INTERNACIONAL
Putin masses 50,000 troops on Ukraine’s north front as Trump again agrees to meet Russian, Ukrainian leaders
Russian President Vladimir Putin has amassed some 50,000 troops on Ukraine’s northern border despite a united push by the U.S. and Ukraine to get Moscow to enter into «meaningful» ceasefire negotiations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday warned that Putin is preparing a massive summer offensive in a move to push Ukraine’s troops out of Russia’s Kursk region, and to launch a new invasion into Ukraine’s Sumy region – a mere 200 miles from the capital city of Kyiv.
Zelenskyy reiterated this week that he is ready to hold direct negotiations with Putin and suggested that if the Kremlin chief is uncomfortable with a bilateral meeting, a trilateral meeting could be held with President Donald Trump.
TIRANA, ALBANIA: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the 6th European Political Community (EPC) summit, in Tirana, Albania on May 16, 2025. (Ercin Erturk/Anadolu via Getty Images)
TRUMP SAYS HE WILL MEET WITH PUTIN, ZELENSKYY ‘IF NECESSARY’ AMID NEGOTIATIONS TO END WAR
Trump on Wednesday said he would meet with both world leaders «if necessary» but the Kremlin again rejected the suggestion.
The U.S. president said he was «very disappointed» at Russia’s continued bombardment of Ukraine during negotiation attempts, but he has refused to hit Putin with more sanctions, telling reporters «I think I’m close to getting a deal, I don’t want to screw it up by doing that.»
Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesman for Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said during a live chat on X, Thursday, that since the May 16 meeting in Turkey, Russia had launched 120 missiles, more than 1,500 Shahed drones and more than 2,500 guided bombs on Ukrainian cities.
The Sumy regional governor confirmed on Monday that Russian forces had officially taken over four Ukrainian villages near the Ukraine-Russia border which were previously evacuated, and which sat in a «gray zone» that has long been militarily contested following Russia’s Feb. 2022 invasion.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following Russia’s missile attack that killed at least 20 civilians in Sumy, Ukraine, Sunday, Apr. 13, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
TRUMP WARNS PUTIN IS ‘PLAYING WITH FIRE’ AFTER DECLARING THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT HAS ‘GONE ABSOLUTELY CRAZY’
The movement of Russian troops comes as Putin looks to create a roughly 6-mile wide «buffer zone,» which Moscow reportedly has been attempting to carry out since 2024, but which was thwarted by Ukraine’s Kursk invasion.
Implementing a buffer zone on Ukraine’s northern territory will likely be used as a bargaining chip if Moscow engages in ceasefire negotiations, which Kyiv has said Russia has failed to do in good faith after delegations from both sides met in Istanbul earlier this month, but failed to advance peace talks.
A Ukrainian T64 battle tank fires on a Russian troops position on Jan. 9, 2024, in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Roman Chop/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Russia late on Wednesday suggested a second Istanbul meeting where it said it would present its «memorandum» of ceasefire terms.
Ukraine has thus far not accepted another meeting with Russia and on Thursday said Moscow «promised» to supply its memorandum ahead of any future talks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Russian delegation and some officials ahead of the Istanbul talks, on May 14, 2025, in Moscow, Russia. (Kremlin Press Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
«They are scared to share it because they filled the document with ultimatums and demands,» Tykhyi said Thursday. «They understand this document is needed not to advance the peace process but to stall.»
Tykhyi argued that «If they have nothing to hide, if this document is workable» then there «should be no problem in sharing the document,» which he said is needed to ensure the negotiating parties can achieve a «meaningful result.»
Ukraine has already submitted their ceasefire terms.
INTERNACIONAL
El golpe fulminante de EE.UU. e Israel para matar al líder supremo de Irán, Ali Khamenei
INTERNACIONAL
Jeb Bush commends former rival Trump’s Iran operation: ‘This is their time to take their country back’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
FIRST ON FOX: A major public policy nonprofit co-led by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush praised President Donald Trump for ordering Saturday’s military strikes against Iran.
United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI) — was formed in 2008 by Ambassador Mark Wallace, who held a United Nations-centered post in Bush’s brother’s administration, and former George H.W. Bush diplomat Dennis Ross — to combat threats posed by the Islamic Republic.
The group has been on the front lines of highlighting Iran’s human rights abuses and attacks on Americans and advising policymakers and the business community about dangers posed by Tehran.
The organization counsels existing and would-be commercial partners of Iran regarding the legal, financial and reputational risks of that kind of commerce.
«UANI salutes the courage and professionalism of American and Israeli service members carrying out this historic mission against the Iranian regime,» Bush and Wallace told Fox News Digital Saturday.
Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump, left, and Jeb Bush take part in a presidential debate at the Reagan Library Sept. 16, 2015, in Simi Valley, Calif. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
«We applaud President Trump for his courageous decision to launch this military operation. For 47 years, the Iranian regime has unleashed terror, violence and misery — against its own people and across the region — while threatening the United States, Israel and our allies.»
Bush, who ran against Trump in a bruising 2016 primary, and Wallace noted that many presidents tried to bring Iran into the «peaceful community of nations» but were not able to finish the job.
«This president engaged extensively and in good faith to achieve a diplomatic solution,» they said after Trump indicated as recently as last week he wanted to negotiate terms.
«The regime chose escalation and continued its pursuit of nuclear weapons. The responsibility for this moment rests squarely with Ayatollah Khamenei.»
Khamenei, 86, was declared dead by Israeli sources by late afternoon.
Bush and Wallace added it was clear the joint American-Israeli operation was directed not at Iran, the country and citizenry, but at Khamenei’s «lethal capabilities.»
