Free Republic

U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia said Wednesday the United States understands the need for security guarantees for Ukraine, as he visited the country for talks with Ukrainian officials. Gen. Keith Kellogg told reporters in Kyiv that he was in Ukraine “to listen,” hear the concerns of Ukrainian leaders and return to the United States to consult President Trump. Kellogg said the United States wants the war in Ukraine to end, saying that would be good for the region and the world. The talks come amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts focused on Russia’s war in Ukraine,...

China could send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to help preserve any negotiated ceasefire in its war with Russia - as long as they are working with non-Nato countries like India - a former PLA colonel suggested. Zhou Bo, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, said that China had "sufficient troops and military strength" to contribute to an international post-war effort. "However, if peacekeeping operations are conducted along with European countries, Russia might see it as another form of Nato presence, wouldn't they?" Zhou said in an interview on the sidelines of last...

Ukraine launched an overnight drone attack on Russia, setting ablaze an oil refinery, Russian media reported on the Telegram messaging app. Videos posted by locals seem to show a large fire at the Ilsky refinery, located in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, east of the Crimean Peninsula. Residents also reported hearing explosions around 1:30 a.m. local time. According to Russia’s SHOT Telegram news channel, the fire was stoked by falling drone wreckage. Russian Governor Veniamin Kondratyev earlier on Monday said that Ukraine’s drone attack on Russia’s Krasnodar region injured one person and damaged at least 12 houses. The local official, writing on...