Secretary Rubio: Minerals Deal Not Important, Finding Out if Ukraine Truly wants Peace is Goal of Saudi Meeting

March 11, 2025 | Sundance |

The information from Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks good. During his flight to Saudi Arabia, Secretary Rubio answered a few questions about the U.S. delegation expectations of the meeting with Ukraine officials.

Rubio notes the aforementioned “minerals deal” is not an important part of the larger objective.Secretary Rubio says that finding out if Ukraine’s desire for peace with Russia is true, in good faith or not, is the key objective. A pragmatic Rubio also notes that Ukraine is likely going to have to give up lost territory to achieve peace.

FOX NEWS – […] “”The minerals deal is on the table that’s continuing to be worked on – it’s not part of this conversation, per se,”he said, noting that Tuesday’s meeting in Jeddah can be considered successful even without securing such an agreement.

[…] “The important point in this meeting is to establish clearly their intentions, their desire, as they’ve said publicly now, numerous times, to reach a point where peace is possible,” Rubio said, addingthat he will need to be assured that Kyiv is prepared to make some hard decisions, like giving up territory seized by Russia, in order to end the three-year war.

“Both sides need to come to an understanding,” he said. “The Russians can’t conquer all of Ukraine, and obviously it will 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.

So the only solution to this war is diplomacy and getting them to a table where that’s possible.

“Then we’ll have to determine how far they are from the Russian position, which we don’t know yet either. And then once you understand where both sides truly are, itgives you a sense of how big the divide is and how hard it’s going to be,”Rubio explained. “I’m hoping it’ll be a positive interaction along those lines.” (more)

Rubio also seems to indicate that if the U.S delegation senses this is all just lies and disinformation from the Ukraine side, then President Trump’s approach to providing financial support will moderate accordingly.

“The pause in aid broadly is something I hope we can resolve,” Rubio said. “I think what happens tomorrow will be key to that.”

Secretary Marco Rubio continues to surprise us in the way he has totally stopped pretending about geopolitical matters. There is no sunlight between the continually expressed and defined positions of Marco Rubio and the identical positions, perspectives and policies expressed by President Trump.

This is quite a remarkable change in Rubio’s political persona. Is it real?

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/03/11/secretary-rubio-minerals-deal-not-important-finding-out-if-ukraine-truly-wants-peace-is-goal-of-saudi-meeting/

UK, EU and NATO Partners Launch Massive Wave of Drone Attacks Against Moscow

March 11, 2025 | Sundance |

Approximately 60 drones were launched from Ukraine overnight to attack the Russian capital city of Moscow.This is the largest escalation of drone/missile attacks into Russia so far.

The attack comes, predictably, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Nat Sec Advisor Mike Waltz and President Trump envoy Steve Witkoff arrive in Saudi Arabiafor preliminary face-to-face talks with Ukraine officials. The pattern repeats.

Each time PresidentTrump’s diplomatic team are scheduled to meet with Russia or Ukraine officialsin their quest to stop the bloodshed, the intelligence apparatus in control of theNATO proxy war triggers an escalating disruption targeting Russia.

Hitting Moscow with a wave of 60 drones is a major escalation, because face-to-face meetings with U.S and Ukraine officials are at a critical inflection point. Each uptick in the offensive action from Ukraine is directly proportional to the increased seriousness of the peace talks.

(VIA AP) – A total of 69 Ukrainian drones targeting the Russian capital were shot down in a massive attack on Tuesday morning, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

The attack, the biggest targeting Moscow in months, came as a Ukrainian delegation was set to meet with America’s top diplomat in Saudi Arabia about ending the three-year war with Russia.

At least 11 of the drones were shot down in the Ramensky and Domodedovo districts of the Moscow region surrounding the Russian capital, Sobyanin said on the messaging app Telegram. He didn’t specify where the other drones were shot down, noting only that they were “flying towards Moscow.”

The governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, said that one person was killed and three more wounded as the result of the drone attack. The attack damaged seven apartments in a residential building in the Ramensky district, he said.

Sobyanin said the roof of a building in Moscow also sustained damage, which he described as “insignificant.”

Flights have been restricted in and out of three Moscow airports, including Domodedovo and Zhukovsky to the south and southeast of the city and Sheremetyevo to the north, according to Russian civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia.

Train traffic through the Domodedovo railway station also has been halted, local officials reported. (link)

At first review it seems like the terrainmapping component of the targeting system was not accurate or in place. Hence, unless NATO was intentionally targeting residential buildings, just like the attacks in Kazan some of the drones hit civilian high-rise buildings on the way to Moscow airport.

However, don’t get lost in the weeds on this.60+ drones launched against Russia’s largest city is intended to draw a major retaliationfrom Russian President Vladimir Putin, that iswhat the UK/EU and NATO apparatus want. The Zelenskyy peoplewant Russia to attack Kievso they can enlarge the scale and scope of U.S. involvement.

