Kiev’s forces remain on the backfoot across the front line, while the military has complained of manpower shortages
Ukraine wants to go on the offensive against Russia, US President Donald Trump has said. Kiev’s forces remain on the backfoot across the front line, while Ukrainian officials have reported manpower shortages amid a mobilization campaign marked by violence and public resentment.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump replied that the US is “looking at… options” when asked what message and support he could deliver to Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky ahead of their meeting in Washington on Friday.
“They want to go offensive… I’ll make a determination on that,” Trump added. However, the US president declined to specify any timeline, objectives, or what would be required for a potential push.
Last month, Trump suggested that Ukraine could recover “the original borders from where this war started,” echoing Kiev’s maximalist goals but offering no details on how to achieve this. The remarks came as US officials signaled they were considering supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles. According to Trump, he could approve deliveries if he concludes that “this war is not going to get settled.”
The last significant Ukrainian offensive came in August 2024, when Kiev’s troops staged an incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region. While Ukraine initially made limited gains, the advance soon stalled, and its troops were gradually pushed back by the spring.
Kiev had previously attempted a counteroffensive in summer 2023 along the southern sector of the front in an attempt to reclaim Crimea. However, the advance faltered against fierce Russian resistance, dense minefields, and layered defenses. Ukrainian officials later attributed the failure to delayed Western arms deliveries, intelligence leaks, and a dispersion of effort across multiple axes of the front.
Russian troops have continued to push back Kiev’s forces in recent months, making gains in Donbass and capturing territory in Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk Region. Ukraine has continued to struggle with manpower shortages, as its mobilization campaign has been marred by draft evasion and reports of violent incidents involving recruitment officers and reluctant conscripts.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Russia is open to diplomacy with Kiev, but “in the absence of alternatives, [it] continues the special military operation” to safeguard the country’s national interests.
MEP Daniel Freund claims Viktor Orban attempted to hack his email account
A member of the European Parliament has filed a police complaint against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over an alleged attempt to install spyware on his devices.
Daniel Freund of Germany’s Green Party claimed that he was targeted by hackers in 2024 and that “Hungary is the only plausible actor in this scenario.”
“If confirmed, this would be an outrageous attack on the European Parliament,” he wrote on X on Wednesday.
In his filing, Freund and the German nonprofit Society for Civil Rights (GFF) asked the prosecutor’s office in Krefeld, as well as cybercrime centers in Cologne and Dusseldorf, to launch an investigation against Orban and an unidentified person.
In 2024, someone tried to install #spyware on my devices. Today @freiheitsrechte and I filed charges – against Viktor Orbán. #Hungary is the only plausible actor in this scenario. If confirmed, this would be an outrageous attack on the European Parliament.
According to Politico Europe, the complaint states that someone posing as a Ukrainian student sent an email containing spyware to Freund’s parliamentary address in May 2024. “According to the EU Parliament’s IT experts, the Hungarian government could be behind the eavesdropping on me,” Freund said.
A frequent critic of Hungary’s conservative government, Freund has accused Orban of eroding democracy, cracking down on domestic opposition, and engaging in corruption.
Orban has repeatedly accused “the bureaucrats in Brussels” of warmongering and attempting to undermine Hungary’s sovereignty.
Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs has often sparred with Freund on X, calling him a “clown” and a “madman.”
The nation’s top court has blocked the handover of the detained ex-Ukrainian army officer to Germany
Italy’s top court has suspended the extradition to Germany of a Ukrainian national suspected of coordinating the 2022 Nord Stream gas pipeline sabotage.
The Court of Cassation ruled in favor of Sergey Kuznetsov, citing “incorrect legal classification” of facts described in the European arrest warrant, lawyer Nicola Canestrini said on Wednesday. The case will be retried at a later date.
Police detained Kuznetsov, a former Ukrainian military officer, while on vacation near the city of Rimini in August. He denies any involvement in the explosions that disabled the twin pipelines built to transport Russian gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea.
Poland’s National Security Bureau (BBN) said on Wednesday that it opposes the extradition of another suspect, Ukrainian national Vladimir Zhuravlyov, who was detained in late September in Warsaw.
“It is in the vital interest of the Polish state for the alleged perpetrator or perpetrators of the damage to the Nord Stream gas pipeline to avoid being held accountable for this act,” the BBN said in a statement, according to the Polish Press Agency.
