What we're covering
• Double-tap controversy: President Donald Trump said today his administration would “certainly” release video of a follow-up strike on an alleged drug vessel last September that has stoked bipartisan criticism from lawmakers over the attack’s legality.
• Ukraine war talks: Trump also said that special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner had a “very good meeting” yesterday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin said Putin accepted some US proposals although the meetings did not yield a breakthrough.
• Hegseth’s Signal use: In a separate controversy, a watchdog found that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing sensitive war plans on the messaging app in March of this year, according to sources.
Trump says Venezuela efforts are "much beyond" a pressure campaign on Maduro
President Donald Trump says a massive show of force from the US around Venezuela is “much beyond” a pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as he weighs next steps.
Trump suggested there is public support for his efforts to target alleged drug boats operating in the Caribbean and said similar operations would “soon” start on land.
“I think you’re gonna find that there’s a very receptive ear to doing exactly what they’re doing, taking out those boats. And very soon we’re going to start doing it on land too,” he told reporters Wednesday in the Oval Office.
Trump added: “We know every route, we know every house, we know where they manufacture this crap. We know where they put it all together. And I think you’re going to see it very soon on land.”
The president was asked whether his “pressure campaign” on Maduro was working as the US military has amassed a massive show of force in the region, including roughly 15,000 troops and more than a dozen warships.
“It’s not a pressure campaign, it’s much beyond that I think,” Trump said.
Trump has been briefed on a range of options, including targeted strikes on Venezuelan government and military facilities, or potentially a more direct attempt to oust Maduro, CNN previously reported. He huddled with top Cabinet officials on Monday evening to discuss a path forward.
Trump reaffirmed on Wednesday that he spoke to Maduro “briefly — just told him a couple of things,” adding, “We’ll see what happens with that.”
Trump calls pardoned Democrat a "respected person" who was "treated very badly"
President Donald Trump called Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, who he announced he was pardoning on Wednesday, a “respected person” who “was treated very badly” because of his policies on the border.
Trump announced in a social media post earlier in the day that he was pardoning Cuellar and his wife, Imelda.
In 2024, Cuellar and his wife were charged with accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities in an alleged scheme that took place from late 2014 through at least November 2021, according to the indictment. Cuellar has denied any wrongdoing by him and his wife.
Cuellar, who was first elected in 2004, is among the most conservative Democrats in the House. He’s long opposed abortion rights and has advocated for tougher border security measures.
The 11-term congressman filed for reelection Wednesday as a Democrat and has been likely to face a competitive reelection in a Trump-won district that Republicans are targeting.
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this report.
Trump says Witkoff and Kushner had "very good meeting" with Putin
President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday that special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner had a “very good meeting” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“President Putin had a very good meeting yesterday with Jared Kushner and with Steve Witkoff. What comes out of that meeting? I can’t tell you, because it does take two to tango,” the president said.
Pressed on if Kushner and Witkoff believe that Putin wants to make peace coming out of the meeting, Trump said, “Their impression was that he would like to see the war ended.”
“Their impression was very strongly that he’d like to make a deal,” he added.
Putin accepted some US proposals to end the war, the Kremlin said, although meetings yesterday did not yield a breakthrough.
Ukraine said the Trump administration invited Kyiv to the US “in the near future” for talks as the future of a deal is uncertain.
Trump says he'd support release of video of second strike on alleged drug vessel
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration would “certainly” release video of a follow-up strike on an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean after the initial attack did not kill everyone on board.
“I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have, we’d certainly release, no problem,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “You know, we stopped — every boat we knock out, we save 25,000 American lives.”
Trump posted video of the initial strike shortly after the September 2 operation to his Truth Social platform.
Pressed in a follow-up exchange about whether he supported the decision to kill survivors in a second strike, Trump said, “No, I support the decision to knock out the boats, and whoever is piloting those boats. Most of them are gone, but whoever’s piloting those boats, they’re guilty of trying to kill people in our country.”
And Trump dismissed questions about whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, who the administration said ordered the second strike, should be punished if survivors were clinging to the boat.
“I think you’re going to find that this is war, that these people were killing our people by the millions,” Trump said.