I sincerely hope President Trump is on the phone with President Putin, and I hope Trump’s instructions to Rubio, Waltz and Witkoff are to put fierce pressure on Ukraine at the meeting in Saudi Arabia.

Only through strong, extreme and even perhaps vicious diplomacy, is Ukraine going to be brought to heel. The EU and NATO must also suffer strong geopolitical consequences for their efforts to disrupt any effort at peace.

The pretending must stop. Each time the UK/EU/NATO team use Ukraine to escalate the fight, the EU and NATO must pay a price. The American people need to understand what the dynamic really is here,even if it eventually means President Trump calling it out directly.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/03/11/uk-eu-and-nato-partners-launch-massive-wave-of-drone-attacks-against-moscow/

11 Mar, 2025 05:42

US envoy expected to visit Moscow to discuss Ukraine conflict – media

Steve Witkoff is reportedly planning to meet President Vladimir Putin while US officials negotiate with a Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff,is set to travel to Moscow this week for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, multiple media outlets including Reuters and Bloomberg have reported.

Neither US nor Russian officials have publicly confirmed the trip so far.

The scheduled visit is reportedly part of the White House’s ongoing efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict.Witkoff previously met Putin in Moscow in February, in what he called a “trust-building” exercisewhich led to the release of US citizen Marc Fogel by Moscow in exchange for Russian national Aleksandr Vinnik.

According to Axios journalist Barak Ravid, Witkoff isexpected to arrive in Moscow on March 13.A potential meeting with Putin in Moscow is scheduled for Thursday, Ravid wrote on X on Tuesday, which would follow on the heels of US Senators Rubio and Waltz meeting Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

The Saudi talks will assess Ukraine’s willingness to make “material concessions” to Russia for a ceasefire, Reuters reports, citing US officials. It comes as Trump has increased pressure on Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to negotiate peace with Moscow.

Witkoff has been actively engaged in efforts to address the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Last month, he participated in US-Russia negotiations held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, alongside Rubio and Waltz in the first high-level bilateral meetings since former President Joe Biden’s administration froze relations with Moscow in 2022.

Kiev plans to propose an air and naval truce on Tuesday, a Ukrainian official told AFP. Russia has dismissed temporary ceasefires as a tactic to delay Ukraine’s defeat.

Zelensky is not scheduled to participate directly in the upcoming talks between US and Ukrainian officials. He met with with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday.

Trump, who has pushed to improve relations with Moscow since taking office in January, signaled on Sunday that “big meetings” were planned involving both Russia and Ukraine. Trump’s approach marks a shift from the former President Joe Biden administration’s policies, which maintained a more confrontational stance toward the Kremlin.

https://www.rt.com/russia/614008-us-envoy-expected-to-visit-moscow/

They better stop bombing Moscow now.

11 Mar, 2025 12:14

Oreshnik strikes urged in response to Ukrainian drone raid

Russia should use more than one of its state-of-the-art missiles against targets in Ukraine, a top MP has said

Moscow should employ its new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile system in response to a major Ukrainian drone attack targeting residential areas and civilian infrastructure inside Russia, a top MP has stated.

A total of 337 Ukrainian UAVs were shot down above Russian territory overnight, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Tuesday morning. Russian media described it as the largest drone raid by Kiev since the escalation between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022. In Moscow Region, three civilians were killed and more than a dozen wounded as a result of the attack, according to Governor Andrey Vorobyev.

When asked by journalists on Tuesday if Russia should strike Ukrainian targets with the Oreshnik in retaliation, the head of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee chairman Andrey Kartapolov replied that “the decision is up to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief [Russian President Vladimir Putin].”

“But I think it would be appropriate [to launch the Oreshnik], and it would be even better if it is more than one missile,” added the MP, who is a former deputy defense minister and holds the rank of colonel-general.

The Oreshnik missile, which was developed in secrecy, made its battlefield debut in November 2024 when it struck Ukraine’s Yuzhmash military industrial facility in the city of Dnepr. According to Moscow, the state-of-the-art system was deployed in response to Kiev’s attacks deep inside Russia with Western-supplied long-range weapons.

Putin said that the Oreshnik’s multiple warheads travel at ten times the speed of sound and cannot be intercepted by any existing air defense. Following the successful strike, Russia announced the launch of serial production of Oreshnik missiles.

In a separate interview withRIA Novosti, Kartapolov insisted that the Ukrainian drone raid was a PR stunt by Kiev that “did not pursue any military goals.”

“This is purely a propaganda move aimed at showing the public, primarily the Americans, that they can still do something.But as usual, they can do nothing but wage war on the elderly, children, women and civilians,” he said.