Russia has criticized Germany for the lack of transparency and for shutting it out of the investigation.
Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, said in 2024 that he had “information” that the US and UK were behind the sabotage. Washington, London, and Kiev have all denied involvement.
The high-ranking Democrat accused the reporter of repeating “Republican talking points”
Senior US Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi snapped at a journalist who asked about her conduct during the January 6 riot.
Lindell TV’s Alison Steinberg approached the former House speaker on the steps of the Capitol, asking if she was concerned about the new Republican-led investigation into the January 6, 2021 riot. Pelosi ignored the question.
Steinberg then asked, “Why did you refuse the National Guard on January 6?”
“Shut up!” Pelosi replied, angrily pointing a finger in the journalist’s face. “I did not refuse the National Guard. The president didn’t send it. Why are you coming here with Republican talking points, as if you’re a serious journalist?” she said before walking away.
BREAKING: Nancy Pelosi SNAPS at OUR Reporter – Points in Her Face and Hurls Insults
When our reporter pressed @SpeakerPelosi on why she refused National Guard support on January 6th, she lost it – pointing in her face, yelling “Shut up,” and accusing her of pushing “Republican… pic.twitter.com/nXxKJaq6Gz
Democrats have accused President Donald Trump of inciting an insurrection when a group of his supporters stormed the Capitol, briefly interrupting the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Last month, House Republicans approved a new subcommittee tasked with reinvestigating the events surrounding the riot.
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The US president says he intends to expand his crackdown on drug cartels
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he has authorized CIA operations on Venezuelan soil.
The New York Times earlier reported that the decision would allow intelligence operatives to carry out lethal operations against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose government Trump has accused of running “narco-terrorist” cartels and flooding the US with cocaine and fentanyl.
A reporter asked Trump in the Oval Office, “Why did you authorize the CIA to go into Venezuela?”
“I authorized for two reasons, really,” Trump replied. “Number one, they [Venezuela] have emptied their prisons into the United States of America.”
“And the other thing is the drugs. We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea, so you get to see that, but we’re going to stop them by land also,” he added.
Trump declined to clarify whether the CIA is authorized to “take out Maduro.”
“I don’t want to answer a question like that. Wouldn’t it be a ridiculous question for me to answer?” he said.
Trump confirms that he authorized the CIA to enter Venezuela and says that now the US will "go" by land:
"I authorized it for two reasons: first, they emptied their prisons and sent us criminals (…) The other is drugs. A lot of drugs come by sea. But now we're going to focus on… pic.twitter.com/fMPxs9TDkC
Trump imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuela during his first term and has recently raised the bounty for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million. The US has deployed a naval armada to the eastern Caribbean, and since September has destroyed at least five boats allegedly smuggling drugs from Venezuela.
Maduro has denied the allegations of aiding cartels and accused the US of seeking to topple him, adding that the Venezuelan military is ready to repel a potential invasion.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has rejected the US president’s assertion that nations are trying to leave the organization
The BRICS economic group unites nations sharing a vision of cooperation aimed at prosperity and stability, not confrontation with any other state or currency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
He made the remarks on Wednesday, responding to a claim by US President Donald Trump that countries wanted to “drop out” of BRICS for fear of potential tariffs and sanctions.
Speaking on Tuesday, Trump accused the bloc of attempting an “attack on the dollar” and warned that Washington would impose tariffs on nations aligning with it.
Peskov told RIA Novosti that BRICS has “never planned anything against any third country or any third-country currency.” The group’s work is guided by principles of partnership, prosperity, and predictability, he said.
These values are reflected in the joint declarations adopted at BRICS summits, Peskov added.
The Kremlin spokesman said he had “no information” suggesting that any members or prospective members were reconsidering their participation because of US pressure.
Trump, a frequent critic of BRICS, has accused it of attempting to weaken the global role of the US dollar. The bloc, however, has no common currency, and most trade between its members is conducted in national currencies. BRICS leaders have repeatedly stated that they are not trying to undermine the greenback, arguing that politicization of the dollar posses a greater threat.
