The Trump administration was a 'difficult time' for Ukraine, says foreign minister
CNN
The years of the Trump administration were "a difficult time" for Ukraine, the country's foreign minister told CNN Wednesday, ahead of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's trip to Kiev.
In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also touched on the buildup of Russian forces on Ukraine's border, potential military support from the United States, and President Joe Biden's offer of a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Kuleba's comments about Donald Trump's fraught term in the White House follow the 2019 scandal involving Trump and allegations that he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his political rival Biden and his son, Hunter ahead of the 2020 election.
An Israeli airstrike on a multi-story building in northern Gaza killed at least 27 people, relief officials said, as the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders in the area – where it is mounting a major offensive.
If his first term in the White House is any indication, President-elect Donald Trump is likely to keep the Middle East high on his agenda.
Rights groups say journalist Reza Valizadeh has been detained, amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran.
A female student stripped to her underwear outside her university in Iran in what some student and rights groups say was a protest against the country’s strict Islamic dress code.
Israel is at a “high level of readiness” for a response from Iran, an Israeli military source told CNN, as US officials visited the Middle East for a renewed push to resolve the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. Follow live updates.