Putin ‘prolonging’ Ukraine war, Zelenskyy says after Trump peace appeal

(AUSTRALIA) — The discovery of a massive crater formed by the impact of a meteorite more than three billion years ago is changing the way scientists view the history of Earth and the planet’s stages of evolution.

Researchers in Australia found the crater in Western Australia’s Pilbara region and believe it’s the oldest impact crater in the world, at about 3.5 billion years old. That surpasses the previous record-holding impact crater by more than 1.25 billion years, according to a paper published in Nature Communications on Thursday.

A distinctive rock formation helped the research team locate the Pilbara crater. “Exceptionally preserved” shatter cones – that is, cone-shaped fractures found in rocks that have been subjected to extreme pressure from a shock wave – were located near the impact site, a 62-mile-wide area now called North Pole Dome, the scientists said.

The shatter cones offer “unequivocal evidence” of a very high-speed impact about 3.47 billion years ago, the researchers said. The meteorite likely struck Earth at more than 22,370 miles per hour, according to the paper.

The “major planetary event” would have resulted in a crater more than 60 miles wide, the researchers said.

In addition, the Pilbara crater sheds new light on how meteorites shaped the Earth’s early environment, said Chris Kirkland, a geologist at Curtin University in Australia and co-lead author of the study, in a statement.

The meteorite strike may have even contributed to the formation of cratons, which are large, stable landmasses that became the foundation of continents, Kirkland said.

The impact could have kicked up rock deep beneath the earth that eventually spread globally as the meteorite strike sent debris flying. The age of the impact is “statistically indistinguishable” from old rock beds in South Africa, according to the study.

“[T]he tremendous amount of energy from this impact could have played a role in shaping early Earth’s crust by pushing one part of the Earth’s crust under another, or by forcing magma to rise from deep within the Earth’s mantle toward the surface,” Kirkland said.

Previous research indicates that large impacts were common in the early solar system, said Tim Johnson, a geologist at Curtin University and a co-author of the paper, in a statement. The moon itself, with more than a million craters exceeding one kilometer (.62 miles) in diameter, is evidence of “intense bombardment,” according to the paper.

Impact craters also create friendly environments for microbial life, such as hot water pools, Kirkland said. The East Pilbara Terrain, which is part of the Pilbara Craton, contains an approximately 125-mile-diameter landmass containing mostly Paleoarchaean cratonic crust, estimated to be about 3.48 billion years old, according to the paper.

The second-oldest impact crater, estimated to have been created about 2.2 billion years ago, is also located in Western Australia, southwest of Pilbara, in Yarrabubba.

The discovery of the Pilbara crater challenges previous assumptions about the planet’s ancient history and provides a “crucial piece of the puzzle of Earth’s impact,” Johnson said.

The findings also suggest there could be other ancient craters on Earth waiting to be discovered, according to Johnson.

“Until now, the absence of any truly ancient craters means they are largely ignored by geologists,” he said.

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(LONDON) — Talks are ongoing between Paris and Kyiv for the possible deployment of French troops inside Ukraine despite the ongoing war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post to social media.

Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron “had a detailed discussion about the situation on the battlefield and the progress of Ukrainian forces in the Kursk operation,” the Ukrainian leader said in a Monday night post to X.

“We also agreed to work closely with key allies on achieving peace and developing effective security guarantees,” Zelenskyy added.

“As one such guarantee, we discussed the French initiative to deploy military contingents in Ukraine,” he continued. “We addressed practical steps for its implementation, potential expansion and the involvement of other nations in this effort.”

Macron and top French officials have repeatedly hinted at the possibility of deploying a French military contingent to Ukraine in a variety of non-combat roles.

French troops, Macron has said, could train Ukrainian soldiers inside the country or serve as peacekeepers to help maintain any forthcoming ceasefire agreement.

Ukrainian military analysts have also suggested that French troops could replace Ukrainian forces guarding the country’s borders with Belarus and Transnistria — the Russian-aligned separatist state in eastern Moldova — thus freeing up Ukrainian troops for combat duties.

