Ukraine’s future could hinge on a hastily assembled meeting Monday at the White House as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy brings with him an extraordinary cadre of European leaders to show U.S. President Donald Trump a united front against Russia. The European political heavy-hitters were left out of Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday, and they’re looking to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow. By arriving as a group, they hope to avoid any debacles like Zelenskyy’s February meeting in the Oval Office, where Trump chastised him for not showing enough gratitude for American military aid. The meeting also is a test of America’s relationship with its closest allies after the European Union and the United Kingdom accepted Trump’s tariff hikes partly because they wanted his support on Ukraine. Monday’s showing is a sign of the progress and the possible distress coming out of the Alaska meeting as many of Europe’s leaders descend on Washington with the explicit goal of protecting Ukraine’s interests, a rare and sweeping show of diplomatic force. “It’s important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, and therefore for all of Europe,” Zelenskyy said on X. The night before the meeting, however, Trump seemed to put the onus on Zelenskyy to agree to concessions and suggested Ukraine couldn’t regain Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, setting off an armed conflict that led to its broader 2022 invasion. “President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump wrote on social media. “Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!” Zelenskyy appeared to respond with his own post, saying, “We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably.” He went on to say that “peace must be lasting,” not as it was after Russia seized Crimea and part of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine eight years ago, and “Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack.” The sitdown in Alaska yielded the possible contours for stopping the war in Ukraine, though it was unclear whether the terms discussed would ultimately be acceptable to Zelenskyy or Putin. Upon arrival in Washington, Zelenskyy said in another social media post: “We all equally want to end this war quickly and reliably.” He expressed hope that together with the U.S. and European countries Ukraine will be able to force Russia to “true peace.” European heavyweights in Washington Planning to join Zelenskyy in America’s capital are European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. On the table for discussion are possible NATO-like security guarantees Ukraine would need for any peace with Russia to be durable. Putin opposes Ukraine joining NATO outright, yet Trump’s team claims the Russian leader is open to allies agreeing to defend Ukraine if it comes under attack. Trump briefed Zelenskyy and European allies shortly after the Putin meeting, and details from the discussions emerged in a scattershot way that seemed to rankle the Republican U.S. president, who had chosen not to outline any terms when appearing afterward with […]
As Russia held its Victory Day parade this year, hackers backing the Kremlin hijacked an orbiting satellite that provides television service to Ukraine. Instead of normal programing, Ukrainian viewers saw parade footage beamed in from Moscow: waves of tanks, soldiers and weaponry. The message was meant to intimidate and was an illustration that 21st-century war is waged not just on land, sea and air but also in cyberspace and the reaches of outer space. Disabling a satellite could deal a devastating blow without one bullet, and it can be done by targeting the satellite’s security software or disrupting its ability to send or receive signals from Earth. “If you can impede a satellite’s ability to communicate, you can cause a significant disruption,” said Tom Pace, CEO of NetRise, a cybersecurity firm focused on protecting supply chains. “Think about GPS,” said Pace, who served in the Marines before working on cyber issues at the Department of Energy. “Imagine if a population lost that and the confusion it would cause.” Satellites are the short-term challenge More than 12,000 operating satellites now orbit the planet, playing a critical role not just in broadcast communications but also in military operations, navigation systems like GPS, intelligence gathering and economic supply chains. They are also key to early launch-detection efforts, which can warn of approaching missiles. That makes them a significant national security vulnerability, and a prime target for anyone looking to undermine an adversary’s economy or military readiness — or deliver a psychological blow like the hackers supporting Russia did when they hijacked television signals to Ukraine. Hackers typically look for the weakest link in the software or hardware that supports a satellite or controls its communications with Earth. The actual orbiting device may be secure, but if it’s running on outdated software, it can be easily exploited. As Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, someone targeted Viasat, the U.S.-based satellite company used by Ukraine’s government and military. The hack, which Kyiv blamed on Moscow, used malware to infect tens of thousands of modems, creating an outage affecting wide swaths of Europe. National security officials say Russia is developing a nuclear, space-based weapon designed to take out virtually every satellite in low-Earth orbit at once. The weapon would combine a physical attack that would ripple outward, destroying more satellites, while the nuclear component is used to fry their electronics. U.S. officials declassified information about the weapon after Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, issued a public warning about the technology. Turner has pushed for the Department of Defense to provide a classified briefing to lawmakers on the weapon, which, if deployed, would violate an international treaty prohibiting weapons of mass destruction in space. Turner said such a weapon could render low-Earth orbit unusable for satellites for as long as a year. If it were used, the effects would be devastating: potentially leaving the U.S. and its allies vulnerable to economic upheaval and even a nuclear attack. Russia and China also would lose satellites, though they are believed to be less reliant on the same kinds of satellites as the U.S. Turner compared the weapon, which is not yet ready for deployment, to Sputnik, the Russian satellite that launched the space age in 1957. “If this anti-satellite nuclear weapon would be put in space, it would be the end of the space age,” Turner said. “It should never […]
