European leaders and Zelensky in London searching for 'new phase' to peace talks

Day 1,383.


Today, after a weekend marked by continued talks in Florida
between the Ukrainian and American delegations and President
Donald Trump’s comments blaming Zelensky for stalling
negotiations, the Ukrainian president meets British PM Keir
Starmer, French President Macron and German Chancellor Merz in
London today. The talks, which finished as we were recording this
episode, opened with Germany’s ‘scepticism’ of US peace proposals
and France’s assurance that ‘Europe had a lot of cards in its
hands.’ Meanwhile, Russia targets a dam near Kharkiv which
supplies water to Ukraine's second biggest city. Finally, we
discuss the US’s National Security Strategy and the current state
of Ukraine’s air defence. 


Contributors


Adélie Pojzman-Pontay (Journalist and Producer).
@adeliepjz on X.


Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls
on X.


With thanks to Michael Bohnert (RAND). @mbohnert on X.


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CONTENT REFERENCED:


Zelenskiy Says No Accord Yet on Ukraine’s East in US Talks,
Bloomberg News


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-08/zelenskiy-says-no-accord-so-far-on-eastern-ukraine-in-us-talks


Trump: Zelensky hasn’t even read my peace plan, The Telegraph


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


Kremlin: Trump’s new defence strategy ‘consistent’ with Russian
vision, The Telegraph


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/12/07/donald-trump-defence-strategy-russia-dmitry-peskov-kremlin/


France shielding €18bn Russian asset pot from EU ‘reparations
loan’ push, Financial times


https://www.ft.com/content/fe304bb8-d928-4b9b-8162-2000301be937


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