Latest news with #BlackSeaSecurityForum
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Pompeo warns against US recognizing Russian control over Crimea: ‘Mistake of epic proportions'
ODESA, Ukraine — In the range of Russian rockets from Ukraine's occupied Crimean Peninsula, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stood in Odesa and called for President Trump to reject recognizing Russian sovereignty over territory it seized by force. Pompeo, who served as secretary of state during Trump's first term, said if the U.S. recognized Crimea as Russian territory, it 'would be a mistake of epic proportions,' speaking at the Black Sea Security Forum Saturday. 'I get the frustration … I'm not naive about what's physically possible in this moment, but that doesn't mean one should go and say, 'and we are giving up for all time,'' he said. 'This is one of the things I hope to communicate,' Pompeo added. The former secretary's remarks comes as the Trump administration has weighed giving de jure recognition to Russia over territory it occupies in Ukraine as part of efforts to coax Moscow towards a ceasefire and peace deal with Kyiv. There's growing acceptance in Ukraine that it needs to enter into a ceasefire with Russia without liberating its territory, but Kyiv is pushing for its allies to hold back recognizing occupied lands as sovereign Russian territory. Russia occupies about 20 percent of Ukrainian territory since launching a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. But it has maintained an occupation of the Crimean Peninsula since invading and illegally annexing it in 2014, along with the eastern Ukrainian provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk. In 2018, Pompeo — during Trump's first term — issued the Crimea Declaration 'reaffirming U.S. policy its refusal to recognize the Kremlin's claims of sovereignty over territory seized by force in contravention of international law.' While Trump has disavowed Pompeo as a member of his inner circle, the former secretary and CIA director told The Hill he is articulating to Republican allies on Capitol Hill why maintaining the Crimea Declaration is important and 'the right thing to do.' He mentioned Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally and Ukraine supporter, as one of those allies and said he saw him in Ukraine. Graham was in Kyiv with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) this week. 'There are many in my party, the Republican party, that have disappointed me deeply and have said things that are inconsistent with what I think are the deep American interests that we have here,' Pompeo said during a fireside chat during the conference. 'But I think they all also know, that, in the end, there's no walking away from this for the United States,' he added. Trump has routinely favored Russian President Vladimir Putin and exercised pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in efforts to bring the two sides together. But the U.S. president has also expressed frustration with Putin, calling the Russian leader 'crazy' after the Kremlin launched its largest aerial bombardment against Ukraine between May 24 and 25. In Odesa, Russian strikes against the city on May 23 — launched from Crimea — killed two people and injured seven others. In a post on his social media site Truth Social earlier this week, Trump threatened Putin that he was 'playing with fire' with his ongoing attacks against Ukraine. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Pompeo urges Trump not to legitimize Russia's land grabs in Ukraine
Former U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo warned against recognizing Russia's sovereignty over Crimea and other Ukrainian territories seized by force, calling it "a mistake of epic proportions" during remarks at the Black Sea Security Forum in Odesa on May 31. Pompeo acknowledged frustrations over the current front lines but cautioned against ceding Ukrainian land to Russia. "I get the frustration … I'm not naive about what's physically possible in this moment, but that doesn't mean one should go and say, 'and we are giving up for all time,'" he said, according to The Hill. "This is one of the things I hope to communicate." The remarks come as the Trump administration considers granting Russia de jure recognition over territories it occupies in Ukraine as part of ongoing ceasefire negotiations. Ukraine is under pressure to agree to a ceasefire without regaining all of its territory, but Kyiv is urging allies not to legitimize Russian control over occupied regions. "Crimea will stay with Russia. And (President Volodymyr) Zelensky understands that, and everybody understands that it's been with them for a long time," U.S. President Donald Trump said in interview with Time magazine on April 22. Trump has been pushing both sides for a peace deal to end the war at all costs, threatening to walk away if there is no progress made in the near future. Trump's recent messages suggest that he started growing impatient with Russia's President Vladimir Putin. On May 28, Trump said that the United States would soon find out whether Putin is genuinely interested in ending the war in Ukraine, cautioning that if Moscow is merely stalling, Washington would "respond a little bit differently." In Odesa, Pompeo reiterated his 2018 Crimea Declaration, issued during Trump's first term, in which the U.S. rejected Russia's claims to Ukrainian territory captured by force. While Trump has since distanced himself from Pompeo, the former secretary said he continues to make the case on Capitol Hill for maintaining the declaration. He named Senator Lindsey Graham, a vocal supporter of Ukraine, as one of the allies he spoke to during his visit to Ukraine. "There are many in my party, the Republican party, that have disappointed me deeply and have said things that are inconsistent with what I think are the deep American interests that we have here," Pompeo said. He added, "But I think they all also know, that, in the end, there's no walking away from this for the United States." Read also: Could Ukraine have stopped Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014? We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US didn't do enough to stop war in 2014, says former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo
