Tulsi Gabbard Confirmed as U.S. Intelligence Chief Amid Fears of Being a 'Russian Asset'
Tulsi Gabbard was sworn in as the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) at the White House on Wednesday
Last night, the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk was attacked by surface drones, according to local authorities. Car traffic on the Crimean bridge, connecting the Russian-annexed Ukrainian peninsula with the Krasnodar region, was temporarily halted for about an hour. Local residents reported powerful explosions and a fire in a mountainous area above the city, as noted by UNIAN. However, there has been no response from the Ukrainian authorities regarding the attack.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that their air defenses destroyed ten drones over Russian territory. Specifically, five unmanned aerial vehicles were taken down over the Belgorod region, four over Bryansk, and one over the Moscow region.
In related news, the US will permit Ukraine to target Russian positions at greater distances if the Russian forces attempt to expand the front. This was indicated by Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs James O'Brien during a hearing in the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives. Currently, the US limits the use of American weapons in Russia to 100 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, which is significantly less than the full range of ATACMS, which exceeds 300 kilometers.
The Pentagon is set to announce a new 2.3 billion USD arms and ammunition package, as stated by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Ukraine anticipates receiving the first of the F-16 fighter jets from its European partners this month. In response, Russia has intensified missile strikes on Ukrainian airports in recent days.
The war in Ukraine will be a key topic at the two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) starting today in Kazakhstan. Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in the capital, Astana, for the summit. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has also been in Astana since yesterday. Putin is scheduled to meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan, as well as the leaders of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Pakistan.
UN Secretary General António Guterres will be in Astana today and tomorrow to participate in the SCO meeting.
Donald Trump has shifted the dynamics of the Ukraine conflict ahead of crucial peace talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia
US President Donald Trump announced that negotiations to end the war in Ukraine would begin "immediately" following a "lengthy and highly productive" phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his congratulations to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on the eve of his second term inauguration
Lawyers representing the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been sentenced to prison terms for their involvement in what authorities have labeled an "extremist organization"
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Russia of plotting a global terrorist campaign targeting airlines, stating that the country had planned attacks on aircraft
On Monday, Russia reported that nine Ukrainian drones were downed as they attempted to attack the compressor station of the TurkStream
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