The Iranian people, they said, have long suffered under repression and that Trump’s message since the strikes began is one that should be embraced by all Americans: «We aim to see Iran free, prosperous, and at peace. This is their time to take their great country back.»
«The Butcher of Tehran is dead,» Bush and Wallace added in a separate public statement.
ICE NABS IRANIAN NATIONAL WITH RAPE, SODOMY CONVICTIONS AFTER VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS MOVE TO CURB COOPERATION
Bush added in a statement on X that «Operation Epic Fury marks a historic mission against the Iranian regime.»
«We salute the courage and professionalism of American and Israeli service members and commend for his courageous decision,» he added.
Bush’s relationship with Trump has appeared to warm since their bitter feuds of a decade ago.
During the 2016 sweeps, Trump nicknamed the Republican Party scion «Low Energy Jeb,» while Bush quipped that the mogul would not be able to «insult your way to the presidency» after the eventual victor mocked an ad that former first lady Barbara Bush filmed for her son.
While governor, Bush made improving public education a hallmark of his administration in Tallahassee. Bush implemented stricter proficiency standards in elementary education and signed what was dubbed the «A+ plan,» making Florida the first state to require clear letter grades on student performance.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
He recently praised the Trump administration’s overtures toward universal school choice and federal block grants as a «transformational opportunity.»
«The Trump administration has a chance to shift the power dynamic back to the states, where policymakers are uniquely equipped to understand and address the diverse needs of their students, schools, and communities,» he added in a column in Education Week.
Related Article
war with iran,iran,george w bush,donald trump,elections,terrorism
US base in Saudi Arabia under attack
Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin joins ‘America Reports’ to give the latest on the aftermath of the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Iran entered a new chapter Saturday after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, abruptly ending more than three decades of authoritarian rule and setting in motion a leadership transition the regime has long prepared.
A senior Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that while Khamenei’s demise is a «massive blow» to the Islamic Republic, Tehran anticipated the possibility and took steps to withstand such a scenario.
«Mere survival, at this point, would be considered a victory,» the diplomat said of the regime, according to the outlet, following U.S. and Israeli strikes across the country.
A recent report from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) outlined three broad trajectories for a post-Khamenei Iran: managed regime continuity, an overt or creeping military takeover, or systemic collapse.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike on Saturday. (Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran via Getty Images)
CFR cautioned that even a leadership change at the top would not necessarily translate into meaningful political reform in the near term, given the regime’s deeply institutionalized power structure and its record of using force to maintain control.
The report notes that the real balance of power rests within a tight circle of clerical elites and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
It describes a likely «continuity» scenario as producing «Khamenei-ism without Khamenei,» in which a successor from within the regime preserves the ideological framework of the Islamic Republic while relying on established security institutions to preserve stability.
LEAKED DOCUMENTS EXPOSE KHAMENEI’S SECRET DEADLY BLUEPRINT FOR CRUSHING IRAN PROTESTS
«The Islamic Republic’s constitution includes a succession process. The Assembly of Experts, a clerical body, is constitutionally charged with selecting the next supreme leader,» Jason Brodsky, policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital.
«In the interim, should there be a leadership vacancy, an interim leadership council is formed comprised of the president, chief justice, and a member of the Guardian Council selected by the Expediency Council,» he added. «The IRGC is a key stakeholder in this process, and will heavily influence its outcome.»
Over the past three decades, the Bayt-e Rahbari, or the Office of the Supreme Leader, expanded into what a February report by UANI described as a «sprawling parallel state» operating alongside Iran’s formal institutions.
Large crowds gather at Enghelab Square in Tehran, Sunday, after Iranian state TV announced that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The analysis characterizes the Office as the regime’s «hidden nerve center,» extending control across the military, security establishment and major economic foundations in ways that make the system’s authority institutional rather than dependent on Khamenei’s physical presence.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
«The supreme leader today is no longer just one man; he is represented through an all-encompassing institution that consolidates power, manages succession, and guarantees continuity,» the non-partisan policy organization said. «The Islamic Republic’s most enduring strength lies in this hidden architecture of control, which will continue to shape the country’s future long after Khamenei himself departs from the scene.»
Related Article
war with iran,iran,middle east,world,geopolitics
Clima de negocios: los secretos del modelo verde que promete restaurar bosques y ser un generador de dólares para Argentina
El golpe fulminante de EE.UU. e Israel para matar al líder supremo de Irán, Ali Khamenei
Canales para ver el Talleres vs. San Lorenzo por el Torneo Apertura
Kicillof llega a la apertura de sesiones con la interna del PJ reactivada y buscando instalar un mensaje federal
¡Tensión en vivo! Aníbal Pachano y Nancy Pazos protagonizaron un cruce explosivo en la mesa de Mirtha Legrand
La primera imagen del Kratos de la serie de God of War desata una tormenta de críticas y su actor responde de forma peculiar
Jorge Macri prepara su discurso para abrir el año legislativo: el deseo de reelección y el espejo en Bukele
Catherine Fulop contó el difícil momento que atraviesa su madre en Venezuela: “Está postrada”
Crisis en la industria: otra multinacional se achica y cierra una planta en la Argentina
Alarma por la salud de Divina Gloria tras salir de Gran Hermano: “La internaron directamente en terapia intensiva”
CHIMENTOS2 días agoAlarma por la salud de Divina Gloria tras salir de Gran Hermano: “La internaron directamente en terapia intensiva”
- CHIMENTOS2 días ago
Ginette Reynal dio una rotunda marcha atrás con una decisión que tomó hace dos meses: “No aguanto más”
- CHIMENTOS2 días ago
¡Titi revolucionó Gran Hermano! Cuáles son las 5 cosas que ya extraña: «Accesorios, pilates, bondiola, auriculares y bailar»
