Russian media says top security official is in Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader
Russia's Tass news agency said Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu arrived in the North Korean capital on an unspecified 'special' mission from Putin and was expected to meet with Kim. North Korean state media didn't immediately confirm the visit.
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Trump must tell Putin: End the war in Ukraine or I will end your rule
President Trump is wildly off in his commitment to end the Ukraine war in 24 hours of retaking the presidency — but it's not for lack of trying. His plan was to engage with his 'friend,' Vladimir Putin, whom he called 'brilliant' after Russia's first invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Trump has shown his intention to employ a geostrategic pincer movement to bring Ukraine to terms: Russia would increase pressure on the battlefield and on the civilian population while Trump squeezed Ukraine by reducing the flow of American diplomatic, political and, most critically, weapons and intelligence support. As Trump told President Volodymyr Zelensky in February when he and Vice President Vance sandbagged him in the Oval Office, 'You don't have the cards.' But now, the public humiliation that the Vance-Trump team subjected Zelensky to has been returned to Trump by Putin, albeit in a subtler manner. Over the past month, after Zelensky accepted a ceasefire proposal, Trump's repeated urgings for Putin to end the killing became sterner, eventually rising to the level of warnings and deadlines. Putin made promise after promise to stop the war as soon as its 'root causes' were addressed — by which the Russian leader means the unacceptable existence of Ukraine as an independent, pro-Western country. Even Melania Trump commented on Putin's exploitation of the president. As Trump himself put it to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, 'I go home, I tell the first lady, 'You know, I spoke to Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation.' And she said, 'Oh really? Another city was just hit.'' Trump's 50-day extension for Russian compliance — shortened on Monday to just 10 to 12 days — and his promise to impose punishing sanctions on Russia and its allies is the latest stall that serves Russia's interests. It allows the continuing destruction of Ukraine's cities and the wanton killing of Ukrainian men, women and children. Trump should play the card he used successfully with Iran and not let the clock run out before acting against Putin and his malign allies who are supporting his aggression and war crimes —that is, China, Iran and North Korea. After getting Putin's attention with that preemptive move, Trump can declare that the U.S. and its allies will cooperate to provide Ukraine with all the weapons, intelligence and other support it needs, not only to resist Russia's continuing invasion of its country, but to eject it from the parts of Ukraine it already illegally occupies. To help pay for that ongoing aid and Ukraine's postwar reconstruction, America and Europe should utilize all the Russian funds seized and held since the invasion began in 2014. The cost of Putin's aggression is not limited to the horrific destruction of ancient cities and 400,000 Ukrainian casualties, but also the massive expenditures on European economies having to build or buy arms to defend against the Putin scourge. Trump should also lay down the gauntlet by announcing that the U.S. will ensure the Russian people know the truth about what is happening in Ukraine — and how a million young Russians were deceived into becoming 'expendable' casualties of Putin's totally unnecessary war. When the truth becomes known to the many millions of the Russian families and friends of the killed and wounded, Putin will have on his hands the most serious challenge to his rule of his entire career — one that cannot be resolved with dissidents falling from tall buildings or being stricken in public places by sudden contact with Novichok poison. Relatively peaceful regime change in Russia will set the stage for similar governance transformations in Iran, North Korea and, most critically for world peace, the People's Republic of China. Trump is the only world leader today who can make this happen. It would certainly be worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize Trump is openly seeking. Joseph Bosco served as China country director for the secretary of Defense from 2005 to 2006 and as Asia-Pacific director of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief from 2009 to 2010. He is a nonresident fellow at the Institute for Corean-American Studies, a member of the advisory board of the Global Taiwan Institute and member of the advisory board of The Vandenberg Coalition.
