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Putin rejects key parts of US peace plan as Kremlin official warns Europe faces new war risk: report
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly rejected key elements of the U.S.-backed proposal to end the war in Ukraine, as senior Kremlin officials escalate warnings toward Europe over efforts to use frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv.
According to The Associated Press, Putin said there were parts of the American proposal he «can’t accept,» including requirements for Russia to withdraw from occupied Ukrainian territory. His comments came as diplomatic activity intensified following meetings in Geneva and Florida between Ukrainian representatives and U.S. administration envoys.
A senior U.S. official, speaking on background, told Fox News Digital in response to the latest reports that the United States and Russia «participated in a thorough, productive meeting earlier this week.» The official said that «several new ideas of how to bridge the remaining issues have been developed over the past week and continue to be discussed by all parties,» adding that Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner have since briefed President Trump and Ukrainian officials and are expected to meet with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov today.
MOMENTUM BUILDS IN UKRAINE PEACE PUSH, BUT EXPERTS FEAR PUTIN WON’T BUDGE
The aftermath of a Russian drone strike in Odesa that injured at least six people and damaged the city’s energy infrastructure. (East2West )
The latest development comes after more lethal strikes hit Ukraine overnight, when Russian forces killed a 6-year-old girl in Kherson, officials said.
The Russian Defense Ministry boasted of footage showing how they were relentlessly pounding Huliaipole with Grad rockets. At least six people were injured in a Russian drone attack on Odesa, which damaged the city’s energy infrastructure, East2West news agency reported. Six more people were wounded from a Russian strike on Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But Ukrainian drones attacked Nevinnomyssk Azot, a key supplier of explosives and rocket fuel components.
Former Russian President and Security Council Deputy Chair Dmitry Medvedev warned that if the European Union uses frozen Russian state assets to provide financial support to Ukraine, Moscow could treat the move as a justification for war, Reuters reported.
«If the crazed European Union attempts to steal Russian assets, blocked in Belgium, by issuing so-called reparative loans, such actions under international law may be classified as a special kind of casus belli with all the ensuing consequences for Brussels and individual EU countries,» Medvedev said. He added that repayment could come «not through court, but through actual reparations paid in natural form by the defeated enemies of Russia.»
Reuters noted that EU leaders are considering ways to leverage roughly €190 billion, about $221.8 billion, in frozen Russian sovereign assets to help fund Ukraine’s budget and military needs. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this week that Europe intends to ensure Ukraine «has the means» to defend itself, proposing support totaling about €90 billion, about $105.1 billion, over the next two years.
NO UKRAINE PEACE DEAL AFTER LENGTHY FIVE-HOUR PUTIN-WITKOFF-KUSHNER MEETING
Former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (R) warns the EU of war justification as Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) dismisses a major plank of the U.S. Ukraine proposal. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
«We are increasing the cost of Russia’s war of aggression,» von der Leyen said. She added that raising pressure on Moscow should help bring Putin to negotiations, even as Russia signals it is not ready to compromise.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded publicly to the diplomatic momentum, writing on X that Ukraine is preparing additional meetings with American envoys. «Ukraine was heard, and Ukraine was listened to. And that matters,» Zelenskyy wrote. «A dignified peace is only possible if Ukraine’s interests are taken into account.»
He added that any peace effort must combine diplomacy with continued pressure on Moscow. «Everything depends on this combination — constructive diplomacy plus pressure on the aggressor.»
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The aftermath of a Russian drone strike in Odesa that injured at least six people and damaged the city’s energy infrastructure. (East2West)
Russia, meanwhile, has continued military operations across Ukraine, according to Associated Press reporting, as both sides prepare for additional negotiations in the United States.
Putin’s rejection of the plan and Medvedev’s warnings to Europe highlight widening diplomatic and military pressure points just as international efforts intensify to find an exit path from the nearly three-year war.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
vladimir putin,russia,ukraine,conflicts,conflicts
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The Department of War on Sunday transported a next-generation nuclear reactor aboard a C-17 from California to Utah, advancing President Donald Trump’s executive order to modernize America’s nuclear energy infrastructure and strengthen U.S. national security.
The reactor was flown from March Air Reserve Base in California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah and is expected to be transported to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab in Orangeville for testing and evaluation – a key step in assessing how advanced nuclear systems could support military installations and remote defense operations.
The Department of War shared images on X showing the reactor loaded onto the C-17 aircraft.
«We’re advancing President Trump’s executive order on nuclear energy,» the post read. «Moments from now, we will airlift a next-generation nuclear reactor.»
TRUMP ADMIN POURS $1B INTO MASSIVE EFFORT TO RESTART NUCLEAR REACTOR AT HISTORIC MELTDOWN SITE
The Department of War said the successful delivery and installation of the reactor will open new possibilities for energy resilience and strategic independence for the nation’s defense, highlighting what officials described as an agile, innovative and commercial-first approach to addressing critical infrastructure challenges.
«By harnessing the power of advanced nuclear technology, we are not only enhancing our national security but championing a future of American energy dominance,» the agency said in a press release. «This event is a testament to the ingenuity of the American spirit and a critical advancement in securing our nation’s freedom and strength for generations to come.»
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of War for additional comment.
THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR PLANT MAKES COMEBACK WITH $1B IN FEDERAL BACKING TO MEET INCREASING ENERGY DEMANDS
The Department of War airlifted a next-generation nuclear reactor to Utah, advancing President Trump’s push to modernize U.S. energy and strengthen national security. (U.S. Department of War X)
In May, President Donald Trump signed several executive orders aimed at expanding domestic nuclear energy development. At the time, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said America led the postwar world on «all things nuclear» until it «stagnated» and was «choked with overregulation.»