Mike Pompeo, former US secretary of state, believes that the United States did not do enough to stop the war unleashed by Russia and restore peace in Ukraine in 2014. Source: Pompeo during the second Black Sea Security Forum in Odesa, as reported by a correspondent for European Pravda Details: Pompeo said that despite all efforts, US representatives failed to thwart the plans of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and prevent a full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. "I regret that there was not more done in 2014, that there was not more done in 2022, and that deterrence was lost," he said. "And now the challenge is putting it back to a place. I was adjacent to the Minsk conversations (...) We've been at the negotiating table an awful lot, and there was no hammer." Pompeo acknowledged that it was "a different time" then and Russia's aggression was not as intense, but he pointed out: "If you went and looked at the debate issue papers from the Minsk conversations, they would look almost identical to the same conversations that are taking place today." "So that must remind us all: when Vladimir Putin lays down his weapons for a moment, you can't go back to Russian gas," Pompeo emphasised. "When Vladimir Putin lays down his weapons for a moment, there can't be life as it once was." He also pointed out that the US cannot afford to abandon Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. "As for the deeper question about whether [Ukraine] is viewed as a pawn, I don't think that anyone believes that. I don't think anybody thinks, 'Oh my goodness, we can sacrifice that and get peace','' he said. He pointed out that many members of the Republican Party have expressed views on this issue that are contrary to America's deep national interests. "But I think they all also know that, in the end, there is no walking away from this for the United States. It is not the case where you can say, 'Godspeed, you're on your own'. This will continue to chase all of us who believe in basic human dignity, property rights, all the indicia of sovereign nationhood that we will ultimately come to prevail," Pompeo stressed. Background: While Pompeo was serving as US secretary of state, the Crimea Declaration was adopted and released on 25 July 2018, 10 days after the official meeting between Trump (during his first presidential term) and Putin in Helsinki. That document stated that "Russia, through its 2014 invasion of Ukraine and its attempted annexation of Crimea, sought to undermine a bedrock international principle shared by democratic states: that no country can change the borders of another by force". Meanwhile, when Trump returned to power in 2025, his administration repeatedly made controversial remarks about Crimea. In April, media reports indicated that the Trump administration had handed Ukraine a one-page document in Paris, which was presented as a "final proposal" for a peaceful settlement. Among other things, it supposedly stated that the United States was ready to recognise Russia's control over Ukrainian Crimea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv does not recognise the Russian occupation of Crimea, and Trump criticised the statement, claiming that "Crimea was lost years ago" and that Zelenskyy's words are "very harmful to the peace negotiations". Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
The Hill
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Pompeo warns against US recognizing Russian control over Crimea: ‘Mistake of epic proportions'
ODESA, Ukraine — In the range of Russian rockets from Ukraine's occupied Crimean Peninsula, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stood in Odesa and called for President Trump to reject recognizing Russian sovereignty over territory it seized by force. Pompeo, who served as secretary of state during Trump's first term, said if the U.S. recognized Crimea as Russian territory, it 'would be a mistake of epic proportions,' speaking at the Black Sea Security Forum Saturday. 'I get the frustration … I'm not naive about what's physically possible in this moment, but that doesn't mean one should go and say, 'and we are giving up for all time,'' he said. 'This is one of the things I hope to communicate,' Pompeo added. The former secretary's remarks comes as the Trump administration has weighed giving de jure recognition to Russia over territory it occupies in Ukraine as part of efforts to coax Moscow towards a ceasefire and peace deal with Kyiv. There's growing acceptance in Ukraine that it needs to enter into a ceasefire with Russia without liberating its territory, but Kyiv is pushing for its allies to hold back recognizing occupied lands as sovereign Russian territory. Russia occupies about 20 percent of Ukrainian territory since launching a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. But it has maintained an occupation of the Crimean Peninsula since invading and illegally annexing it in 2014, along with the eastern Ukrainian provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk. In 2018, Pompeo — during Trump's first term — issued the Crimea Declaration 'reaffirming U.S. policy its refusal to recognize the Kremlin's claims of sovereignty over territory seized by force in contravention of international law.' While Trump has disavowed Pompeo as a member of his inner circle, the former secretary and CIA director told The Hill he is articulating to Republican allies on Capitol Hill why maintaining the Crimea Declaration is important and 'the right thing to do.' He mentioned Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally and Ukraine supporter, as one of those allies and said he saw him in Ukraine. Graham was in Kyiv with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) this week. 'There are many in my party, the Republican party, that have disappointed me deeply and have said things that are inconsistent with what I think are the deep American interests that we have here,' Pompeo said during a fireside chat during the conference. 'But I think they all also know, that, in the end, there's no walking away from this for the United States,' he added. Trump has routinely favored Russian President Vladimir Putin and exercised pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in efforts to bring the two sides together. But the U.S. president has also expressed frustration with Putin, calling the Russian leader 'crazy' after the Kremlin launched its largest aerial bombardment against Ukraine between May 24 and 25. In Odesa, Russian strikes against the city on May 23 — launched from Crimea — killed two people and injured seven others. In a post on his social media site Truth Social earlier this week, Trump threatened Putin that he was 'playing with fire' with his ongoing attacks against Ukraine.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ukraine needs 500 million euros to rebuild critical port facilities damaged by Russia
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine needs an initial 500 million euros ($566 million) to rebuild the most important infrastructure facilities at its Black Sea ports destroyed by constant Russian missile and drone attacks, a government minister said on Friday. Almost 400 port infrastructure facilities have been damaged as a result of Russian attacks during more than three years of war. Seaports are critical for Ukraine, which ships more than 90% of its exports by sea. "The main critical infrastructure facilities for ports and shipping that we have already lost have been identified ... and now we have to restore them," Andriy Kashuba, deputy minister of territorial development, told the Black Sea Security Forum in Odesa. Ukraine currently operates three major seaports in the Odesa area. Other Black Sea ports suspended operations after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Kashuba said the total cost of rebuilding the ports' infrastructure was estimated at around 1 billion euros. That figure is dwarfed by the total estimated cost for Ukraine's overall reconstruction and recovery. The World Bank last December put that cost at $524 billion (€506 billion) over the next decade, or about 2.8 times the country's estimated nominal GDP for 2024. Many industrial and residential infrastructure facilities across Ukraine have been destroyed or severely damaged by Russian attacks. ($1 = 0.8828 euros)