The MP suggested that theUAV attack on Russia could be linked to the negotiations between US and Ukrainian delegations taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that the raid came on the day when the head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Feridun Sinirlioglu, was visiting Moscow.

https://www.rt.com/russia/614027-oreshnik-ukraine-drone-moscow/

11 Mar, 2025 11:58

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OSCE chief taken to Ukrainian drone attack site near Moscow (PHOTOS)

The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused Kiev of deliberately launching a raid to coincide with the organization’s visit

A delegation from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has arrived at a site in Moscow Region that earlier on Tuesday was attacked by Ukrainian kamikaze drones.

The delegation inspected damage to a civilian residential building in the western district of the city of Vidnoye, south of Moscow.

A total of 337 Ukrainian UAVs were shot down over Russian territory overnight, the Defense Ministry reported earlier in the day.The majority were intercepted in the Kursk and Moscow regions, with 129 and 91 drones downed, respectively. In Moscow Region,three civilians lost their lives, and more than a dozen were injured, according to Governor Andrey Vorobyev.

“The OSCE Secretary General [Feridun Sinirlioglu] was taken to the site where the drones fell and exploded so that he could witness the actual reality firsthand, rather than relying on reports, including those prepared by those who sponsor the Kiev regime, that depict a distorted version of events,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.

She accused Ukraine of deliberately orchestrating the assault to coincide with the visit of the OSCE Secretary General to Moscow.

“This is not the first time that a trip to Moscow by a high-ranking foreign delegation is being accompanied by a Ukrainian drone attack,”Zakharova said, adding that viewing the results of the attack would illustrate for Sinirlioglu “the true nature of the Kiev regime.”

Moscow has previously accused the OSCE of multiple failures throughout the Ukraine conflict, including a lack of objectivity.

Last year, Russia criticized the OSCE for failing to denounce killings of Russian civilians by Ukrainian forces during raids they conducted in border regions.

https://www.rt.com/russia/614023-osce-delegation-moscow-drone-attack/

11 Mar, 2025 07:14

Russian defenses down 337 Ukrainian drones – MOD

Ukraine launched its biggest ever overnight raid on Moscow, the city’s mayor has said

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.

Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov reported casualties across three municipalities, including a fatality in Domodedovo. A 38-year-old night guard was killed and two more people died in hospital later after a drone crashed into the parking lot of a food plant, damaging approximately 20 vehicles. In total, more than a dozen people have been injured in the region, including a four-year-old child, according to the governor.

The raid was one of the largest conducted by Ukraine to date, although its scale is not without precedent.

Kiev claims that low-cost long-range kamikaze drones are effective at striking deep within Russian territory. Moscow has accused the Ukrainian government of resorting to terrorist tactics due to setbacks on the battlefield. The Russian Investigative Committee is treating the latest attack as terrorism, it said on Tuesday.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky recently proposed a limited air truce, suggesting a halt to long-range drone attacks in exchange for Russia ceasing its strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure – operations that Moscow argues are crippling Kiev’s arms production and military logistics. Russia insists on a comprehensive truce, arguing that Ukraine would use any pause to regroup its forces and continue hostilities.

Zelensky is facing pressure from US President Donald Trump, who is seeking a swift resolutionto the Ukraine conflict and has criticized Kiev for undermining his efforts.

https://www.rt.com/russia/614012-ukrainian-drones-intercepted-moscow/

10 Mar, 2025 22:37

USAID funded Ukrainian group that smeared Vance – Grayzone

The journalist group has published an exposé on Kiev outfits targeting Americans with US taxpayer funds

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has been implicated in funding a Ukrainian organization, Molfar, which labeled Vice President J.D. Vance and other US 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 US government agencies.

The group’s online blacklist not only targeted Vice President Vance for his statements opposing continued US financial support for Kiev and Ukraine’s NATO membership, but also other American figures,including US Counterterrorism Director Joe Kent and Republican Congressman Thomas Massie. Molfar’s websiteadvocates for their “removal from public positions, the introduction of sanctions, and investigations into personal involvement in crimes.”

In addition to political figures, Molfar has targeted American journalists, including Max Blumenthal, editor-in-chief of The Grayzone. The organization accused Blumenthal of disseminating Russian narratives and threatened to expose his personal information, including home addresses and family details.

Other notable figures targeted by Molfar include billionaire tech entrepreneurElon Musk, journalists Glenn Greenwald and Tucker Carlson, and award-winning American economist and public policy analyst Jeffrey Sachs.

A report published by Ukraine’s National Coordination Cybersecurity Center (NCSCC), bearing USAID’s logo,highlighted that Molfar had assisted in training thousands of Ukrainian government employees in cyber warfare techniques and psychological operations. The report stated that over 2,000 public workers had participated in practical assignments covering topics such as open-source and contact searches, the use of Telegram bots, using psy-ops as a method of information warfare, human intelligence and social engineering.

