Trump Offers U.S. Insurance and Naval Escort for Tankers as Strait of Hormuz Crisis Disrupts Global Oil Trade 
Pentagon Downplays ‘Endless War’ Fears After U.S. Strikes on Iran Escalate Conflict 
European Allies Deploy Air Defenses to Cyprus After Drone Attack on RAF Akrotiri Base 
U.S. Military Strikes on Iran Complicate Xi-Trump Summit and Expose China’s Energy Risks 
Michael Whatley Wins North Carolina GOP Senate Primary, Setting Up High-Stakes Battle With Roy Cooper 
Why did Iran bomb Dubai? A Middle East expert explains the regional alliances at play 
Iran Detains U.S. Citizens Amid Escalating Conflict With the United States and Israel 
Defense Contractors Move to Drop Anthropic AI After Trump Administration Ban 
Santander’s $12.2B Webster Financial Deal Faces Uncertainty Amid U.S.–Spain Trade Tensions 
Trump Says U.S.-UK Relationship Has Deteriorated After Starmer Hesitates on Iran Strikes 
U.S. Officials Review Tencent’s Stakes in Epic Games, Riot Games Over Security Concerns 
U.S.-Israel War on Iran Escalates as Gulf Conflict Disrupts Oil, Air Travel and Regional Security 
U.S. Interior Department Responds to Leak of Trump Administration Plans to Revise National Park History 
Melania Trump Chairs Historic U.N. Security Council Meeting on Children Amid Iran Conflict 
U.S. Begins Charter Evacuations as Iran Conflict Disrupts Middle East Air Travel 
U.S. Preparing Possible Corruption Charges Against Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez 
Suspected Iranian Drone Hits CIA Station at U.S. Embassy in Riyadh Amid Rising Middle East Tensions 
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Kyiv wants a peace summit to end the war. However, Kuleba said that it is unlikely that Russia will want to participate.
Kuleba told the Associated Press that the Ukrainian government wants a “peace summit” to take place in two months at the United Nations, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres serving as the mediator in the summit. Kuleba said the UN would be the most appropriate body to host a peace summit.
The UN has since responded to Kuleba’s proposal, with its associate spokeswoman reiterating that Guterres will mediate if both sides want him to mediate.
Ukraine’s top diplomat said Russia must face a war crimes tribunal before the two countries can directly engage. However, Kuleba said that other countries should feel free to engage with Russia, citing the grain agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey.
Kuleba also said he was “absolutely satisfied” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the United States last week. Kuleba revealed that Washington has come up with a plan to get the Patriot battery system ready and operational on the ground in Ukraine in less than six months. Training to use the Patriot system usually takes a year.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry will do whatever is possible to win the war in 2023, according to Kuleba.
Kuleba’s proposal comes at a time when his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov warned that Ukraine either cedes its Russian-occupied territories or the Russian army will decide Ukraine’s fate.
The proposal also follows Zelenskyy’s presentation to the G20 summit in Bali this year, detailing a 10-point peace plan that includes the restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian forces, the release of prisoners, a tribunal to hold people responsible for aggression accountable, as well as security guarantees for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in the British defense ministry’s intelligence bulletin on Wednesday, Russia’s Kremina sector in the frontline at Luhansk was likely reinforced amidst the offensive by Ukrainian forces. The ministry noted that the Kremina unit is “relatively vulnerable” as Ukraine advanced through Lyman back in October.
“Russia has constructed extensive new defenses in the area and will likely prioritize holding the line here. The area is logistically important for Russia’s Donbas front and it is also a significant town in Luhansk Oblast. The Kremlin claims that the ‘liberation’ of this area is a core justification for the war,” said the ministry.
