As US President Donald Trump launched a 100-day effort to end the war in Ukraine, Kyiv’s long-range weapons were devastating the heart of Russia’s war effort – its oil depots, weapons storages and factories.Trump took the oath of office on Monday, saying success would be measured “not just by the battles that we win, but also by the wars that we end and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into”.
That was a reference to his oft-stated belief that the administration of his predecessor, former US President Joe Biden, erred in allowing the Ukraine war to begin, and his vow to end it quickly.
Trump’s special envoy, retired US General Keith Kellog, has set himself a 100-day challenge to achieve a ceasefire.
(Al Jazeera)
Russian President Vladimir Putin held an unprecedented National Security Council meeting on Trump’s inauguration day, repeating his willingness to enter negotiations. He said a solution should remove the root causes of the war – a reference to NATO’s eastward expansion. Advertisement
Sergei Ryabkov, Russian deputy foreign minister, said on Wednesday that the Trump administration presented an opportunity for agreement.
“Compared to the pessimism under the previous US president, today, there is a small chance of opportunities,” he said at an academic event in Moscow.
As these developments of high politics unfolded, Ukraine was smashing through Russian aerial defences and burning some of the enemy’s ability to wage war.
That campaign of strategic interdiction was visibly weakening the Russian war effort, said Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskii.
“Over several months now, the normal con …
