hours after the invasion, the U.S. began striking that foundation.

    At the White House, Daleep Singh announced the administration’s strategy…

    Daleep Singh
    Daleep Singh

    60 Minutes


    Within 72 hours, the U.S. and its allies…. blocked Russia’s central bank from accessing $300 billion it stashed around the world, then froze the foreign bank accounts of dozens of Russian billionaires …later, seizing their trophies for good measure.

    Since then, 45 countries have directed over 5,000 sanctions at Russian targets… everything from diamonds and semiconductors to Vladimir Putin himself. And yet…

    Sharyn Alfonsi: The war is still raging. The Russian economy is growing. It looks like sanctions have been a failure.

    Daleep Singh: No, not at all so he’s turbo-charged government spending to fuel the war machine. He’s frozen infrastructure and education spending. And– yes, that’s lifted GDP growth. But there’s a cost. Sky-high inflation, almost 9%. Nosebleed interest rates, almost 19%. Both are choking off growth.

    But the sanctions have not been able to curb the flow of cash from the Kremlin’s most valuable asset… oil. Russia is the third largest producer in the world…and this year, its oil and gas revenues are expected to increase 2.6% to nearly $240 billion.

    We wondered how – despite all those sanctions- the Kremlin is still making so much money from its oil. We found the answer in an unexpected place.

    Twenty miles off the coast of Greece. 

    We went there with Samir Madani….

    Madani runs a company from Stockholm that tracks oil tankers for dozens of international clients…such as insurance companies or shippers…who want to know exactly where oil is moving in case of a spill or accident.

    Samir Madani
    Samir Madani

    60 Minutes


    But he took us to see this oil tanker…called the Sprite. It’s part of Russia’s “dark fleet” – one of an estimated 200 ships that move a million barrels of Russian oil around Western sanctions every day.

    Madani and his team monitor satellite images, signals from ships, and photographs from the ground to track tankers. 

    He told us, one day, in January 2023, he noticed something suspicious on his dashboard…a tanker sending signals from a port in Japan…a country that doesn’t export crude oil.

    Samir Madani: That didn’t make sense. So I was able to review that with satellite imagery and saw that there was no vessel at the port. Instead– it was a spoof where in fact we saw the vessel in Kozmino, in Russia.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: So they’re able to lie about their location?

    Samir Madani: Yes: in real time.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: And so that allows them to move wherever they want to move–

    Samir Madani: Absolutely.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: –undetected.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: And that happened how quickly after the sanctions took place?

    Samir Madani: Immediately. Immediately.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: When you’re sitting at your dashboard and you’re watching all of this, what makes you know that’s part of the dark fleet?

    Samir Madani: Yeah. The ownership– will change, the vessel– age is beyond 15 years– that’s a red flag. And so these vessels were supposed to be scrapped. And then somebody makes a bid in the last minute, with a– with a million dollars, and gets to extend the life of this tanker.

    The Sprite is one of those tankers. 21 years old, it was last purchased in February and is registered to a shell company in the Caribbean. So what was it doing floating off the coast of Greece?

    Samir Madani: SPRITE here is acting as a dropbox for Russian oil. If you can see on her starboard side on the right side there you have the 4 buoys. And that means they placed those there for contact with other vessels.

    The Sprite
    The Sprite

    60 Minutes


    Other dark fleet vessels that will transfer oil onto or off of the Sprite…Madani spotted one of them, the Zambra, a mile away.

    These are images Madani’s team provided of Zambra moving oil from Russian ports on the Black Sea through the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey and then transferring it onto the Sprite just off the coast of Greece.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: We were there with you, we’re watching you know transfer, transfer, transfer. What’s going on there?

    Samir Madani: The transfers are an additional layer of obfuscation when it comes to– transferring oil. So when you have a “floating dropbox” act like that, you know, where it’s able to take in any kind of oil, and then output any other kind of oil, it confuses things.

    The point of this tanker shell game is to get around Western sanctions…specifically a price cap that was supposed to limit Moscow’s oil profits.

    In 2022, the G-7, which includes the U.S., Canada, Japan, and four European countries…banned the import of Russian oil. But they didn’t want to risk a global price spike. So, they allowed Russian oil to continue to flow internationally but imposed a $60 a barrel price cap on the purchase of Russian crude oil.

    Russia’s workarounds are paying off…. almost all of its crude oil is selling above the price cap. In the last two years, Russia’s dark fleet has moved an estimated $45 billion worth of crude oil.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: And where is all that oil going?

    Samir Madani: Yeah. Most of the oil that– departs Russia by sea– nowadays is going to China and India.

