Next, Vatican officials forward the documents to the Russian Orthodox Church, and Kirill himself brings them to the Kremlin’s attention. Ukraine reportedly passes lists of prisoners to the pope’s envoy in the country, who then sends the names to the Holy See. While the war has put a strain on those efforts, some aspects of the rapprochement between the Christian denominations are paying off, according to the Post. The Holy See, under Pope Francis, has attempted to rebuild ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, led by Patriarch Kirill. The report also reveals the complex role played by the Vatican, which has led on efforts to return noncombatants like military cooks and medics. When it comes to prisoner swaps, Ukraine views Turkey and Saudi Arabia as key players whose role “ensured that Russia was less likely to back out, to avoid angering two of Moscow’s important partners,” the Post writes. Rustem Umerov, who has since become Ukraine’s defense minister, helped lead the Istanbul-based talks, a role made easier by Umerov’s fluency in Turkish, the Post notes.īut Russia killed the deal earlier this year over allegations that the West had not upheld its side of the bargain, which Moscow says included a relaxation of sanctions on fertilizers and related chemicals. These discussions resulted in one of the only positive diplomatic signs since the war began: the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which created corridors for shipping much-needed foodstuffs through the Russian blockade. According to the Post, the talks “took place in a four-sided format: Turkey the United Nations Ukraine and Russia, which was represented by Defense Ministry officials.” ![]() One notable area in which Ukrainian and Russian officials have never engaged in one-on-one meetings is the question of Ukrainian grain exports, which largely flowed via the Black Sea prior to the war. Turkey, Qatar, the UAE, the Vatican, and Saudi Arabia are the main state-level players in this regard, and the International Committee of the Red Cross has also played a role. The report sheds useful light on the status of diplomatic efforts related to the war, including the role of international intermediaries and mediators. Austin III said that the airstrikes were “narrowly tailored strikes in self-defense,” and “do not constitute a shift in our approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict.” In a statement, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. military in Iraq and Syria are triggered into a fight. Of course there are concerns that the war in Gaza will spill over into the region and one way it could do that is if U.S. The Biden administration has blamed Iranian backed militias for the attack and it appears now that they believe Iran's elite guards are supplying those fighters. At least 24 troops sustained minor injuries, including 19 who suffered mild traumatic brain injuries from the blasts. personnel had come under fire for several days starting Oct. The official would not say how many munitions were launched by the F-16s." does not have any information yet on casualties or an assessment of damage. troops on bases in Iraq and Syria.Īccording to the Associated Press: "there had been Iranian-aligned militia and IRGC personnel on the base and no civilians, but the U.S. The official said the ammo and weapons there were the same used in a string of recent attacks against U.S. The targets - military supply depots that an official said were run by the IRGC - were located near Boukamal in the eastern part of the country. Finnish public broadcaster YLE said the same group hit the Parliament’s site last year.The Pentagon announced it conducted F-16 fighter aircraft strikes against Iranian Revolutionary Guard targets in Syria early on Friday. The hacker group, which has reportedly acted on Moscow’s orders, has taken part in a slew of cyberattacks on the U.S. ![]() The claim could not be immediately verified. The country of 5.5 million joined the European Union in 1995,įinland’s Parliament, meanwhile, said its website was hit with a so-called denial-of-service attack, which made the site hard to use, with many pages not loading and some functions not available.Ī pro-Russian hacker group known as NoName057 (16) claimed responsibility, saying the attack was retaliation for Finland joining NATO. Over an exceptionally cold winter, Finnish fighters, sometimes cloaked in white bedsheets for camouflage and typically moving unseen on foot, snowshoes and skis, lost some territory to Moscow but forced out the invaders.įinland says it can muster a 280,000-strong fighting force, built on near-universal male conscription and a large, well-trained reserve, equipped with modern artillery, warplanes and tanks. In 19, Finland’s tiny, ill-equipped forces fought in what became known as the Winter War against the Soviet Union. We have more exercises, we have more presence, also in the Nordic area,” he said. “We are constantly assessing our posture, our presence.
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