US and Russia Negotiate Ukraine War End; Prosecutor Resigns Over Trump Probe Order

The United States and Russia are establishing high-level teams to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine and restore diplomatic channels, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. These talks, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, marked the first face-to-face meeting between top US and Russian officials since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The US delegation included Rubio, Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Discussions included potential territorial concessions and security guarantees. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky stated Ukraine would not concede to Russia's ultimatums. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the meeting "very useful." Both sides aim to restore diplomatic missions in Washington and Moscow. Concurrently, in Washington, a senior federal prosecutor, Denise Cheung, resigned. She cited an order from President Donald Trump's appointees to launch a criminal probe into a government contract awarded during former President Joe Biden's administration. Cheung deemed the request unsupported by evidence. After declining to initiate a grand jury investigation, she was instructed to pursue an asset seizure. Cheung stated she did not believe there was sufficient evidence to justify the action. She resigned after being ordered to send a second letter to the bank demanding it freeze the assets as part of a criminal investigation.