“I think you’re going to find that there’s a very receptive ear to doing exactly what they’re doing, taking out those boats,” Trump said. “And very soon, we’re going to start doing it on land too.”
Trump “stands by” Hegseth following CNN reporting on watchdog report, White House says
The White House said today that President Donald Trump “stands by” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following CNN’s reporting on an inspector general report about his sharing of highly sensitive attack plans in a Signal chat.
CNN’s Zachary Cohen and Jake Tapper reported that Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information, which could have endangered American troops and mission objectives, when he used Signal in March to share highly-sensitive attack plans targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to four sources familiar with the contents of the classified inspector general report.
The repercussions of Hegseth’s action, two sources told CNN, are less clear since the inspector general concluded that the defense secretary has the authority to declassify information. Hegseth asserted he made an operational decision in the moment to share that information, though there is no documentation of such a decision.
See more from CNN’s Jake Tapper below:
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information, which could have endangered American troops and mission objectives, when he used Signal in March of this year to share highly-sensitive attack plans targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to four sources familiar with the contents of a classified Inspector General report. CNN's Jake Tapper reports.
Ukraine was "heard and listened to" at recent meetings with the US, Zelensky says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was “heard and listened to” at recent meetings with US representatives in Geneva and Florida, amid Trump administration efforts to end Russia’s war with Ukraine
Zelensky said today he expects Ukraine’s interests to continue being considered and that his administration is waiting for news “in the coming days” about meetings in the United States with President Donald Trump’s aides.
Earlier in the day, Zelensky said the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, was beginning preparations for a meeting in the US with Trump’s representatives. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv was invited by the Trump administration to visit the US “in the near future to continue negotiations on the peace process.”
The Ukrainian president made the remarks after Umerov met with European allies and NATO officials in Brussels today. And yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner participated in talks in Moscow, which ended without a compromise.
Democratic Sen. Blumenthal calls for subpoenaing records on "double-tap" strike
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called for subpoenaing all records relating to the “double-tap” strike on an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean, voicing concern about the preservation of the documents.
He said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth “has to be held responsible” for issuing the order. CNN has reported that, before the operation, Hegseth ordered the military to ensure the strike killed everyone on board, but it’s not clear whether he knew there were survivors before the second strike, one of the sources said. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that neither he nor Hegseth knew about the follow-up strike.
Blumenthal also criticized Hegseth for placing the blame on Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, arguing the Pentagon chief should take responsibility for the action.
Meantime, Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker wouldn’t say whether he has confidence in Hegseth amid several controversies, including new revelations about him sending war plans in group chats with a journalist.
On US-Russia talks: Blumenthal cast doubt on the Trump administration’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing worry that US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were on a “fool’s errand that is designed simply to give Putin more time to stonewall us.”
This post has been updated with additional information. CNN’s Alison Main and Manu Raju contributed reporting.
Analysis: Putin senses a long-awaited win
Lengthy talks between US negotiators and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ended without a breakthrough on a potential deal to end the war in Ukraine.
Here’s what the Kremlin’s mindset for a peace deal might be:
Lengthy talks between US negotiators and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ended without a breakthrough on a potential deal to end the war in Ukraine, a Kremlin aide said. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh analyses what the Kremlin's mindset for a peace deal might be.
European Commission: Ukraine funding proposal should be "further incentive" for Russia to negotiate
We’re now hearing more from the European Union on funding for Ukraine to “take forward peace negotiations,” as allies continue to angle for an end to the war.
The European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, put forward a formal proposal today to fund Ukraine by tapping Russia’s assets immobilized in the EU, alongside an option to borrow from investors.
The commission announced the two options as Russia continues to wage its nearly four-year war in Ukraine.
The first option would involve using the money generated by the assets of Russia’s central bank held in the EU, such as interest and principal, to provide a loan of up to €210 billion ($245 billion) to Ukraine. Kyiv would have to repay the loan if Russia paid reparations, von der Leyen told reporters.
The second option envisages the EU borrowing money from investors, using the EU budget as a guarantee, and then lending those funds to Ukraine. This measure would require unanimous approval from all member states, von der Leyen said.