According to The Grayzone, Molfar’s activities are part of a broader network of Ukrainian organizations involved in Kiev’s information war efforts at the expense of US taxpayer money.

Another self-styled “fact-checking” outfit, VoxUkraine,has received substantial funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and USAID. Its VoxCheck project has allegedly been involved in censoring Americans’ social media posts for being deemed pro-Russian.

Similarly, the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD), an official body under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, has collaborated with both Molfar and VoxUkraine to combat “disinformation,” often labeling US public figures as promoters of Russian propaganda, including current US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Immediately upon assuming office, President Donald Trump suspended most US foreign assistance pending a three-month review to determine whether programs should continue, based on their alignment with the new administration’s “America First” goals.

USAID, Washington’s primary mechanism for funding political projects abroad, has seen tens of billions of dollars’ worth of approved grants frozen as a result. The NED’s government funding was also frozen. Officially a US State Department-funded nonprofit for distributing grants to pro-democracy causes abroad, the NED has long faced allegations of acting as a CIA proxy for toppling foreign governments.

https://www.rt.com/news/614003-usaid-ukraine-americans-censorship/

11 Mar, 2025 02:42

US military fuel tanker collides with chemical cargo ship (VIDEO)

The collision off the eastern coast of England resulted in fires on both vessels and a significant spill into the North Sea

A US-flagged fuel tanker collided with a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship in the North Sea near the East Yorkshire coast on Monday, leaving both vessels heavily damaged and on fire.

Ship-tracking data indicates that the MV Stena Immaculate was anchored near the port of Grimsby when the MV Solong struck its port side at approximately 9:48am local time.

The impact caused multiple explosions and ruptured one of the tanker’s cargo tanks, leading to a significant fuel spill.

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency responded promptly, deploying rescue helicopters, lifeboats from multiple locations, and firefighting vessels to the scene. Of the 37 crew members from both vessels, 36 were rescued and brought ashore, with one individual hospitalized. One crew member from the Solong remains unaccounted for after an extensive search was called off due to challenging conditions.

The MV Stena Immaculate, managed by Crowley Maritime, is a chemical tanker with a deadweight of 49,729 tons. At the time of the collision, it was under charter by the US Navy’s Military Sealift Command, transporting approximately18,000 tons of Jet A-1 fuel for the US military.

The MV Solong, owned by Hamburg-based Ernst Russ, is a 140-meter-long cargo ship. Built in 2005, it was en route from Grangemouth to Rotterdam, carrying at least 15 containers of various chemicals, including highly toxic sodium cyanide.

The collision caused jet fuel to leak into the North Sea and raised concerns about environmental risks, particularly from the sodium cyanide on board the Solong. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is actively monitoring the situation and assessing the necessary counter-pollution response.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash. Initial reports indicate that dense fog and possible human error may have been contributing factors. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch is leading the inquiry to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.

https://www.rt.com/news/614006-tanker-cargo-vessel-collision/

What is making all these tankers collisions and accidents? Is someone taking over the ship’s internal controls?

11 Mar, 2025 13:40

Kremlin warns against blind optimism over Ukraine

Despite the US halting military aid to Kiev, it still has enough weapons to last months, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said

Recent US decisions on Ukraine should not be viewed through “rose-colored glasses,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, cautioning against excessive optimism about a change in the conflict.

His statement comes after US President Donald Trump paused military aid and intelligence sharing with Kiev. Some EU nations, though, have continued to provide military data.

While Moscow has welcomed Washington’s suspension of assistance and expressed hope that it could push Kiev towards peace, Peskov has advised against blind optimism that such moves will have a significant or immediate effect.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Peskov stated that “there is no need to rush to put on rose-colored glasses now,” andthat one should always “hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”

“Many are now rushing to say that the Americans will stop, or have already stopped, delivering weapons and that Musk will shut off his communications systems and everything will work out for us.Everything has been working out for us even without this,” Peskov said.

He also pointed out that even with a complete halt to US weapons shipments to Ukraine, Kiev has already received enough arms to continue fighting for many months.The Ukrainians could also quickly find an alternative to Starlink if needed, the spokesman added.

Last week, Trump ordered an indefinite halt to US military aid to Ukraine, suspending over $1 billion in arms and ammunition following a heated exchange with Vladimir Zelensky at the White House. During the meeting, Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of ingratitude and “gambling with World War III” by refusing to seek peace. Reports have indicated that Zelensky was then asked to leave the Oval Office and told to return only when ready for serious negotiations.

On Monday, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff stated that Zelensky had sent a letter to Trump apologizing for the incident. The US president has also confirmed receiving an “important”letter from the Ukrainian leader expressing readiness to negotiate.

https://www.rt.com/russia/614033-russia-ukraine-peskov-optimism/

Yes stop praising Ukrainians, when they are obviously lying to the U.S. and Russia!