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Sunday ridiculed the BBC for once again publishing a false and distorted story about Gaza in order to portray Israel as a villain rather than Hamas. Earlier on Sunday, Israel’s COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities) debunked a fictitious story published by the BBC, the Guardian, AP, and Italian media that a 20-year-old Gazan woman died on Friday after being flown from the Strip to an Italian hospital due to “severe malnourishment,” omitting the fact that she was critically ill with leukemia. Huckabee retweeted a statement by journalist Melanie Phillips about the story: “Israel helps evacuate cancer sufferer from Gaza to Italy,” Phillips wrote. “She dies there of leukemia. BBC suggests Israel starved her to death. To the BBC, even cancer is Israel’s fault.” Huckabee added, “Will the BBC retract the story and apologize? Of course. The same day a Baskin Robbins opens a franchise in hell.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
Two police officers were shot and killed in a northern Utah city and a man was taken into custody, authorities said Monday. The officers were responding to a domestic disturbance call Sunday in a neighborhood in Tremonton. A sheriff’s deputy and a police dog who also responded were wounded and were hospitalized in fair condition, police said. After the officers were shot, bystanders persuaded the man to put down his weapon, police said. SWAT teams responded to clear the home and verify that there was no further threat, police said. “Upon arrival, they immediately began taking fire,” Police Detective Crystal Beck of neighboring Brigham City told reporters earlier. “They requested additional units. And then stopped answering their radio.” The man was arrested on charges of aggravated murder, police said in a news release. His name was not immediately released. Tremonton, which has about 10,000 people, is about 75 miles (121 kilometers) north of Salt Lake City. (AP)
Australia’s Interior Minister Tony Burke announced on Monday morning that the entry visa of Religious Zionist MK Simcha Rothman, the chairman of the Knesset’s Constitution party, has been revoked. The announcement was made only hours before Rothman’s flight to Down Under, where he was scheduled to make a series of speeches at shuls and schools and meet with victims of antisemitic attacks. Burke explained the decision by saying, “Our government takes a hard line on people who seek to come to our country and spread division. If you are coming to Australia to spread a message of hate and division, we don’t want you here.” However, Burke failed to quote any examples of Rothman’s quest to “spread division,” only citing statements that could be attributed to millions of Israelis, including his opposition to a Palestinian state and statements such as “the Hamas terror group must be destroyed.” Robert Gregory, the head of the Australian Jewish Association (AJA), which invited Rothman, stated, “The purpose of Mr. Rothman’s visit was to show solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community, which is facing a wave of antisemitism. AJA had arranged for him to meet with victims, visit targeted Jewish institutions, and address numerous Jewish schools and synagogues. I have just returned from Israel and can attest that there is growing alarm there about the situation for Jews in Australia under the Albanese government. The visit was not in any way connected to current events in the Middle East.” “This is a viciously antisemitic move from a government that is obsessed with targeting the Jewish community and Israel.” “All the paperwork was filled out correctly and on time, and the visa was approved. The timing of the cancellation at the last minute was spiteful and intended to cause maximum harm to the Australian Jewish community. Mr. Rothman received his cancellation on the day he was to head to the airport for his flight.” “This government has a track record of cancelling the visas of Jewish and Israeli visitors, including Ayelet Shaked and Hillel Fuld. The message from the Albanese Government to Jews is clear, and we urge all Jews to seriously consider whether it is safe for them to visit Australia under this government.” “AJA is hearing from increasing numbers of Australian Jews who feel unwelcome under this government and are planning to leave. It seems the government is happy to replace them by importing thousands of Gazans.” “Israel is fully justified in taking strong measures in response to this, and we have briefed contacts in the Trump Administration who are also concerned about events in Australia.” The AJA also published a statement accusing Albanese of supporting Hamas. “LABOR STANDS UP FOR HAMAS,” the statement began. “AJA can confirm that one of the written reasons the Australian Government gave for banning Knesset Member Simcha Rothman is because his statements calling for ‘the elimination of Hamas’…have been received by members of the Australian community as inflammatory and concerning.” “Who exactly are these ‘members of the Australian community’ who support Hamas, a proscribed terrorist group, and why aren’t they in prison instead of deciding policies for Tony Burke?” “‘Jews not welcome’—is this the message that the Albanese government is trying to send? Simcha is just the latest Jew to be banned by a government which is obsessed with […]
