The briefing for Friday, June 5.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for face-to-face negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a public letter Thursday, marking the first direct public message between the leaders since Russia's 2022 invasion. Zelenskyy proposed meeting in a neutral third country such as Switzerland, Turkey, or an Arab state, acknowledging that U.S. priorities have shifted toward the Iran conflict. President Trump responded that such a meeting 'would be great' and suggested both sides would need to make compromises, though he declined to specify details.

Zelenskyy's letter presents a sweeping critique of Putin's 26 years in power and warns that Ukrainian intelligence suggests Russia plans to prolong the war into 2027 and 2028. The Ukrainian leader claims Russia suffered more than 30,000 soldiers killed or seriously wounded in May alone, with 'video confirmation' of battlefield losses sustained month after month. He proposed a full ceasefire during negotiations and an all-for-all prisoner exchange as initial steps, while calling for the return of civilians and children taken from Ukraine during the war.

The proposal comes as Ukraine has begun regaining battlefield leverage through improved long-range strike capabilities, even as Moscow intensifies its aerial campaign across Ukraine. Zelenskyy accused Russia of attempting to draw Belarus deeper into the conflict and destabilize Moldova's Transnistria region. 'The world has not grown tired of Ukraine, as you long hoped it would. But there is growing fatigue with Russia,' Zelenskyy wrote, framing the letter as an attempt to seize what he views as a pivotal moment in the war.

The Senate voted 52-47 early Friday morning to pass legislation funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol for three years through the end of Trump's term. The final vote came just before 5 a.m. after Republicans narrowly defeated multiple bipartisan attempts to permanently ban Trump's $1.776 billion settlement fund for allies who claim political persecution. The bill now heads to the House for expected consideration next week.

The amendments became a test of party unity that complicated what should have been straightforward immigration funding. Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy proposed redirecting settlement payments to law enforcement officers injured during the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, while North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis sought to ban the fund entirely while moving money to a separate Justice Department anti-fraud account. Both efforts failed, though more than 10 Republicans supported Tillis's amendment despite most Democrats voting against it. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had said earlier this week the settlement fund would not move forward, but Trump raised doubts Wednesday by calling it 'very important' and saying 'I don't know' whether it's dead or on hold.

The $70 billion legislation ends a months-long Democratic blockade of immigration enforcement funding that began after federal agents fatally shot two protesters in Minneapolis in January. Senate Majority Leader John Thune worked for weeks to keep the bill focused solely on ICE and Border Patrol funding, avoiding additions that could complicate House passage. Democrats had demanded policy changes including better identification for federal officers and more judicial oversight, but those provisions were not included in the final bill passed through budget reconciliation procedures.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea from Monday to Tuesday for his first visit in nearly seven years, both countries announced Friday. The state visit comes weeks after Xi hosted U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, and follows Kim Jong Un's attendance at Xi's September military parade alongside Putin. The trip marks China's latest effort to reinforce ties with its nuclear-armed neighbor as Kim has built closer relations with Russia, notably sending troops and conventional weapons to support Moscow's war in Ukraine.

The visit's timing is significant, coming just one day after North Korea unveiled a new uranium enrichment facility and Kim announced plans to bolster nuclear forces 'at an exponential rate.' South Korea's military assessed the facility as producing ingredients for nuclear bombs. Experts say the disclosure signals Kim's eagerness to cement North Korea's status as a nuclear weapons state ahead of Xi's arrival, positioning for eventual arms reduction talks with the U.S. where he could demand sanctions relief in exchange for partial denuclearization.

China remains North Korea's biggest trade partner and aid provider, bound by a 65-year-old mutual defense pact. Beijing is reportedly wary of the growing Kim-Putin alliance despite its close ties with both leaders. South Korea's unification minister expressed hope Xi will nudge Pyongyang toward resuming dialogue with Seoul and Washington. However, North Korea has declared the end of reunification efforts and called South Koreans a 'sworn enemy.' During Trump's recent meeting with Xi, the leaders reaffirmed denuclearization goals for North Korea, though China's foreign ministry declined to directly confirm this agreement.

