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Today's Topics:
1. US resumes aid, intel to Ukraine; seeks ?yes? on Russian
ceasefire (Stephen Loosley)
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Message: 1
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2025 23:07:59 +1030
From: Stephen Loosley <[email protected]>
To: "link" <[email protected]>
Subject: [LINK] US resumes aid, intel to Ukraine; seeks ?yes? on
Russian ceasefire
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
US resumes sending aid, intel to Ukraine; seeks ?yes? from Russia on ceasefire
?The ball is now in [Russia?s] court,? said Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
By Patrick Tucker, Science & Technology Editor, March 11, 2025
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2025/03/us-resumes-aid-and-intel-sharing-ukraine-seeks-yes-russia-ceasefire/403668/
Ukraine White House Russia Intelligence
Kyiv and Washington have agreed to pitch a 30-day ceasefire to Russia, U.S.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday, adding that the United States will
immediately resume delivering vital weapons and intelligence to Ukraine.
?Now we?ll have to go to Russia, and hopefully President [Vladimir] Putin will
agree to it also,? U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White
House. ?We?re going to meet with them later on today and tomorrow.?
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East, was scheduled to head to
Russia today for those talks.
Rubio and his Ukrainian counterparts met on Tuesday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his own statement that the
day?s discussions began with Ukraine?s key priorities: stopping Russia?s
missile and drone attacks, releasing prisoners of war, the return of Ukrainian
children taken to Russia, and building confidence in the overall diplomatic
process.
?The American side understands our arguments and considers our proposals,?
Zelenskyy said. ?The U.S. side proposed taking an even bigger first step?a
30-day full interim ceasefire, not only stopping missile, drone, and bomb
attacks, not only in the Black Sea, but also along the entire front line.
Ukraine is ready to accept this proposal.?
At the Jeddah meeting, the Ukrainian delegation ?reiterated that European
partners shall be involved in the peace process,? according to a joint
statement from Ukraine and the United States?an important point for the
Ukrainians and a move that Russia has resisted.
Tuesday?s deal gives the White House much of what it wanted. Ukraine is likely
to concede territory to Russia, at least militarily, and enter a mineral deal
with the United States.
?Both countries? presidents agreed to conclude as soon as possible a
comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine?s critical mineral resources to
expand Ukraine?s economy and guarantee Ukraine?s long-term prosperity and
security,? according to the joint statement.
The U.S. cutoff of intelligence put immense pressure on Ukraine to accede to
White House demands. Reports from Lithuania-based independent Russian news
outlet Meduza indicate the cutoff was already hurting Ukraine?s tenuous hold on
the Russian region of Kursk.
One former senior White House official told Defense One ?an unconditional
ceasefire is probably in Ukraine?s best interest, if it holds.?
But Zelenskyy was able to resist much of what Trump was demanding after the
Oval Office showdown, securing a win of sorts. Trump pushed for Zelensky?s
ouster?a long-time goal of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in February
referred to Zelenskyy as ?the current head of the regime,? and said he ?stands
in the way? of peace.
Instead, Trump?s efforts to strongarm Ukraine helped unite European partners in
support of Zelenskyy and the beleaguered country. U.K. Prime Minister Keir
Starmer began to assemble a ?coalition of the willing? across Europe, including
the possibility of European troops to deter Russia from attempting to expand
its territorial hold following a peace deal. French President Emmanuel Macron
likewise expressed a willingness to extend France?s nuclear-deterrence umbrella
to other European nations to bolster the continent?s security independence from
Washington.
The intelligence cutoff also underscored the importance of intelligence sources
outside of Washington. ?The U.S. halt to military aid and intelligence sharing
would have a 'significant operational impact' on Ukraine. But France's own
intelligence provided to Kyiv was not reliant on Washington,? French Defence
Minister Sebastien Lecornu said last week.
The idea of the United States pushing for the removal of a democratically
elected head of state alarmed even Trump allies, including Sen. James Lankford,
R-Oklahoma.
Putin has also pushed for the demilitarization of Ukraine and said he would
never accept the presence of European troops on Ukraine?s soil. European
officials told Bloomberg on Tuesday that they don?t expect Russia?s terms to be
met.
But it will depend on Russia?s demands to Witkoff, the former senior White
House official said: ?It?s entirely possible then that Trump tells Zelenskyy
that he should meet those demands if wants the ceasefire to hold.?
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End of Link Digest, Vol 388, Issue 11
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