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Federal agents raided the apartment and office of former President Donald Trumps longtime attorney Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday, an extraordinary move in the Justice Departments ongoing criminal probe.

The shocking development is part of the two-year investigation into Giulianis political activities in Ukraine. He hasnt been charged and denies all wrongdoing.

Heres a breakdown of some of the key questions surrounding the investigation.

Giuliani is wrapped up in a few ongoing investigations, and theyre all tied to his pro-Trump political activities in Ukraine, where he focused much of his attention in 2019 and 2020.

CNN has reported that investigators want to know if Giuliani acted as an illegal lobbyist on behalf of any Ukrainian officials. He urged Trump to take certain actions regarding Ukraine like firing the respected US ambassador and prosecutors want to know if this was done on behalf of, or in concert with, foreign officials. That could be a violation of laws regarding foreign agents.

His lawyer Robert Costello told CNN that the warrant described an investigation regarding foreign lobbying.

Prosecutors are also examining Giulianis potential business deals with disgraced Ukrainian officials, according to The New York Times. This reportedly involves some of the former officials Giuliani worked closely with in 2020 to peddle disinformation about then-candidate Joe Biden

There are also questions about a $500,000 payment Giuliani received from two Soviet-born associates who have been indicted in a related case. More on that angle in a moment.

Career prosecutors wanted a search warrant against Giuliani last year, but they were rebuffed by senior Trump appointees at the Justice Department, both before and after the 2020 presidential election, according to reporting from CNN and The New York Times.

There were reportedly concerns that the public actions against Giuliani would be too close to the election, and there were also some doubts that there was enough evidence to justify such an aggressive move against an attorney and the former attorney to the President, nonetheless.

Sensitive decisions like these require approval by the highest levels of the Justice Department. Attorney General Merrick Garland took over in March, and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco was confirmed by the Senate just last week. Its not clear yet which official signed off on what was executed on Wednesday, or if it was approved before they came into office.

This could be really bad for Trump, or have little impact at all. But its definitely not a good thing.

At the least, the news reminds the American people about Giulianis brazen dealings in Ukraine, where he worked with a Russian agent to smear Biden. This was done on Trumps behalf and was aligned with Moscows own disinformation efforts against Biden.

To state the obvious things could get very dicey for the former President if investigators found anything in the raids that implicates him in a federal crime. But thats the most extreme scenario.

A more likely outcome is that prosecutors are building a case against Giuliani that touches on his dealings with Trump. That could further tarnish Trumps legacy and vindicate Democrats and the few Republicans who said Trumps first impeachment over Ukraine was warranted.

Investigators are clearly looking into Giulianis role leading a cadre of Trump supporters who worked together in 2019 and 2020 to spread pro-Trump and anti-Biden disinformation often pushing the same conspiracies that were also being promoted by the Russian government and its operatives.

Giulianis lawyer told CNN that the warrant sought communications between Giuliani and right-wing columnist John Solomon, among other individuals.

CNN also reported that federal agents also executed a related search warrant at the home of attorney Victoria Toensing, taking her cell phone but not searching the house itself. A spokesman for Toensing said she fully cooperated and was not a target of the probe.

Its impossible to talk about this without also bringing up Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two Soviet-born Americans who used their Ukrainian connections to assist Giulianis anti-Biden efforts.

They were indicted in 2019 in the midst of Trumps first impeachment, on several charges including illegally funneling foreign money to pro-Trump political groups. Theyve pleaded not guilty and they are set to go on trial later this year. But Parnas notably broke with Trump and Giuliani last year, and implicated both of them in the Ukraine quid-pro-quo and other schemes.

Throughout 2019, Solomon wrote columns for The Hill that were filled with many of the same pro-Trump and anti-Biden conspiracy theories that were being pushed by Giuliani and his Ukrainian allies. Phone records unearthed during impeachment proceedings in 2019 revealed that there were regular contacts between Solomon, Giuliani, Toensing, Parnas and other Trump allies while he published those columns.

Many legal experts said Wednesday that the raid represents a major escalation in the probe.

It delivers a strong and very concerning message to Mr. Giuliani, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, a CNN contributor, said on CNN earlier on Wednesday, adding that it represents a shift in an investigation from a quiet, covert stage to a more aggressive chapter.

Not only that, but investigators could find information that they werent even hunting for, that could help them ramp up the pressure on Giuliani or others who are targets of the inquiry.

It happens all the time that you get a search warrant of looking for evidence of Crime A, and you get evidence of crimes you never expected, CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said.

