On Thursday, US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson replaced a pro-Ukraine congressman as the House Intelligence Committee chairman with a far-right representative who has railed against foreign military aid.
Johnson announced that Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) will take over the job that oversees all American intelligence agencies and activities, replacing Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), who was broadly seen as a key Republican supporter of Ukraine.
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Last year, Crawford voted against the House bipartisan bill that ultimately provided $61 billion in military assistance to Kyiv. The 14-year congress member is closely aligned with the right-wing “America First” group of Donald Trump acolytes in the House who threatened to remove Johnson from his Speaker’s position earlier this month.
Johnson denied that the new appointment had anything to do with Trump’s presidential inauguration next week or pressure from his fiercely loyal followers on Capitol Hill. The Speaker has the sole authority to appoint leaders of the House Intelligence Committee and the majority party’s members on that panel.
“This is not a President Trump decision. This is a House decision,” Johnson said. “This is no slight whatsoever to our outgoing chairman. He did a great job…The intelligence community and everything related to the committee needs a fresh start. And that’s what this is about. Nothing else.”
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Commenting on Turner’s tenure, Johnson said, “He led the committee well during a very challenging period of our nation’s history and was fully dedicated to the task... He is a highly valued member of our Conference, and we look forward to his continued contributions to keeping America safe and expanding our global security, including in his important position as the Chair of the US Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.”
The Ohio congress member received an “Excellent” mark on a report card from the group “GOP for Ukraine,” having voted for aid to Kyiv at every step. Crawford, by contrast, received a grade of “Poor,” one step above the lowest grade of “Very Poor.”
Bloomberg reports that secret Ukraine-Russia peace talks being held in Qatar
Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that parties from Ukraine and Russia are holding talks in Qatar, with Russia issuing such demands as reduced Ukrainian cooperation with NATO and reducing the size of its armed forces.
Quoting “people familiar with the talks,” the financial news outlet wrote that Moscow is demanding that Ukraine become a neutral state, and were Kyiv to continue to receive arms from the West, those weapons could not be used on Russian territory.
Bloomberg noted that Russia’s self-perceived negotiating position has strengthened after it took control of more Ukrainian territory in 2024. Previously, the authors wrote, the Kremlin was prepared to accept Ukraine’s ascension to NATO, but since then has determined that it no longer needs to make that concession.
The Kremlin is said to be amenable to bringing the invasion to an end if Kyiv were to immediately reduce the size of its military to the size of a force only capable of defending its territory and not launch invasions into Russia, according to Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev.
Other issues reportedly discussed in Qatar were the safeguarding of nuclear facilities in both countries, expanded prisoner exchanges, and the kidnapping of Ukrainian children and their deportation to Russia.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the report at a press conference.
Netherlands unveils additional €27M for energy security, as Italy announces 11th aid package
During his visit to Kyiv on Thursday, the Dutch Foreign Minister, Caspar Veldkamp, presented Ukraine with a €27 million aid package to repair and strengthen the country’s power grid devastated by Russian attacks.
The gesture came at the same time as Italy announced its upcoming 11th aid package for Ukrainian defense, coinciding with a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.
In December, the Netherlands’ ambassador to Ukraine reported that The Hague already had set aside €3.8 billion for aid packages to Ukraine, and planned to allocate €6 billion more. The latest tranche of funds is earmarked for repairing energy facilities and increasing energy production, with €7 million set aside for non-lethal aid to Ukraine’s Armed Forces (AFU), including fuel and medical supplies.
During his meetings with Zelensky and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the Dutch minister underscored that his country was committed to pushing new EU sanctions against Russia.
At the same time as the Dutch approved appropriations in December, the administration of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni issued a decree guaranteeing military support for Kyiv through 2025.
On Thursday, Italy promised its newest package, but its contents were not detailed. In the past, Rome has sent Storm Shadow cruise missiles, with a range of 300 km, and SAMP/T air defense systems, designed to intercept ballistic missiles.
“The key update is that Italy’s next military aid package is on its way to Ukraine. This modern weaponry will empower our forces to deliver decisive strikes against the enemy,” said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who also met with Crosetto.
Zelensky and Crosetto also discussed the Ukraine Recovery Conference, slated for July 10 and 11 in Rome.
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