U.S. resumes intelligence, military aid to Ukraine after Kiev agrees to 30-day ceasefire with Russia

News Updates From CLG

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U.S. resumes intelligence and military aid to Ukraine --Support was unblocked after Kiev agreed to Washington's idea for an "immediate" 30-day ceasefire with Russia | 11 March 2025 | The U.S. has unblocked military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine, while the latter has agreed to a proposed "immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire" with Russia, the two nations announced on Tuesday after talks in Saudi Arabia. Kiev has also agreed to conclude a comprehensive agreement on Ukraine's critical resources with Washington "as soon as possible." "Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation," the joint statement reads. Washington has said it will communicate the proposal to Russia shortly. The U.S. will now "immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine."

Ukraine open to 'immediate' 30-day ceasefire if Russia agrees - State Dept. | 11 March 2025 | Ukrainian diplomats signaled their willingness to agree to a 30-day preliminary ceasefire with Russia as part of their negotiations with American officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. "Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation," the State Department said in a joint statement with Ukrainian officials, according to CBS News. "The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace," they said. The United States also announced it would end a pause on military aid and intelligence sharing as a result of the talks. After the negotiations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the effort a "concrete step" from Ukraine and expressed "hope that the Russians will reciprocate."

Russian defenses down 337 Ukrainian drones - MOD --Ukraine launched its biggest ever overnight raid on Moscow, the city's mayor said | 11 March 2025 | Russian air defenses have intercepted 337 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Tuesday morning. One civilian is reported to have been killed by the attack. The drone wave launched from Ukrainian territory was primarily aimed at Moscow, information provided by the military suggests. The largest number of interceptions occurred in the heavily fortified border Kursk Region, where 126 drones were destroyed. An additional 91 UAVs were taken down in Moscow Region, surrounding the capital. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin provided multiple updates throughout the night, with his latest message stating that 74 drones had been downed on their approach to the city, in what he called the largest such Ukrainian attack to date.

Ukraine will have to give up territory - Rubio | 10 March 2025 | Ukraine will have to relinquish its goal of reclaiming former territories in order to facilitate peace negotiations with Russia, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has indicated. He made the remarks on Monday, ahead of a meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian delegations set to take place in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Several U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier outlined Washington's expectations and warned Kiev against making maximalist territorial demands."Obviously, it’ll be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to sort of force the Russians back all the way to where they were in 2014 [when the CIA carried out its coup]," Rubio said, according to The New York Times.

Elon Musk says Ukraine is behind 'massive' cyberattack on X - as terrifying interview raises specter of WWIII | 10 March 2025 | Elon Musk has revealed the devastating cyberattack that took down his social media app X on Monday seemingly originated in Ukraine. His bombshell revelation followed repeated glitches with the site, which has been down for much of the day. "Well, we're not sure exactly what happened," Musk told Fox Business Network on Monday afternoon. "But there was a massive cyber attack to try to bring down the X system with IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area." Musk had confirmed earlier in the day that X was being targeted by a "massive cyberattack." His statement came after the platform had been down for users worldwide.

USAID funded Ukrainian group that smeared Vance - Grayzone | 10 March 2025 | The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been implicated in funding a Ukrainian organization, Molfar, which labeled Vice President JD Vance and other U.S. officials and public figures "foreign propagandists" aligned with Russia, according to an investigation by The Grayzone. Molfar, established in 2019, describes itself as an open-source intelligence community platform which "collects lists of Ukrainian enemies to bring war criminals to justice." The group's website identifies USAID and the US Civil Research and Development Fund (CRDF) as partners, indicating financial and operational support from U.S. government agencies. The group's online blacklist not only targeted Vice President Vance for his statements opposing continued U.S. financial support for Kiev and Ukraine's NATO membership, but also other American figures, including U.S. Counterterrorism Director Joe Kent and Republican Congressman Thomas Massie.

Israel cuts off electricity supply to Gaza, affecting a desalination plant producing drinking water | 9 March 2025 | Israel cut off the electricity supply to Gaza, officials said Sunday, affecting a desalination plant producing drinking water for part of the arid territory. Hamas called it part of Israel's "starvation policy." Israel last week suspended supplies of goods to the territory of more than two million Palestinians, an echo of the siege it imposed in the earliest days of the war.Israel is pressing the militant group to accept an extension of the first phase of their ceasefire... The letter from Israel's energy minister to the Israel Electric Corporation tells it to stop selling power to Gaza. [Sounds like a war crime to me.]