    60 Minutes analyzed four years of data from India’s Ministry of Commerce. We found the value of India’s imports of Russian crude oil increased by more than 2,000% since the invasion of Ukraine.

    Much of that crude goes to an Indian port called Sikka…where it is refined into other oil products, such as gasoline. But those products don’t necessarily stay in India.

    Sam Madani helped us track a tanker of “refined products” from India’s port … around the tip of Africa …across the Atlantic Ocean…and ultimately, here …to New York.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: We saw the ship coming from India into the New York Harbor. How often is that happening?

    Samir Madani: It happens around– twice a month, and they bring in around half a million barrels of refined product. Fuel. 

    Sharyn Alfonsi: So, is the Russian crude oil untraceable?

    Samir Madani: After it becomes refined it’s untraceable. Yeah.

    The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned 38 Russian “dark fleet” tankers… but Sam Madani says he’s identified 170 others that are still active, moving Russian oil.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: They’re not doing it in the middle of the night. They’re doing it in broad daylight. How do you stop that?

    Daleep Singh: First, identify them. Second, let them know– that– they’re subject to our sanctions. And then, three, deliver those sanctions. Any player in Russia’s shadow fleet network would be subject to our sanctions. 

    Sharyn Alfonsi: Why not do it right now?

    Daleep Singh: What we’re trying to balance right now is– is to continue to move the global oil market into balance, to continue to have– a downward movement in the level of inflation across the world, and to sustain unity. We can’t sanction Russia’s shadow fleet by ourselves: so, there’s a diplomatic component to this too. This is about stamina more so than it is about shock and awe.

    There’s another market the U.S. is trying to keep in balance – American nuclear energy.

    The U.S. is still paying Russia $1 billion a year for enriched uranium to help fuel 94 nuclear reactors that provide about a fifth of America’s energy needs. 

    In May, Congress took notice and banned the import of Russian-enriched uranium. But the ban won’t go into full effect for four years.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: Does the U.S. have the capacity right now that it needs for enriched uranium?

    Amir Vexler: No. So un– unfortunately– about 25% of it to 30% has been imported from Russia.

    Amir Vexler
    Amir Vexler

    60 Minutes


    Sharyn Alfonsi: We don’t have it.

    Amir Vexler: Right. We– we are dependent.

    That’s because the United States stopped making enriched uranium a decade ago. Amir Vexler runs Centrus Energy. 

    Last year, Centrus began enriching uranium inside this Piketon, Ohio facility. The only American company with that capability.

    Vexler showed us how it’s done — those 40-foot-tall centrifuges spin uranium gas until it’s enriched and can be used as nuclear fuel.

    But these 16 centrifuges can only make a fraction of the enriched uranium the U.S. needs. See those squares…on the ground? Those are placeholders for 11 thousand more centrifuges Centrus wants to build.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: And how long in the best-case scenario would it take to get those up and running?

    Amir Vexler: It will take about six to seven years to get to full capacity.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: And to not be reliant on Russia.

    Amir Vexler: That is correct.

    In Russia, businesses quickly pivoted. When Western companies left the country at the start of the war, Russian versions replaced them. Starbucks with Stars Coffee…Zara with Maag. Coca Cola …Dobry Cola. even authentic Western products– such as the latest iPhones are still getting into the hands of Russians.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: When we first started hearing about sanctions against Russia, we anticipated seeing, you know, bread lines in Moscow. Has that happened?

    Richard Connolly
    Richard Connolly

    60 Minutes


    Richard Connolly: In a word, no. The most goods that Russians would have accessed before the war are available now.

    Richard Connolly is an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London and a specialist on the Russian economy.

    Richard Connolly: Sanctions prohibit the sale of western cars to Russia, Mercedes or Chryslers. But a lot of them are still making their way to Russia via third parties, like Georgia and the South Caucasus, or Kazakhstan, or China. Now, of course, if you’re gonna have to send an American or German car on this roundabout route to reach Russia, the price of that car when it’s sold is much higher than it was before the war. But, a lot of Russians with a lot of money in their pocket who are prepared to pay that higher price. There’s an incentive for lots of Russian small businesses to acquire goods on foreign markets from sanctioning countries, bring them back to Russia, and sell them at a very healthy markup.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: So evading sanctions has become good business in Russia–

    Richard Connolly: It’s become a business– sector of its own in Russia, yes. 

    Sharyn Alfonsi: What kind of businesses are we talking about?

    Richard Connolly: Some people are selling goods that were previously sanctioned. They’re producing them at home. The number of small- and medium-sized businesses registered in Russia is at an all-time high. Before the war Russia had a big problem. It wasn’t investing enough. But since the war began the single biggest source of investment is in trade and logistics.