Macron’s suggestion of NATO boots on the ground in Ukraine drew rebukes from Russia. In June, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “no instructor involved in training the Ukrainian military has immunity.” He added, “It doesn’t matter whether they’re French or not.”

Macron also faced domestic criticism. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said the president “plays the war leader, but it is the lives of our children that he speaks about with such carelessness.”

Far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said sending French troops to Ukraine would “make us belligerents.”

Within NATO, Macron’s suggestion won some support, particularly on the bloc’s eastern flank where nations bordering Russia have generally urged a more assertive allied strategy in aiding Ukraine and containing Moscow.

But key nations like the U.S., Germany and U.K. expressed discomfort with any suggestion of allied troops operating on Ukrainian soil.

Macron framed his proposal as a pursuit of “strategic ambiguity” that could be achieved without “crossing the threshold of belligerence.” The president acknowledged last year there was no allied consensus on deploying troops.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in November that Western allies should “not set and express red lines” related to their support for Ukraine.

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(LONDON )– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned allies that the defense of his nation is a litmus test for broader Western resolve, after Russia fired at least 117 missiles and drones in an overnight attack on the country’s energy infrastructure facilities.

“It’s the middle of winter, and the target for the Russians remains the same: our energy sector,” Zelenskyy wrote in a statement posted to Telegram. “Among the targets are gas infrastructure and energy facilities that ensure normal life for people.”

Air alerts sounded across the country. “Ukraine is currently under a massive attack of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones from Russia,” U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink wrote on X. “Thanks to Ukraine’s brave air defenders for their relentless and heroic work.”

Zelenskyy described the attack as “massive,” with Ukraine’s air force tallying 43 missiles and 74 drones crossing into national airspace. Thirty of the missiles and 47 of the drones were shot down, the air force said, with another 27 drones lost in flight.

“Thanks to our air defense and all the units involved, we are maintaining the operation of our energy system,” Zelenskyy said on Wednesday morning.

“But we constantly need to strengthen the existing capabilities of the Ukrainian air shield,” the president added. “Partners at the NATO summit in Washington and in the Ramstein format made promises that have not yet been fully implemented.”

“We also talked about licenses for the production of air defense and anti-missile systems, which can become one of the effective security guarantees for Ukraine, and this is also realistic and must be fulfilled,” Zelenskyy continued.

“We are grateful to everyone who helps our state,” he wrote. “But it is not only about our state. Right now, the defense of Ukraine is proving whether Europe and the democratic world in general are capable of stopping wars — reliably and for a long time.”

Zelenskyy and his top officials have repeatedly demanded that NATO allies do more to bolster Ukraine’s air defense umbrella, with the country struggling through a third consecutive winter of massed Russian attacks on the national energy grid.

Though allies have provided significant numbers of advanced systems, Zelenskyy has said the number is not sufficient to protect vital targets.

At a Sept. 6 meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the president told Western partners, “The world has enough air defense systems to ensure that Russian terror does not have results, and I urge you to be more active in this war with us for the air defense.”

The latest Russian barrage came after a record-breaking night of Ukrainian drone attacks in Western Russia, in which Kyiv’s forces said they hit a chemical plant in Tula region, ammunition warehouses at the Engels airfield in Saratov region, an oil refinery in Saratov and a chemical plant in Bryansk.

A source in the Security Service of Ukraine told ABC News that Ukrainian forces are continuing to “work on enemy military facilities and enterprises that work for the Russian military-industrial complex.”

“Every hit, ammunition depot, refinery, oil depot, or chemical plant is a painful blow to the Russian Federation’s ability to wage war in Ukraine,” the source said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted six U.S.-made ATACMS missiles, eight British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles, one U.S.-made HIMARS missile and 180 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles, 146 of which were intercepted outside of occupied Ukraine and the front lines.

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