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Forbes
Russian Airline Aeroflot Hit By Cyberattack, Grounding Flights
Russia's national airline, Aeroflot, has suffered a cyberattack that crippled IT systems, forcing it ... More to ground dozens of flights across the country. Russia's national airline, Aeroflot, has suffered a cyberattack that crippled IT systems, forcing it to ground dozens of flights across the country. Pro-Ukrainian hacker collective Silent Crow has taken credit for the cyberattack, according to TechCrunch, which cites a Telegram post claiming the breach. Silent Crow performed the attack on Aeroflot alongside another Belarusian hacking group Cyberpartisans — which announced its role in a post on X, formerly Twitter, citing Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. Silent Crow said it had 'completely destroyed' Aeroflot's IT systems. The attackers were reportedly able to take over Aeroflot's critical systems and access terabytes of internal company data. They posted screenshots apparently showing how they had accessed Aeroflot's internal active directory and claimed to be in possession of the personal data of every Russian who has flown with the airline. The hackers also threatened to leak this data. Russian prosecutors have issued a statement confirming over 60 flights have been cancelled and said they are now investigating the cyberattack. Aeroflot said the cancelled flights were mostly within Russia but also including routes to Belarus and Armenia, according to the BBC. The Kremlin has reportedly called this 'worrying.' Cyberattacks on airlines are a growing threat, with hacker collective Scattered Spider targeting the sector over the last few months, leading to an FBI warning on the subject. In this case, attackers relied on social engineering techniques, such as impersonating employees or contractors to deceive IT help desks into granting access, according to the FBI. It's not known how hackers gained access to Aeroflot's IT systems, or even for sure who performed the attack. However, Silent Crow and Cyberpartisans claim to have political aims. With geopolitical tensions rising across the globe, the attack on Russia's national airline is a prime example of how warfare has gone beyond physical. Following the Aeroflot attack, Russian MP, Anton Gorelkin noted in a statement: 'We must not forget that the war against our country is being waged on all fronts, including the digital one.' 'These cyberattacks raise concerns about a country's own national security, critical national infrastructure as well as the safety of sensitive information,' says Spencer Starkey, executive VP of EMEA at SonicWall. The Aeroflot cyberattack shows damage that can be done by an attack on an airline, making it key that the sector has the right safeguards in place to protect IT systems from falling victim to a breach of this kind. It also shows how this type of critical infrastructure can be used in warfare— a chilling sign of how future wars could be waged.
Time Magazine
4 hours ago
- Time Magazine
Russian Strikes Kill 22 in Ukraine After Trump Ultimatum
At least 22 Ukrainians have been killed and another 85 injured in Russian strikes across the country overnight, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to call for 'very harsh, truly painful' sanctions on Russia. Moscow's latest barrage comes hours after President Donald Trump said that he would be reducing the time period in which Vladimir Putin has to reach a peace deal or face heavy tariffs. President Zelensky said that 73 cities and villages came under attack including the eastern city of Kamyanske, where a hospital was hit, killing a 23-year-old pregnant woman. He added that airstrikes began around midnight local time, with several Russian bombs dropped on a prison facility on the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, most of which is currently under Russian occupation. Ivan Federov, Head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, said on Tuesday that 16 people were killed in the strikes calling it a 'blatant war crime.' 'The Russians could not have been unaware that they were targeting civilians in that facility. Many were killed, and another 43 people were wounded, some of them with very severe injuries,' Zelensky said on social media after the attacks. Russian attacks continued on Tuesday morning, with a drone strike leaving two utility company workers injured in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka. Serhiy Horbunov, head of the city's Military Administration, called it 'cynical aggression by Russian occupiers' against civilian infrastructure. Zelensky continued: "This was done after a completely clear position was voiced by the United States – a position supported by the world – that Russia must end this war and move to diplomacy,' he added. The Ukrainian President referenced Trump's updated deadline for Putin to reach a peace deal with Kyiv, which Zelensky says he welcomes. 'I'm going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today. There's no reason they're [Russia] waiting. 50 days, I wanted to be generous but we just don't see any progress being made,' Trump told reporters as he sat down with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in Scotland on Monday. The President also confirmed that he would be enforcing secondary tariffs on Russia should a deal not come to fruition. Two weeks ago, Trump said that he would give Russia 50 days to reach such a deal, and failure to do so would result in 100% tariffs on Russia and any of its trading partners. Under the previous deadline, Moscow would have had until September 3rd, which has now been moved forward to between August 7-9. 'Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country,' said Deputy Chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev in response to Trump's comments on Monday. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina responded to Medvedev, saying: 'To those in Russia who believe that President Trump is not serious about ending the bloodbath between Russia and Ukraine: You and your customers will soon be sadly mistaken.' Medvedev then fired back, replying: 'It's not for you or Trump to dictate when to 'get at the peace table'. Negotiations will end when all the objectives of our military operation have been achieved. Work on America first, gramps!' in the social media spat.