    Sharyn Alfonsi: It almost sounds like, from an economic perspective, that the war’s the best thing that’s happened to Russia.

    Richard Connolly: It certainly changed the economic trajectory. This is the fastest it’s grown for a consecutive period in over a decade and a half. Whether they can sustain that over time is, of course– the big question. It’s possible they may confound expectations in the future as well.

    Produced by Lucy Hatcher. Associate producer, Erin DuCharme. Edited by Robert Zimet.

    Sharyn Alfonsi


    headshot-600-sharyn-alfonsi.jpg

    Sharyn Alfonsi is an award-winning correspondent for 60 Minutes.

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  • N.Korea troops ‘in Russia’ as Vlad’s men say ‘what the f**k to do with them’

    N.Korea troops ‘in Russia’ as Vlad’s men say ‘what the f**k to do with them’

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    FOOTAGE appears to show North Korean troops marching alongside Russian soldiers at a military base near Vladivostok as Putin’s men debate “what the f**k to do with them”.

    The hordes of men could be gearing up to storm the frontline after the US confirmed that at least 3,000 of Kim Jong Un’s troops had entered Russian territory.

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    Tyrant Putin and ruthless dictator Kim Jong-un have long had a close relationship
    Footage analysed by The Washington Post appeared to show North Korean troops training in Russia

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    Footage analysed by The Washington Post appeared to show North Korean troops training in RussiaCredit: Avalon.red
    Footage previously emerged showing Kim's troops allegedly being trained up inside Russia

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    Footage previously emerged showing Kim’s troops allegedly being trained up inside Russia
    Kim Jong Un commands one of the world's largest armies - with some 1.2 million men

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    Kim Jong Un commands one of the world’s largest armies – with some 1.2 million men

    Video analysed by The Washington Post showed hordes of men who appeared to be of Korean descent at Sergeevka military training ground – near Russia’s eastern border with North Korea.

    The clips also included audible Korean phrases spoken with a North Korean accent.

    And audio intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence shows Russian soldiers talking offensively about the Korean troops – calling them “the f*****g Chinese”.

    One even says: “And he’s like standing there with his eyes out, like… f**k… He came here and says what the f**k to do with them.”

    Kyiv’s intercepted clips reveal possible plans to issue one interpreter and three senior officers for every 30 Pyongyang troops.

    It showed the soldiers movements as concentrated in the Postoyalye Dvory field camp in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a surprise invasion earlier this year.

    Ukraine, South Korea and the US have voiced deep concern about possible military cooperation between the two.

    National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday: “We assess that between early- to mid-October, North Korea moved at least 3,000 soldiers into eastern Russia.”

    He added that it’s a “highly concerning probability” the Pyongyang soldiers are there to fight against Ukraine.

    The security chief warned: “After completing training, these soldiers could travel to western Russia and then engage in combat against the Ukrainian military.”

    Ukrainian intelligence has estimated that some 12,000 troops – including three generals – will be dispatched to Russia.

    They told the Post that one such group has already arrived in Kursk – where US officials feared they might be sent.

    Kim Jong Un lords over one of the world’s largest militaries – with some 1.2 million soldiers.

    According to South Korea’s spy agency, special operations troops known as the “Storm Corps” have been sent to Russia.

    They are among the best trained and equipped of all the North Korean units.

    Just days ago a North Korean flag was apparently spotted next to a Russian one in Ukrainian territory.

    A blurry photo, allegedly taken near the besieged key city of Pokrovsk showed the two flags flying between the trenches.

    It implied that Korean troops had been deployed to the trenches, marking the first time a third country has put boots on the ground in the three-year conflict waged by Putin inside Ukraine.

    In recent weeks other footage has emerged of what Ukrainian intelligence claims are Kim’s troops training at Russia’s military bases.

    Dramatic videos from the Far East of Russia allegedly show Kim’s soldiers being given battlefield equipment and taking part in strict military training.

    Other footage appears to show North Korean troops posing for photos in Moscow’s Red Square.

    Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the presence of North Korean troops.

    A handout from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) shows what it claims to be North Korean troops at Russia's Ussuriysk military facility

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    A handout from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) shows what it claims to be North Korean troops at Russia’s Ussuriysk military facility
    Other footage appears to show North Korean troops posing in Moscow's Red Square

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    Other footage appears to show North Korean troops posing in Moscow’s Red Square
    A North Korea flag flying alongside the Russian flag in occupied Ukraine

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    A North Korea flag flying alongside the Russian flag in occupied Ukraine

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    Ellie Doughty

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