Meanwhile: Trump will announce "reset" of fuel-economy standards for vehicles at Oval Office event today
As his administration’s foreign policy moves continue to dominate the day’s headlines, President Donald Trump will unveil a “reset” of federal fuel-economy standards for vehicles during an Oval Office announcement this afternoon, a White House official tells CNN.
Top auto executives, including the CEOs of Ford and Stellantis, along with a General Motors plant manager, are expected to attend the event, the official added.
The Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, first established in 1975, set the average fuel economy targets for new vehicles. The Biden administration had proposed modest increases to the requirements for the vehicles most Americans drive as part of a push to promote electric vehicles on the roads and battle climate change. Trump is expected to roll those back.
In a statement ahead of the gathering, Ford CEO Jim Farley praised the administration’s move and emphasized the company’s support for revising federal requirements. Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa offered similar support, framing the changes as better aligned with consumer demand.
Ukraine invited to peace talks in the US "in the near future," according to foreign minister
Kyiv has received an invitation from the Trump administration to visit the United States “in the near future to continue negotiations on the peace process,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on the ministry’s Telegram page.
The invitation comes after lengthy talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in Moscow ended without a compromise yesterday.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, was beginning preparations for a meeting with Trump’s representatives.
Trump is the "one person in the whole world" able to break deadlock in Ukraine, NATO chief says
President Donald Trump is the “one person in the whole world” able to break the deadlock in Ukraine and kickstart peace talks, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters Wednesday.
The NATO summit came a day after five-hour-long talks between Russia and the US failed to yield a breakthrough on a possible Ukraine peace deal.
“We all want the bloodshed to end, and I strongly welcome President Trump’s continued efforts to bring about a just and lasting peace,” Rutte added.
Rutte shied away from commenting extensively on the peace talks so as not to disrupt them. But he did say that NATO was “closely coordinated” with the White House and US State Department to ensure any peace deal allows for a “sovereign Ukraine.”
He added that, from his perspective, every NATO member remains “completely committed” to the alliance’s overarching strategy outlined in 2022, which labelled Russia as the most significant threat to European security.
"We are left on our own": Ukrainians share their views on recent peace negotiations
While officials from the US and Ukraine are flying around the world to try and negotiate an end to Russia’s war, ordinary Ukrainians have no choice but to watch and hope that the conflict will be over soon.
Following the news that lengthy talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US officials in Moscow yesterday did not result in any breakthroughs, CNN spoke to Ukrainians on the streets of Kyiv to hear their thoughts on the current status of peace talks.
Vira Krolivets, a resident of Kyiv, told CNN she had hoped that US President Donald Trump “would help us.” Now, she believes that the US is instead looking out for its own financial interests, “and we are left on our own.”
Andriy Fomichov, an IT specialist whose parents live in a Russian-occupied area of Ukraine, told CNN that ceding Ukrainian land was not acceptable.
Meanwhile, Kateryna Oliinyk, a mother of two from the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, said that she believed the land occupied by Russia was already lost.
Russia-US meeting was useful and talks will continue, Putin aide says
Talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were useful, said Yuri Ushakov, foreign policy adviser and aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding that contact between the two nations would continue.
Ushakov told Russian state media that the Kremlin was negotiating a Ukrainian settlement exclusively with the US, adding that any European leaders who wish to talk are welcome to travel to Moscow.
He said that the negotiators discussed the question of Ukraine’s membership to NATO at their five-hour meeting yesterday and that Moscow’s views on the proposed plan were “frankly expressed.”
Further details of the negotiations, however, would not be disclosed by agreement with the US, Ushakov added.
Why the US is unlikely to strike Venezuela this week
Despite escalating rhetoric from President Donald Trump that he may strike targets in Venezuela “soon,” Caracas’ aviation agency says it’s still receiving communications from Washington about accepting deportation flights.
CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon explains why Trump is unlikely to strike Venezuela while US planes are in Caracas.
Despite escalating rhetoric from President Trump that he may strike targets on land in Venezuela "soon,” Caracas’ aviation agency says it’s still receiving communications from Washington about accepting deportation flights. CNN's Stefano Pozzebon explains why Trump is unlikely to strike Venezuela while US planes are in Caracas.