InfoWars reporter Jamie White 'brutally murdered' near Austin residential area, outlet says | 10 March 2025 | Texas authorities are investigating after an InfoWars reporter was killed in Austin, Texas, on Sunday night. InfoWars founder Alex Jones announced on Monday that one of his reporters, Jamie White, was "brutally murdered" around midnight. FOX 7 Austin reported that the homicide, which was Austin's eighth murder of 2025, took place in the 2300 block of Douglas Street in South Austin, a residential neighborhood. The outlet reported that Austin Police Department (APD) officers arrived at the scene and "found an adult male with obvious signs of trauma." The victim was transported to a hospital, where he died.

Ontario suspends 25% electricity surcharge for U.S. customers after Trump ups aluminum, steel tariff | 11 March 2025 | Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Tuesday that Canada's most populous province was suspending its 25% surcharge on electricity exports to the U.S. after President Trump announced additional 25% duties on Canadian aluminum and steel. In a statement on X, Ford said he had a "productive conversation" with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the two would meet in Washington Thursday alongside U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Ford said he would discuss a "renewed USMCA" with Lutnick and Greer, referring to the North American trade agreement signed during Trump's first term. "In response, Ontario agreed to suspend its 25 percent surcharge on exports of electricity to Michigan, New York and Minnesota," Ford and Lutnick added.

Agriculture Secretary Rollins says price of dozen eggs has dropped $1.85 in roughly past 13 days | 11 March 2025 | Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Tuesday the price of eggs has decreased across the U.S. as a result of the Trump administration's efforts over roughly the past two weeks. "The average cost of a dozen eggs has now gone down 1.85 since we announced our plan about a week and a half ago on February 26," Rollins said in a video posted by the official rapid response X account for the White House. However, she did warn that egg prices would increase around Easter. "This is always the highest price for eggs. We expect it to perhaps inch back up, but a good piece of news since we released our plan about a week and a half ago."

DOJ launches probe into sky-high egg prices and possible supply restrictions - report | 7 March 2025 | The Justice Department has launched an investigation into soaring egg prices -- probing whether producers have illegally conspired to restrict supply behind the veil of a [so-called] rampant bird flu outbreak, according to a report. The investigation is in the early stages and might not lead to any formal action, sources told The Wall Street Journal. Egg prices have nearly doubled over the past year, and shoppers have been left to fight over a few cartons as some grocery shelves lay bare... The country's largest egg producer, Cal-Maine Foods, has repeatedly raked in higher profits as egg prices soared.

Vance pitches GOP rebels on DOGE, border in 11th-hour plea for unity against shutdown | 11 March 2025 | Vice President JD Vance told House Republicans that putting a government funding bill up for a vote today was critical to President Donald Trump keeping the lights on for his border security goals and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Two lawmakers present at the closed-door meeting on Tuesday morning said DOGE and the border were part of Vance's pitch to Republicans who were still undecided about the bill. One lawmaker said Vance also signaled that future federal spending cuts could be on the table at a later date, a similar pitch House Freedom Caucus leaders have been making to fellow fiscal conservatives. "Vance basically said this is what we need to keep DOGE and border operations going," the lawmaker said. "And we will have much more flexibility for DOGE cuts once we've had more time to identify and quantify them."

Trump pledges to 'lead the charge' against Rep. Massie, likens him to Liz Cheney | 11 March 2025 | After President Donald Trump lashed out at Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., in a Monday night Truth Social post, declaring that the congressman "SHOULD BE PRIMARIED" and pledging to "lead the charge against him," Massie fired back on Tuesday, leveraging the incoming fire from Trump as a fundraising opportunity while declaring that he would seek re-election. Trump likened Massie to former Rep. Liz Cheney, of Wyoming, one of the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. "Congressman Thomas Massie, of beautiful Kentucky, is an automatic 'NO' vote on just about everything, despite the fact that he has always voted for Continuing Resolutions in the past. HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him. He's just another GRANDSTANDER, who’s too much trouble, and not worth the fight. He reminds me of Liz Chaney(sic) before her historic, record breaking fall (loss!). The people of Kentucky won't stand for it, just watch. DO I HAVE ANY TAKERS???" Trump wrote in the post. [Trump should push for Lindsey Graham and Dan Crenshaw to face a primary - not Thomas Massie!]

D.C. work crews begin dismantling 'Black Lives Matter' plaza near White House | 11 March 2025 | District of Columbia road crews have begun dismantling the city's "Black Lives Matter" plaza, one block from the White House. Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered the work, which began Friday, amid pressure from President Trump and his congressional Republicans. The plaza will be renamed and replaced by a mural designed by schoolchildren. The transition is expected to take about six weeks, according to the Associated Press.