For Giuliani personally, the raid means more legal headaches are likely on the horizon.

This is a serious and tragic turn for the man who was rightfully known as Americas Mayor, said CNN senior political analyst John Avlon, who worked for Giuliani in New York City.

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What's happening with the Rudy Giuliani raids and Ukraine investigation - CNN

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukraines president on Monday unveiled a new nuclear waste repository at Chernobyl, the site of the worlds worst nuclear disaster that unfolded exactly 35 years ago.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Chernobyl together with Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and vowed to transform the exclusion zone, as Chernobyl is referred to, into a revival zone.

Ukraine is not alone, it has wide support (from its) partners, Zelenskyy said. Today the new repository has been put into operation and it is very important that today a license to maintain the new repository will be obtained.

The Ukrainian authorities decided to use the deserted exclusion zone around the Chernobyl power plant to build a place where Ukraine could store its nuclear waste for the next 100 years. The ex-Soviet nation currently has four nuclear power plants operating and has to transport its nuclear waste to Russia. The new repository will allow the government to save up $200 million a year.

Grossi said on Twitter Monday that the IAEA will continue working tirelessly in addressing decommissioning, radioactive waste and environmental remediation related with Chernobyl accident.

Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl power plant 110 kilometers (65 miles) north of Ukraines capital Kyiv exploded and caught fire deep in the night on April 26, 1986, shattering the building and spewing radioactive material into the sky.

Soviet authorities made the catastrophe even worse by failing to tell the public what had happened although the nearby plant workers town of Pripyat was evacuated the next day, the 2 million residents of Kyiv werent informed despite the fallout danger. The world learned of the disaster only after heightened radiation was detected in Sweden.

More than 600,000 people took part in fighting the consequences of the disaster. Thirty plant workers and firefighters died within the first few months after the accident.

Eventually, more than 100,000 people were evacuated from the vicinity and the 2,600-square-kilometer (1,000-square-mile) exclusion zone was established where the only activity was workers disposing of waste and tending to a hastily built sarcophagus covering the reactor.

Radiation continued to leak from the reactor building until 2019, when the entire building was covered by an enormous arch-shaped shelter.

On the 35th anniversary of the disaster on Monday, Ukrainian authorities declassified documents showing that serious accidents occurred at the power plant several times before April 26, 1986.

Ukraines Security Service revealed that the Soviet authorities issued a decree on July 8, 1986, classifying all details of the Chernobyl disaster, including the number of people getting sick. According to the agency, in October 1987 a French journalist tried to take soil and water samples abroad, but the KGB swapped his samples with clean ones.

Continued here:
Ukraine opens new nuclear waste site at Chernobyl - The Associated Press

Ukraine has an opportunity to join the North Atlantic Alliance, and to do so it must carry out the necessary reforms to meet NATO requirements and standards.

Biden administration remains to committed to ensuring that NATOs door remains open to aspirants when theyre ready and able to meet the commitments and obligations, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker said at a briefing on April 30, commenting on Ukraines Euro-Atlantic integration prospects.

According to him, the United States is certainly committed to ensuring that a country like Ukraine can work to meet those standards.

As Reeker noted, Ukraine performs an annual national program that allows to cooperate with NATO and has an enhanced operational partnership status, which also gives a series of opportunities. A lot of that, the U.S. Department representative emphasized, involves Ukraine continuing to implement deep, comprehensive reforms.

Thats part of the necessary effort in building a more stable, democratic, and prosperous and free Ukraine. And so well continue to work with them [Ukraine] in all of those areas, he said.

As reported, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to make a visit to Kyiv on May 5-6 to meet with the senior leadership of the state. Ukraines NATO membership prospect is expected to be one of the topics of talks.

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U.S. Department of State: NATOs door remains open to Ukraine - Ukrinform. Ukraine and world news

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As Russia continues to mass military troops and equipment at Ukraines border while deflecting blame on so-called Ukrainian aggressions, the Wests response has been slow and hesitant. As has been the case for many decades, it will be up to the United States to draw red lines in Eastern Europe.

The Biden administration is undoubtedly managing competing priorities. But avoiding confrontation with Russia must also stay at the top of the agenda. To do this, the U.S. will need to develop a strategy that securely safeguards Eastern Europe from Russia while minimizing Western involvement.

Ukraine has become an intractable problem for the West, made worse by an absence of strategy toward the Kremlin. Russia has so far been allowed to blame Ukrainian or NATO aggressions for its military buildup along NATOs Eastern Flank. The West should be vocal in calling out these Russian lies.

