BACKGROUND
1)Julian E. Barnes, David E. Sanger and Helene Cooper, “Hegseth Orders Pentagon to Stop Offensive Cyberoperations Against Russia; The defense secretary’s instructions, which were given before President Trump’s blowup with the Ukrainian president, are apparently part of an effort to draw Russia into talks on the war,” New York Times, March 2, 2025 (5:21 p.m. ET);
2) Minho Kim, “Rubio Attacks Zelensky, Firmly Defending Trump and Vance; Facing a wave of criticism from his former Senate colleagues, Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed the complaints lobbed by President Trump and Vice President JD Vance against Ukraine’s leader,” New York Times, March 2, 2025 (Updated 2:43 p.m. ET);