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Lawmakers Plan to Block Trump Nominees Over Ukraine Satellite Network Restrictions

Senators have warned the White House they will withhold confirmation votes until the administration ensures the restoration of communications capabilities used by Ukraine’s military.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, Republican of Pennsylvania and a former F.B.I. agent who worked on Russian counterintelligence in Kyiv, said he doubted the communication problems were accidental.
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Melania Trump Says She Brokered a Cease-Fire in a Starving Ukrainian City

The first lady, who is positioning herself as an intermediary between two warring nations as her husband sides with Russia, said the agreement would allow residents to evacuate.

© Eric Lee for The New York Times

“It was abundantly clear that without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible,” Melania Trump, the first lady, said in a statement.
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Arms Race Intensifies in Korea as the North Is Emboldened by Russia Alliance

A rare escalation this month exposed the increasingly lethal arsenals the two Koreas are building up across the world’s most heavily fortified border.

© Korean Central News Agency, via Reuters

A photograph provided by North Korean state media showing the leader, Kim Jong-un, and his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, overseeing the firing of an intermediate-range missile from the country’s east coast during a drill in October.
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Trump Asked Musk to Reverse Starshield Restrictions on Ukraine

The call from the president about the Starshield network came after officials in Ukraine reported that they found new limits on the use of military drones in their war against Russia.

© Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times

A Ukrainian soldier checking a reconnaissance drone before launching it in the Sumy region last fall.
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Putin Nears a Prize: Restoring Ties With the U.S. While Giving Up Nothing

Russia has sought to separate the war in Ukraine from potential business deals and diplomacy with the United States. Its efforts now appear to be working.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Anchorage, Alaska, last year.
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In Trump’s Diplomacy, Insults Are a One-Way Street. Ukraine Is the Latest Example.

The latest rift with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine serves as a reminder that President Trump readily lashes out at other world leaders, only to grow outraged if they fight back.

© Alex Kent/The New York Times

President Trump’s belligerence leaves many world leaders reluctant to cross him for fear of blowback or even, depending on his mood, a fresh round of tariffs.
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When Starshield Cut Out, Ukrainian Drones Fell From the Skies

Ukraine says it still doesn’t know why the military satellite internet service, a sister to Starlink, was abruptly throttled, leaving troops vulnerable to Russian attacks.

© Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier flying a drone in the Donetsk region last week. Members of the military have reported issues with drone connectivity since Starshield was disrupted.
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