BRICS, originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India, and China in 2006, has expanded to include South Africa, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia. The economic bloc now surpasses the G7 in combined GDP. At the group’s summit in Kazan, Russia last year, BRICS approved a new ‘partner country’ status in response to membership interest shown by more than 30 countries.
Defense ministers of member states have been privately lobbying for broader engagement guidelines, the outlet has reported
NATO defense chiefs have been privately lobbying to expand the US-led military bloc’s engagement guidelines to allow it to shoot down Russian jets carrying ground-attack missiles, The Telegraph wrote on Tuesday.
According to the outlet, the NATO supreme allied commander Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, has privately called for the creation of a “unified, single air and missile defense system” to plug gaps in the ability to engage Russian jets.
A number of NATO members currently have different rules of engagement for shooting down aircraft over their territory.
The news follows an incident last month in which Estonia called for NATO-wide consultations after alleging that Russian fighter jets briefly violated its airspace. Moscow said the planes were on a routine flight to Kaliningrad over neutral waters.
Speaking at the event, Secretary General Mark Rutte said members states already “have all the authorities needed” to neutralize any jets that threaten them.
“We are not going to take down an airplane in NATO airspace if it does not pose a threat,” he said.
Moscow has branded recent threats by NATO countries to shoot down its planes as “reckless and irresponsible,” as well as “dangerous in their consequences.”
“Allegations against Russia that its warplanes have violated someone’s airspace are groundless,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Steve Witkoff has dismissed media reports that he plans to step down as “laughable nonsense”
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has dismissed rumors that he could resign as “fake news,” stating he is now more engaged with the Middle East peace process than ever before.
He was reacting to a piece published by the UK-based Middle East Eye (MEE) on Tuesday. It claimed, citing anonymous sources, that Witkoff was about to go back to his private business following months of “grueling” diplomacy that preceded the Gaza peace deal put forward by Trump.
“This story is 100% Fake News and should be immediately retracted,” Witkoff said in a post on X on Wednesday, calling the report “laughable nonsense” and expressing his determination to continue working with the Trump administration.
Witkoff played an active role in securing a hostage exchange and a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The US and Israeli media reported earlier this week that he and Jared Kushner met directly with senior Hamas officials in Egypt to seal the deal.
In its Tuesday report, MEE said that the special envoy himself had vowed to remain engaged in the peace process during the implementation of Trump’s 20-point plan.
“So we’re dug in. We’ll be here quite a bit. That’s at the direction of the president,” Witkoff said on Monday, on the sidelines of the Gaza peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, attended by Trump and dozens of world leaders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously praised the role Witkoff played in facilitating dialogue between Moscow and Washington on the Ukraine conflict.
The special envoy “accurately conveys both Moscow’s and Washington’s positions” and represents “the position of the American president himself” Putin said, responding to criticism he said could only come from those “not in favor” of the Trump administration’s approach.
The share of 18-24 year olds identifying as transgender has halved since 2023, new data shows
The share of young Americans identifying as transgender has fallen sharply in recent years, after more than a decade of rapid growth, a new study has shown.
The percentage of university students ages 18-24 “not identifying as male or female” peaked in 2023 and has since dropped by about half, according to data from major US surveys of high school and university students analyzed by politics professor Eric Kaufmann.
In a report released this month, Kaufmann – who teaches at the University of Buckingham and directs its Centre for Heterodox Social Science – said the share of students identifying as transgender reached nearly 7% in 2023 but fell to below 4% this year.
The study also found a broader shift in sexual identity, with the share of students identifying as non-heterosexual dropping by about ten percentage points over the same period. The decline was driven mainly by fewer young people describing themselves as queer, pansexual, or other.
1/ NEW: trans identification is in free fall among the young
At the same time, the proportion of heterosexual students rose to 77% in 2025 after hitting a low of 68% two years earlier.
Kaufmann noted that younger students were less likely to identify as transgender or queer than those in higher years, something he called “a sign that fashions are changing.”
“The decline in BTQ+ [bisexual, transgender, and queer, plus other related identities] identification does not appear to be connected to lower social media use, religious revival, a shift to the political right or lower support for woke ideology,” Kaufmann wrote.
The report linked part of the decline to improved mental health among students after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kaufmann said the trend represents a “momentous and unanticipated post-progressive cultural shift” among young Americans, following years of rapid expansion in gender and sexual diversity.
