Displaying items by tag: Jared Kushner

The current round of diplomacy over the war in Ukraine suggests that Vladimir Putin remains firmly unwilling to accept any current peace proposal. After lengthy talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov admitted that no compromise version has yet been found – not surprising given Putin’s increasingly uncompromising tone. He has denounced Ukraine’s leadership as a ‘thieving junta’, accused European leaders of obstructing peace efforts, and insisted Russia holds the battlefield initiative, even though many of his supposed gains are disputed by Ukraine and international observers. Russian state media has showcased Putin in military fatigues studying front-line maps, projecting confidence and momentum nearly four years into the invasion. Putin appears determined to convince both domestic and foreign audiences that he cannot be pressured into changing course. Yet sustaining war requires resources: oil and gas revenues are slipping, economic imbalances are widening, and the budget deficit is growing. The critical unknown is whether mounting economic strain will eventually alter the Kremlin’s wartime calculations.

Thousands of demonstrators in Belgrade have formed a human shield around the bomb-damaged former Yugoslav defence ministry building, vowing to stop its redevelopment into a luxury complex tied to a company owned by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law. The $500 million project, backed by president Aleksandar Vučić’s pro-Trump government, aims to transform the ruins - once bombed by NATO in 1999 - into a hotel and office district. Critics, however, see the move as an affront to national memory, calling the complex a sacred symbol of resistance against foreign aggression. Lawmakers recently fast-tracked legislation to permit construction despite an ongoing criminal investigation into alleged document forgery used to strip the site’s heritage status. The protests, led largely by students and youth movements, echo wider anger over corruption and government control. As chants of defiance echoed through the capital, protesters pledged unity to defend Serbia’s architectural and historical integrity against what they view as political and economic exploitation.