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported Thursday it cannot provide information on Iran's enriched uranium stockpile or verify whether enrichment activities have been suspended, according to a confidential report circulated to member states. The IAEA has been unable to inspect nuclear facilities in Iran affected by last June's war, with the exception of the Bushehr nuclear power plant visited June 1-3. The agency warned it is 'unable to discharge its safeguards responsibilities' under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and called it 'indispensable and urgent' for Tehran to implement its obligations.

According to the IAEA's last verified data, Iran maintains a stockpile of 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity—a short technical step from weapons-grade 90% enrichment. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi warned in a recent interview that this stockpile could allow Iran to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs if it decides to weaponize its program, though he emphasized this doesn't mean Iran has such weapons. The highly enriched material should normally be verified monthly under IAEA guidelines.

The report comes amid heightened Middle East tensions. Iranian drones heavily damaged Kuwait's main airport terminal Wednesday, killing one person and wounding dozens in the latest exchange testing a fragile ceasefire. Iran maintains control of the Strait of Hormuz while the U.S. continues its blockade of Iranian ports, keeping global fuel prices high. Grossi reiterated his 'full support to the negotiations underway' and readiness to support an eventual agreement, as talks drag on for a more enduring truce in the conflict now in its fourth month.

The Supreme Court issued two unanimous decisions Thursday upholding federal regulatory authority over securities fraud and telecommunications. In an 8-1 ruling, the justices affirmed the SEC's broad authority to recoup ill-gotten gains from securities fraud without proving individual investors lost money. The case involved Ongkaruck Sripetch, a Los Angeles resident sentenced to 21 months in prison for selling unregistered securities in a penny stock scheme, who challenged a court order to repay more than $3 million including interest.

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court that it was sufficient to show Sripetch profited from illegal transactions and that 'an investor may qualify as a victim of an offender's wrongdoing entitled to compensation.' The ruling rejected arguments that the SEC must prove specific investor losses in each case, maintaining the agency's key enforcement tool for securities fraud cases.

In a separate 8-1 decision, the court sided with the Trump administration on the FCC's power to enforce data privacy penalties against telecommunications companies. The case involved multimillion-dollar fines against Verizon and AT&T for failing to safeguard customer location data. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the FCC orders 'did not settle the carriers' legal obligations' because they didn't create an immediate payment obligation. However, the administration also indicated companies don't have to pay penalties immediately, an apparent shift expected to give companies more flexibility. Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenter, arguing for a clearer path for companies to recoup fines already paid.

Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem rejected Thursday's ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Lebanon, calling the negotiations 'absurd, humiliating and insulting.' In a written statement read on television, Kassem said demands that Hezbollah fighters leave southern Lebanon under fire would mean 'surrender, defeat and achieving the enemy's goals.' He emphasized Hezbollah has made no commitment to stop fighting as long as Lebanese villages remain unsafe and under bombardment. 'So long as our villages are not safe and are being bombed and destroyed and our people are killed, northern Israel will not be safe,' he stated.

The rejection came shortly after Israel and Lebanon announced a renewal of their fragile ceasefire following US-mediated talks in Washington. The agreement called for creating 'pilot' security zones in southern Lebanon where Lebanese Armed Forces would take exclusive control and all Hezbollah operatives would be evacuated from areas between the Israeli border and the Litani River, about 30 kilometers north. The deal was contingent on a 'complete cessation' of fire by Hezbollah, though it included no maps indicating where pilot zones would be located or how they would work in practice.

Fighting continued Thursday with Israeli strikes killing at least four people across southern Lebanon, according to local authorities. A Serbian UN peacekeeper was killed and two others wounded when a mortar struck near Marjayoun, a Christian-majority town that has seen intense fighting. Israel blamed Hezbollah for the firing without offering evidence. An Israeli soldier was also killed in combat in southern Lebanon. Lebanese troops began moving into the village of Dibbine after Israeli forces withdrew—the first such withdrawal since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began about three months ago. The countries' representatives will meet again June 22 for further talks 'with a view toward reaching a comprehensive agreement.'