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President-elect Donald Trump may “soon” appoint a Ukrainian peace envoy to lead negotiations on ending Russia’s war, Fox News reported on Nov. 13, citing its multiple undisclosed sources.
“You’re going to see a very senior special envoy, someone with a lot of credibility, who will be given a task to find a resolution, to get to a peace settlement,” one of the sources said, adding that the appointment will happen “in short order.”
Kurt Volker held a similar position and served as the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine on a volunteer basis from 2017 to 2019. The post of Ukrainian peace envoy is also expected to be unpaid.
Over the past few days, Trump has announced new members of his future administration. Meanwhile, some of Trump’s picks have made controversial statements about the war in Ukraine and opposed further provision of military aid for Kyiv.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 12 selected Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the “Department of Government Efficiency,” a new body designed to “drive large-scale structural reform.”
Ramaswamy, a wealthy entrepreneur, and Musk, one of the world’s richest people and owner of SpaceX, Tesla, and X (formerly known as Twitter), have no background in politics apart from Ramaswamy’s brief running for the Republican presidential nomination.
While Musk has repeatedly echoed pro-Russian talking points on Ukraine, including proposals to cede territory to Moscow, Ramaswamy was among the most vocal opponents of military aid for Kyiv.
Trump also named South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as the leader of Homeland Security, who earlier called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “Europe’s fight, not ours.”
Earlier, Trump named Michael Waltz his national security advisor. Waltz’s views on Ukraine evolved from an ardent supporter of U.S. military aid to questioning it and advocating for relocating these resources against China.
Trump’s defense secretary is confirmed to be Pete Hegseth, an army veteran and current Fox News host. His secretary of state, overseeing U.S. diplomacy, is reported to be Marco Rubio.
Marco Rubio’s stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine — what we know
Republican Senator Marco Rubio is likely to be the next U.S. secretary of state, according to reports on Nov. 12 that mark the latest insight into how President-elect Donald Trump’s White House will approach Russia’s war in Ukraine. Trump, leader of the Republican party who was elected president on
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7:31 PM
Putin cuts payments for wounded in war against Ukraine.
The current maximum amount of compensation is 3 million rubles (nearly $29,000), but the severity of the injury is not considered for its allocation. The change approved by Putin classifies injuries into three categories.
6:35 PM
Trump to appoint Ukrainian peace envoy ‘soon’ to lead talks on ending war with Russia, Fox News reports.
“You’re going to see a very senior special envoy, someone with a lot of credibility, who will be given a task to find a resolution, to get to a peace settlement,” one of the sources said.
6:11 PM
Nearly 30 Russian airlines may go bankrupt in 2025, media reports.
About thirty Russian airlines, accounting for 26% of domestic passenger traffic, may go bankrupt in 2025, Russia’s Izvestia newspaper reported on Nov. 13.
5:58 PM
Slovakia signs pilot contract for purchase of natural gas from Azerbaijan.
Slovensky plynarensky priemysel (SPP) may also consider a longer-term agreement, as it is also preparing to cut off Russian gas supplies through Ukraine.
4:33 PM 
(Updated: )
Ukrainian FM meets Blinken in Brussels as new US administration looms.
The topic of the discussions was not made public, but the officials meet as the U.S. administration pledges to ramp up support before President Joe Biden leaves the White House on Jan. 20, 2025.
3:32 PM
Military donations in Ukraine plummet as war pressure mounts, Bloomberg reports.
Prominent organizations such as Come Back Alive and the Serhiy Prytula Foundation, headed by the well-known Ukrainian TV personality of the same name, have seen contributions decrease by approximately one-fifth in 2024, Bloomberg reports.
3:09 PM
Biden invites Trump to White House to talk over transition.
“He (President Joe Biden) believes in the norms, he believes in our institution, he believes in the peaceful transfer of power,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told journalists on Nov. 12.
2:43 PM
Moscow court issues arrest warrants for ICC judges involved in Russia-linked cases.
The case against Reine Alapini-Gansou was launched under the article of “illegal detention,” Mediazona reported without providing additional details. She has also been placed on the wanted list, the court told the Interfax news agency.
1:56 PM
Blinken meets NATO’s Rutte, pledges to ‘shore up’ Ukraine support before Trump transition.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also issued a stern warning regarding North Korea’s recent deployment of troops to support Russian forces, stating this “demands and will receive a firm response.”
1:17 PM
Updated: 2 injured in Kharkiv after Russian drone hits apartment building.
The drone struck the building in the city’s Saltivskyi district near a shopping center at around 11:30 a.m. Several cars, public transport infrastructure equipment, and facades of nearby buildings were damaged, but no fire was reported.
1:00 PM
Russian attacks against Ukraine injure 15 over past day.
Russia reportedly launched 90 Shahed and other drone types overnight, as well as two S-300 missiles, two Kh-101 missiles, and two Iskander-M/KN-23 missiles.
12:27 PM
Russian navy officer responsible for strikes on civilians killed in SBU operation, source says.
Valery Trankovsky was a “war criminal who has ordered cruise missile launches from the Black Sea against civilian sites in Ukraine,” the SBU source said.
12:15 PM
Ukraine receives $1.35 billion US grant for humanitarian, social programs.
Ukraine has received a $1.35 billion grant from the U.S., which will be allocated to humanitarian and social programs, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Nov. 13.
8:00 AM (Updated: )
Civilian injured after Russia launches combined attack on Kyiv, region.
A 48-year-old man suffered head injuries in the Brovary district close to Kyiv as a result of fallen debris. A fire broke out in a warehouse, the regional military administration and the State Emergency Service said.
11:16 AM
Russian navy officer allegedly killed in car bombing in occupied Sevastopol.
The Telegram channel Baza identified the serviceman as 47-year-old Valery Trankovsky, a captain of the 1st rank in the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
10:51 AM
US has delivered 83% of munitions committed to Ukraine since April, Pentagon says.
“Since the supplemental, we’ve drawn down nearly $3.7 billion in equipment from (Department of Defense) stocks across 12 PDA (presidential drawdown authority) drawdowns that were announced between late April through mid-October,” Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder said.
10:21 AM
Trump appoints Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead new ‘Department of Government Efficiency.’
While Musk has repeatedly echoed pro-Russian talking points on Ukraine, including proposals to cede territory to Moscow, Ramaswamy was among the most vocal opponents of military aid for Kyiv.
10:00 AM
US says North Korean troops join combat alongside Russia.
“Today I can confirm that over 10,000 (North Korean) soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia, and most of them have moved to the far western Kursk Oblast, where they have begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces,” spokesperson Vedant Patel said.
8:32 AM
General Staff: Russia has lost 714,380 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022.
This number includes 1,770 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
6:18 AM
Kyiv urges Estonian film festival to cancel Russian ‘Deaf Lovers’ film screening.
Ukraine’s State Film Agency has urged the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (POFF) to remove the Russian film “Deaf Lovers” from its main programming, protesting the film’s depiction of relations between Russians and Ukrainians, the agency announced on Nov. 12.
1:31 AM
UK may deploy forces to Ukraine if future US aid declines, former UK PM Boris Johnson warns.
Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the U.K. may need to send troops to Ukraine if U.S. support or military funding is reduced, GB News reported on Nov. 12.
11:28 PM
Lavrov to lead Russian delegation to G20 summit instead of Putin in light of his possible arrest in Brazil.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in March 2023 issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest due to his role in the deportation of Ukrainian children. Brazil is a party to the ICC’s Rome Statute and, therefore, is required to detain Putin if he enters the country.
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