Trump’s Ukraine peace deal 'on brink of collapse' as US President tears into 'stupid, weak' European leaders

Day 1,384.


Today, as President Zelensky appears to reject Donald Trump’s
proposal for Ukraine to cede territory to Moscow, we examine the
new European plan set to be presented to the US later. We also
report on how Ukrainian troops are still holding out in the
frontline city of Pokrovsk, before turning to developments inside
Russia: Putin’s new law requiring 100,000 military reservists to
undergo two months of training, growing protests over tax rises,
and the outcomes of his visit to India, where he signed a series
of deals with Prime Minister Modi.


Contributors


Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley
on X.


Dom Nicholls (Associate Editor for Defence). @DomNicholls on X.


James Kilner (Foreign Correspondent). @jkjourno on X.


SIGN UP TO THE ‘UKRAINE: THE LATEST’ WEEKLY
NEWSLETTER:


http://telegraph.co.uk/ukrainenewsletter  


Each week, Dom Nicholls and Francis Dearnley answer your
questions, provide recommended reading, and give exclusive
analysis and behind-the-scenes insights – plus maps of the
frontlines and diagrams of weapons to complement our daily
reporting. It’s free for everyone, including non-subscribers.


CONTENT REFERENCED:


Trump’s Ukraine peace deal on brink of collapse (The Telegraph):


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/12/08/ukraine-russia-war-latest-starmer-zelensky-trump-putin/ 


Zelensky meets Pope ahead of peace talks with Meloni (The
Telegraph):


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/12/09/zelensky-appeals-for-european-support-for-new-peace-deal/ 


Ukrainians raise flag to show BBC the fight goes on in city
claimed by Russia (BBC):


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd6x3vv7y60o 


Trump thrashes European leaders in wide-ranging interview: ‘I
think they’re weak’ (POLITICO):


https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/09/trump-dasha-burns-interview-europe-immigration-ukraine-00682016?utm_content=topic/politics&utm_source=flipboard 


Zelensky reveals candidates for Yermak's replacement as
Presidential Office head (Kyiv Independent):


https://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-reveals-candidates-for-new-head-of-ukraines-presidents-office/ 


Trumpian Corruption Is Worse Than Ukrainian Corruption (Anne
Applebaum in The Atlantic):


https://www.theatlantic.com/international/2025/12/ukraine-fighting-corruption-trump/685162/ 


Exclusive: US extracted top spy from inside Russia in 2017 (The
Telegraph):


https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/09/politics/russia-us-spy-extracted 


LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST IN NEW LANGUAGES:


The Telegraph has launched translated versions of Ukraine: The
Latest in Ukrainian and Russian, making its reporting accessible
to audiences on both sides of the battle lines and across the
wider region, including Central Asia and the Caucasus. Just
search Україна: Останні Новини (Ukr) and Украина: Последние
Новости (Ru) on your on your preferred podcast app to find them.
Listen here: https://linktr.ee/ukrainethelatest


Subscribe: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatest


Email: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.