We must also realize that Russia is threatened by Ukraines independence, integrity and Western orientation. Ukraine, which has been fighting occupation for more than seven years, is vital to Western and U.S. interests and to European security and stability.

There are three clear steps the Biden administration must take if it hopes to de-escalate the crisis with Russia in Eastern Europe without being drawn into conflict. First, recognize that the Normandy Format has failed. Second, take the lead on peace negotiations with Russia. And third, shape a strategy for the Black Sea region.

Ukrainian Volodymyr President Zelensky was right to accuse France and Germany of lukewarm commitment to the Minsk agreements. The agreements have not progressed in seven years and are now effectively dead. Worse still, the Normandy Format is at risk of threatening regional security amid rising German-U.S. tensions over Nord Stream 2, the end of German Chancellor Angela Merkels tenure and French President Emmanuel Macron calling for greater lenience for Russia.

A new negotiation platform is desperately needed. While it is impossible to find an effective short-term solution to the conflict in Ukraine without Russia, the U.S. should put its weight behind an alternative format that serves Eastern European security interests. The Crimea Platform is a strong place to start, as is Bidens proposed meeting with Putin in the coming weeks. The Budapest Memorandum, which secured Ukraines integrity and independence in 1994, could also be used as a guide in framing future negotiations. This format would offer the United Kingdom a more substantial role in negotiations.

The international community must also acknowledge that peace in Ukraine cannot be achieved with Russia at the negotiating table but the U.S. absent. For 30 years, Ukraine has borne the brunt of a series of Russian-instigated (and still unresolved) conflicts around the Black Sea. Russia has long been granted the right to sit across from its neighbor a neighbor it has repeatedly stolen from only to argue that the theft was justified without being held to account. Moscow has then been allowed to draw on the support of powerful economic allies in negotiation formats like the Normandy Format.

The same can be said for the intractable conflicts in Georgia, Moldova and Nagorno-Karabakh. Eastern Europes Western integration, as well as reasonable solutions for all Black Sea conflicts, will progress only if Washington is willing to counter Russias illegal and unfair territorial and political claims.

Finally, a comprehensive Black Sea strategy is critical if the Biden administration wants to prevent escalation and deter Russia long-term. Russias troop movements at the Ukrainian border should not be viewed in isolation from Russian maritime movement in the Black Sea. Russian aggression extends far beyond Ukraine to encompass the entire Eastern European region.

The military foundations of a Black Sea strategy have already been laid. With the support of its Allies, the U.S. has built NATO deterrence on the Eastern Flank, although there is much still to be achieved militarily. The Black Sea remains dominated by Russia aggression. NATO maritime deterrence and cooperation with non-NATO Georgia and Ukraine is the next step in reducing Russian dominance.

President BidenJoe BidenTroy Carter wins race to fill Cedric Richmond's Louisiana House seat NC sheriff to ask court to release bodycam footage of Andrew Brown shooting How schools can spend 0 billion responsibly MORE has from the outset signaled a sharper focus on corruption. But Western deterrence against Russia hybrid warfare has so far been limited to cyber, election interference and disinformation. A Black Sea strategy will only succeed in defending against Russia if the Biden administration prioritizes anti-corruption in the region, not least in Ukraine, where corruption has long opened the door to Russian influence.

The Biden administration has a unique opportunity to mitigate the risk of protracted insecurity in the Black Sea and military escalation with Russia, as well as to manage the inevitable long-term costs for the U.S. A free and secure Eastern Europe will be possible only if the U.S. offers its support in finding a peaceful solution for Ukraine, demands accountability and predictability in its relations with Russia and develops a comprehensive Black Sea strategy that addresses the full spectrum of hybrid deterrence.

On the other hand, if no action is taken and the West limits itself to statements of disapproval, there is a very real risk of the destruction of Ukraine. The first Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 led to thousands of fallen Ukrainians, millions displaced and NATOs reluctant strategic reorientation toward territorial defense and Russias deterrence. A second Russian invasion of Ukraine could put the countrys existence in question. Ultimately, it would reveal the Wests failure to deter Russia and an end to the dream of an Eastern Europe whole and free.

Iulia Joja is a senior fellow for the Middle East Institutes FrontierEuropeInitiative and an adjunctprofessoratGeorgetown University. Her research and teachings focus onEuropeanandBlack Sea security.

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Ukraine is an intractable problem, made worse by a lack of strategy | TheHill - The Hill