Russia says yesterday's talks with US officials ended without a breakthrough. Here's what to know
Lengthy talks between US negotiators and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin yesterday ended without a breakthrough on a potential deal to end the war in Ukraine, a Kremlin aide said earlier today.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner traveled to Moscow for the high-level talks, amid renewed efforts from the Trump administration to bring about an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The talks in the Russian capital were “very useful, constructive, and highly substantive,” but a “compromise option was not found,” Russian foreign policy adviser and Putin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters after the meeting.
Catch up on the latest developments:
- Kremlin says Putin accepted “some things” in talks: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that “some things” were accepted by Putin during yesterday’s talks with the US, without elaborating on the details. “Some things were accepted, others were marked as unacceptable. This is a normal working process of seeking compromise,” he said.
- Sticking points still in place: Significant sticking points are still preventing the creation of a peace plan that Moscow and Kyiv would agree to. Russia is demanding that Ukraine surrender territory and abandon its goal of joining NATO, both of which are considered a red line by Kyiv.
- Ukraine preparing to meet with US officials: Kyiv is beginning to make preparations for a meeting with officials in the United States, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today. “As always, Ukraine will work constructively in pursuit of a real peace,” the leader said.
- European leaders skeptical: Foreign ministers from countries including the United Kingdom, Germany and Latvia have said that Putin is not interested in peace following the outcome of yesterday’s talks. “Putin started the war in Ukraine – and he can end it at any time,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in a statement.
CNN’s Helen Regan, Nina Subkhanberdina, Anna Chernova, Svitlana Vlasova and Christian Edwards contributed to this reporting.
European leaders say Putin not interested in peace following talks with US envoys
European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of faking interest in peace in Ukraine after five hours of talks with US envoys in Moscow yesterday failed to produce any big advancements.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said that only two presidents involved in the process are genuinely seeking peace: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in a statement: “Putin started the war in Ukraine – and he can end it at any time. He has not yet shown any real willingness to negotiate.”
Earlier, the Kremlin said that Putin did not reject the US plan put forward during yesterday’s talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The Kremlin said Putin had accepted some of the points, without providing details.
Baiba Braze, Latvia’s foreign minister, told reporters that Putin was using the “so-called peace talks” to try to “get results” that Russia had been unable to achieve on the battlefield.
Zelensky says Ukrainian delegates preparing to meet with Trump’s aides in US
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine is beginning preparations for a meeting in the United States with President Donald Trump’s representatives.
The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, and other representatives will brief European leaders in Brussels on “what is known” following US-Russia talks in Moscow yesterday, Zelensky said Wednesday.
After Brussels, Zelensky said that Umerov and Andrii Hnatov, Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine, will “begin preparations for a meeting with the envoys of President Trump in the United States.”
Kremlin says Putin accepted some US proposals on Ukraine and Russia is ready to keep talking
The Kremlin has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted some proposals from the United States to end the war in Ukraine and that Moscow was ready to meet with the US delegation as many times as needed to strike a peace deal.
Asked whether Putin rejected the US plan put forward yesterday in Moscow by President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that was not accurate.
Peskov said that Russia was prepared to meet as many times as it takes to reach an agreement.
He declined to discuss potential adjustments made to the plan proffered by Witkoff and Kushner.
Putin met top US negotiators for 5 hours yesterday. Here are the takeaways
Five hours of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and top US negotiators did not yield a breakthrough on a possible Ukraine peace deal, a Kremlin aide said early Wednesday.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner sat down for the high-level talks with Putin.
Among the sticking points were Kremlin demands for Ukraine to formally renounce its aspiration to join NATO and for Ukraine to surrender territory in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine that has been annexed, but not yet conquered, by Russia.
Ukrainian officials have continued to reject Russia’s maximalist demands, which the Kremlin continues to consider red lines.
Hours before the meeting, Putin warned that, while Russia is not planning to go to war with Europe, it was “ready” to respond if it were to initiate one. Putin also accused European leaders of trying to block the US-proposed peace deal, likely referring to the changes made to the original plan.
A senior NATO official said they see no indication that Moscow is willing to make “meaningful concessions” to end the war, adding that Russia maintains its territorial demands and aims “to ensure Ukraine’s military capabilities are weakened as much as possible.”