War Secretary Pete Hegseth added that the U.S. was «going to have the lights on and AI operating when others are not because of our nuclear capabilities.»
One of Trump’s nuclear directives called for reforming Energy Department research and development, accelerating reactor testing at national laboratories and establishing a pilot program for new construction.
ENERGY SECRETARY REVEALS HOW US NUCLEAR TESTS WILL WORK
Nuclear energy, the White House said in the order, «is necessary to power the next generation technologies that secure our global industrial, digital, and economic dominance, achieve energy independence, and protect our national security.»
The nuclear expansion effort is part of a broader administration push to reinforce domestic energy production and grid reliability across multiple sectors.
Days later, Trump signed another executive order directing the Department of War to work directly with coal-fired power plants on new long-term power purchasing agreements, arguing the move would ensure «more reliable power and stronger and more resilient grid power.»
The order, «Strengthening United States National Defense with America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Power Generation Fleet,» states, «The United States must ensure that our electric grid … remains resilient and reliable, and not reliant on intermittent energy sources,» calling the grid «the foundation of our national defense as well as our economic stability.»
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«It is the policy of the United States that coal is essential to our national and economic security,» the order adds.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
donald trump,pete hegseth,defense,energy,utah
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Ukraine’s former energy minister was detained Sunday after authorities removed him from a train at the border as he allegedly attempted to flee the country, a source has confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Herman Halushchenko’s arrest, the source said, followed requests from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) and marked an uptick in an anti-corruption probe engulfing the political spectrum.
«Halushchenko tried to escape Ukraine,» the source said under the condition of anonymity.
«The border guards had a request from NABU and SAPO about him and also to get information in case he tried to cross the border,» they added.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION STAYS SILENT AS MASSIVE UKRAINE CORRUPTION SCANDAL ROCKS ZELENSKYY’S INNER CIRCLE
Ukrainian authorities detained former energy minister Herman Halushchenko in the Operation Midas probe investigating alleged $100 million kickbacks at Energoatom nuclear company. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)
«This essentially means that because he tried to cross, the president has lost some control here.»
NABU released a statement on the matter Sunday but did not name Halushchenko, according to the Kyiv Post.
He had served as the country’s energy minister under President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but resigned in November.
«Today, while crossing the state border, NABU detectives have detained the former Minister of Energy as part of the ‘Midas’ case,» the agency said in a statement, referring to a corruption scandal in the country’s energy sector.
«Initial investigative proceedings are ongoing, carried out in accordance with the requirements of the law and court sanctions. Details to follow,» NABU added.
‘GOLDEN TOILET’ SCANDAL: ZELENSKYY FACES DEEPEST CRISIS YET AS ALLIES ACCUSED IN $100M WARTIME SCHEME
Halushchenko had served under Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (Sergei Grits/AP Photo)
Operation Midas centers on allegations of a $100 million embezzlement scheme within Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear energy company.
Investigators say funds meant for critical energy infrastructure, including wartime grid repairs after Russian attacks, were siphoned off through contract kickbacks.
Halushchenko was one of several ministers who resigned in 2025 as NABU uncovered what it described as the massive money-laundering scheme orchestrated by Tymur Mindich, also an ally of Zelenskyy.
The controversy has also affected border operations. Border head Serhiy Deineko was dismissed in January, the Kyiv Independent reported.
On Jan. 4, Valerii Vavryniuk, the agency’s first deputy, was appointed acting head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS), according to to Pravda.
«The last border head had also been accused of corruption,» the source said. «There is a new acting head of the border service who is not loyal to Zelenskyy but more so to the institutions.»
FORMER UKRAINIAN PM ACCUSED OF BRIBING POLITICIANS WITH US DOLLARS TO WEAKEN ZELENSKYY’S GOVERNMENT
«With the corruption probes, Zelenskyy loses control and this infuriates him,» a source told Fox News Digital. (Pavlo Bahmut/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The source also said since Halushchenko was considered an «unofficial but direct subordinate» of Zelenskyy, this latest arrest will prove difficult for Ukraine’s leader.
«Halushchenko had been [an] (unofficial but direct) subordinate to Zelenskyy, so if his corruption is proven then it will be hard to convince people the president knew nothing,» they said.
«With the corruption probes, Zelenskyy loses control and this infuriates him,» the source added.
The developments come as Zelenskyy continues to navigate Ukraine’s war with Russia.
TOP UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS IN ZELENSKYY GOVERNMENT SUBMIT RESIGNATIONS AMID $100 MILLION CORRUPTION SCANDAL
Ukrainian servicemen ride atop an APC toward frontline positions near Vuhledar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on May 1, 2023. (Libkos/AP Photo)
The source described high emotion inside the Ukraine parliament with Zelenskyy’s «stress rising» in the wake of Herman Halushchenko’s arrest.
«Recently Zelenskyy became angry over initiatives in parliament that were not pushed through, and he shouted and threatened parliamentarians,» the source said.
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«This week he appeared quite emotionally uncontrollable and almost aggressive behind the camera, so some parliamentarians have seen his stress rise many times recently – and more than pre-war levels,» they said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Zelenskyy’s office for comment.
ukraine,volodymyr zelenskyy,corruption,border security,crime,crime world
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