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Zelenskiy says Ukraine ready to advance peace plan, will discuss disputed points with Trump

A Ukrainian official said Ukraine “supports the framework’s essence, and some of the most sensitive issues remain as points for the discussion between presidents.”

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he was ready to advance a U.S.-backed framework for ending the war with Russia and discuss disputed points with U.S. President Donald Trump in talks he said should include European allies, Reuters reported.

U.S. and Ukrainian officials have been trying to narrow their gaps over Trump’s plan to end Europe’s deadliest and most devastating conflict since World War Two, with Ukraine wary of being strong-armed into accepting a deal largely on Russian terms, including territorial concessions.

In a speech to what is known as the coalition of the willing allies, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Zelenskiy urged European leaders to hash out a framework for deploying a “reassurance force” to Ukraine and to keep backing it for as long as Russia showed no inclination to end its nearly four-year-old war.

“We firmly believe security decisions about Ukraine must include Ukraine, security decisions about Europe must include Europe,” Zelenskiy said, according to his speech text. “Because when something is decided behind the back of a country or its people, there is always a high risk it simply won’t work.”

“That framework is on the table, and we’re ready to move forward together with the USA, with the personal engagement of President Trump,” he said.

Trump has at times tried to accelerate negotiations by announcing deadlines, as he did last week when he said that he hoped for agreement by Thursday. But he softened that on Tuesday evening.

“The deadline for me is when it’s over,” he told reporters. “And I think everybody’s tired of fighting.”

He also encouraged reporters not to take the 28-point peace plan he unveiled last week as a firm blueprint.

“That was just a map,” he said. “It was a concept.” Negotiators were working through each of the points, whittling them down, he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said on social media that negotiations had left “only a few remaining points of disagreement.” He directed his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and his Army secretary, Dan Driscoll, to meet at the same time with Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian officials said Driscoll was expected in Kyiv this week, read the report.

“I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages,” Trump wrote.

A Ukrainian diplomat cautioned that territorial concessions remained a major sticking point, meaning a final deal was far from certain despite accords on various specific points. “These are really tough questions for us,” the diplomat said.

Underlining the high stakes for Ukraine, Kyiv was hit by a barrage of missiles and hundreds of drones overnight in a Russian attack that killed seven people and again disrupted power and heating systems. Residents were sheltering underground wearing winter jackets, some in tents.

Zelenskiy could visit the U.S. in the next few days to finalise a deal with Trump, Ukraine’s national security chief Rustem Umerov said earlier on Tuesday, though there was no immediate confirmation of such a trip from the U.S. side, Reuters reported.

U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators held talks on the latest U.S.-backed peace plan in Geneva on Sunday. Driscoll then met on Monday and Tuesday with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi, a spokesperson for Driscoll said.

A Ukrainian official said Ukraine “supports the framework’s essence, and some of the most sensitive issues remain as points for the discussion between presidents.”

Oil prices extended their declines after reports of Ukraine potentially agreeing to a war-ending deal.

U.S. policy towards the war has zigzagged in recent months.

A hastily arranged summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska in August raised worries in Kyiv and European capitals that the Trump administration might accept many Russian demands, though the meeting ultimately resulted in more U.S. pressure on Russia.

The 28-point plan that emerged last week caught many in the U.S. government, Kyiv and Europe alike off guard and prompted fresh concerns that the Trump administration might be willing to push Ukraine to sign a peace deal heavily tilted toward Russia.

The plan would require Ukraine to yield territory beyond the almost 20% that Russia has captured since its February 2022 full-scale invasion, as well as accept curbs on its military and bar it from ever joining NATO, conditions Ukraine has long rejected as tantamount to surrender.

The sudden push has cranked up the pressure on Ukraine and Zelenskiy, who is now at his most vulnerable since the start of the war after a corruption scandal saw two of his ministers dismissed, and as Russia makes battlefield gains.

Zelenskiy could struggle to get Ukrainians to swallow a deal viewed as selling out their interests. Russia’s unrelenting attacks on Ukraine have left many sceptical about how peace can be achieved soon.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said an amended peace plan must reflect the “spirit and letter” of an understanding reached between Putin and Trump at their Alaska summit.

“If the spirit and letter of Anchorage is erased in terms of the key understandings we have established then, of course, it will be a fundamentally different situation (for Russia),” Lavrov warned.

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Israel built and defended a secret base in Iraq for Iran war, WSJ reports

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Israel established a covert military installation in the Iraqi desert to support its air operations against Iran, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, citing individuals familiar with the matter, including U.S. officials.

