Vladimir putin

Donald Trump has repeated his claim that he would be able to end the war quickly between Russia and Ukraine by speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin . In an interview with Right Side Broadcasting Network, the former U.S. president once again said that the Russian invasion "would never had started" if he were still at the White House instead of Joe Biden . Trump added that it would be possible to negotiate an end to the war "within 24 hours"—another claim he has been repeating recently—and that he would be able to do it if he were the U.S. leader. "It should have never ever happened, but it did happen. With that being said, it can be negotiated, I think, within 24 hours," Trump said. "It really has to be done from the office of the president. And you have to get both in a room, and there are things you can say to each one of them, which I won't reveal now, which will guarantee that this war will end immediately." Trump described the war in Ukraine as a … [Read more...] about Donald Trump says he can end Ukraine war “immediately” if he talks to Putin

Sixteen months after his arrest, Mikheil Saakashvili has lost more than 90 pounds and needs a walker to move around his prison hospital. The former Georgian president was for a time, on a hunger strike, which helps explain his weight loss and his exhaustion. But it does not explain the traces of arsenic, mercury, and other toxins that a doctor found in his hair and nail clippings. It does not explain the beatings he has described to his lawyer. It does not explain the constant pain in his left shoulder, neck, and spine. Nor can anything other than malice—organized, official, state-sponsored malice—explain why Saakashvili is on a strange medical regimen that includes 14 different drugs, some addictive, some not approved for sale in the United States. Or why he has mild brain damage. Or why he has seizures. Giorgi Badridze, a former Georgian ambassador who keeps in constant touch with Saakashvili’s family, told me that “nothing has been exaggerated. He is doing really badly.” At age … [Read more...] about The Slow-Motion Murder of Mikheil Saakashvili

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald J. Trump on Friday intensified his threat to “expand” America’s nuclear arsenal, saying he was willing to restart a nuclear arms race even as he released a letter from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia that pointed toward the possibility of a “pragmatic” set of understandings between Washington and Moscow. Echoing the conciliatory approach toward Mr. Putin that he exhibited throughout the campaign, Mr. Trump praised the Russian leader for sending a private holiday greeting that called for the two men to act in a “constructive and pragmatic manner.” In a statement as he made Mr. Putin’s letter public, Mr. Trump said the Russian leader’s “thoughts are so correct.” But earlier in the day, the president-elect also made clear that he meant what he said in a Twitter post on Thursday when he bluntly threatened to expand America’s nuclear arsenal after more than three decades in which the number of American and Russian weapons has … [Read more...] about Trump Says U.S. Would ‘Outmatch’ Rivals in a New Nuclear Arms Race

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald J. Trump said on Thursday that the United States should greatly “expand its nuclear capability,” appearing to suggest an end to decades of efforts by presidents of both parties to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in American defenses and strategy. Mr. Trump’s statement, in a midafternoon Twitter post, may have been a response to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who in a speech to his military’s leadership in Moscow earlier on Thursday vowed to strengthen Russia’s nuclear missiles. Mr. Putin said nuclear forces needed to be bolstered so they could “reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defense systems,” apparently a reference to the Pentagon’s efforts to develop systems capable of shooting down nuclear-armed rockets. Shortly after Mr. Putin’s comments were reported by the news media, Mr. Trump said on Twitter that the United States must “strengthen and expand” its nuclear forces “until such time as the world … [Read more...] about Trump Says the U.S. Should Expand Its Nuclear Capacity

US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns said the next six months will be “critical" for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion. In Washington, Burns said battlefield developments in the next six months would be “absolutely crucial" and that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not serious about negotiations, Reuters reported. The CIA director also said that despite Chinese President Xi Jinping perhaps being sobered by the performance of Russia’s military in Ukraine, his goals toward Taiwan should not be understated. He said the US was aware “as a matter of intelligence” that Xi had instructed his troops to be prepared to invade Taiwan by 2027. “Now, it does not imply he’s determined to execute an invasion in 2027, or any other year, but it’s a reminder of the seriousness of his focus and his desire,” Burns said. Meanwhile, Russian forces made two strikes on the town of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, damaging buildings and causing some civilian … [Read more...] about ‘Next Six Months Will be…’: Here’s What CIA Chief Said on Russia-Ukraine War

The United States, Russia and China are now aggressively pursuing a new generation of smaller, less destructive nuclear weapons. The buildups threaten to revive a Cold War-era arms race and unsettle the balance of destructive force among nations that has kept the nuclear peace for more than a half-century. It is, in large measure, an old dynamic playing out in new form as an economically declining Russia, a rising China and an uncertain United States resume their one-upmanship. American officials largely blame the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, saying his intransigence has stymied efforts to build on a 2010 arms control treaty and further shrink the arsenals of the two largest nuclear powers. Some blame the Chinese, who are looking for a technological edge to keep the United States at bay. And some blame the United States itself for speeding ahead with a nuclear “modernization” that, in the name of improving safety and reliability, risks throwing fuel on the fire. … [Read more...] about Race for Latest Class of Nuclear Arms Threatens to Revive Cold War