The report said the facility was used as a logistical hub for the Israeli Air Force and also housed special forces, as well as search-and-rescue units prepared to assist any downed pilots during operations.

According to the newspaper, the base was built with the knowledge of the United States shortly before the onset of what it described as a joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.

The report added that Israeli forces conducted airstrikes against Iraqi troops on at least one occasion after they allegedly came close to discovering the site, in order to prevent exposure of the facility.

The existence of the installation reportedly came under threat in early March, when Iraqi state media said a shepherd had alerted authorities to unusual military activity in the area, including helicopter movements. Iraqi forces were subsequently dispatched to investigate.

The Wall Street Journal further reported that Iraqi troops were struck by Israeli air operations while approaching the area, based on accounts from sources familiar with the incident.

Later in March, Iraq submitted a complaint to the United Nations alleging that foreign forces were involved in attacks in the area and initially attributed responsibility to the United States. However, the report cited a source familiar with the matter as saying the U.S. was not involved.

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Trump releases government UFO files, more expected

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At the order of U.S. ​President Donald Trump, the Defense Department on Friday released dozens of previously classified files on alleged UFO sightings to provide what ‌it called “unprecedented transparency” to the American people, though analysts said many of the documents had already been made public.

The disclosure of documents, photos and videos of “unidentified anomalous phenomena” will be followed by future releases as more materials are declassified, the Defense Department said in a statement, Reuters reported.

Trump was the latest president to release U.S. government reports on UFOs, a ​disclosure process that began in the late 1970s. Experts said the batch of around 160 files released on Friday contained new videos ​of known sightings but gave no conclusive evidence of alien technology or extraterrestrial life.

The files include a 1947 report of “flying discs” as well as grainy photos of “unidentified phenomena” taken from the moon’s surface by the 1969 Apollo 12 lunar mission and a transcript of the ​Apollo 17 crew describing unidentified objects seen from the moon in 1972.

‘BRIGHT PARTICLES’ DURING APOLLO 17

Apollo 17 mission pilot Ronald Evans reported “a few very bright ​particles or fragments or something that go drifting by as we maneuver,” based on the transcript.

“Roger. Understand,” mission control replied.

“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation – and it’s time the American people see it for themselves,” Hegseth said in a statement.

The records release is likely to fuel fresh debate over government secrecy and ​the possible existence of life in the cosmos.

“Whereas previous Administrations have failed to be transparent on this subject, with these new Documents and Videos, ​the people can decide for themselves, “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?” Trump said in a statement. “Have fun and enjoy!”

The move was welcomed by U.S. Representatives Tim Burchett and ‌Anna Paulina ⁠Luna, both proponents of declassifying UFO files. Luna said an additional tranche of material was expected in about 30 days.

“The files show that UAP are not simply a matter of speculation or public curiosity,” Harvard University astrophysicist Avi Loeb said in an email to Reuters. “The government has collected records.”

The images from Apollo 12 and 17 were fascinating but could be the result of asteroid impacts on the lunar surface, Loeb said.

DISTRACTION FROM POLITICAL PROBLEMS?

Some critics ​cast the UFO disclosures as a ​distraction from Trump’s political woes, including ⁠the unpopular U.S. military campaign against Iran and public pressure to release further files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“I really don’t care about the UFO files. I just don’t. I’m so sick of the ‘look at the ​shiny object’ propaganda,” former Republican U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X.

UAP investigator Mick West said the ​administration of former President ⁠Joe Biden disclosed much of the same information as Friday’s release.

“They’re evidence of us not being able to identify a small white dot that’s a long distance away,” the Sacramento, California-based analyst said of the new UAP videos and images.

Independent journalist Leslie Kean said the release showed there was still a lot ⁠of government ​information on UAP that should be disclosed. Kean co-authored a 2017 New York Times story ​on a secret Pentagon UAP program, which prompted Congress to push for declassification of UFO documents.

“I think we’ve already proven the existence of UAP, but that doesn’t mean we’ve proven they’re ​alien or extraterrestrial or that we know what they are,” said Kean.

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World

Trump says United States will get uranium from Iran

One of ​Trump’s central objectives in launching ‌military ⁠strikes against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a ​nuclear weapon.

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President Donald Trump said on ​Wednesday the United States ‌would get enriched uranium from Iran, as the ​two countries struggle ​to reach an agreement on ⁠ending the Gulf ​war, Reuters reported.

“We’re going to get ​it,” Trump told a reporter as he left a White ​House event.

One of ​Trump’s central objectives in launching ‌military ⁠strikes against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a ​nuclear weapon. ​Iran ⁠has yet to hand over ​more than 900 pounds (408 ​kg) ⁠of highly enriched uranium.

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