Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican, December 9, 2025

EA on International Outlets: Trump’s Racist “Strategy” Abandons America’s Allies

Tuesday’s Coverage: Europe Supports Kyiv v. Russia and Trump

UPDATE 0706 GMT:

Pope Leo XIV has criticized the Trump Administration’s breaking of the US alliance with Europe and denouncing of the continent’s nations as a threat.

At a meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Vatican on Monday, the Pope said the document would “make a huge change in what was for many, many years a true alliance between Europe and the United States”. Donald Trump’s comments indicated an effort “trying to break apart what I think needs to be an alliance today and in the future”.

He noted that while some people in the US may agree with the document, “I think many others would see things in a different way.”

The Pope also supported Ukraine against the Trump camp’s pressure to capitulate to Russia.

Seeking a peace agreement without including Europe in the talks is unrealistic, given the war is in Europe. Guarantees are also being sought for security today and in the future.

Europe must be part of this, and unfortunately not everyone understands this, but I think there is a great opportunity for European leaders to unite and seek a solution together.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Resisting Donald Trump’s pressure to capitulate to Russia’s invasion, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is ready to hold elections within 60 to 90 days — if the security of the country is guaranteed.

Working with Vladimir Putin’s senior economic advisor Kirill Dmitriev, Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have developed a Kremlin proposal in which Ukraine would give up all of the strategic Donetsk region in the east. The rest of the country would be kept permanently weak, with a ban on entry into NATO, limits on troop levels, and restrictions of Western assistance.

Ukraine’s European partners have countered with a proposal beginning with a ceasefire on current frontlines. Ukraine’s NATO membership would not be permanently barred, although it would not occur in the foreseeable future. Western aid for security guarantees would continue, and the US would not take 50% of the profits from Ukraine’s fund for recovery.

Ukraine officials said on Monday that Witkoff and Kushner are demanding that Zelensky agree to Russia’s seizure of Donetsk, including in a two-hour call on Saturday: “It felt like the US was trying to sell us in different ways the Russian desire to take the whole of Donbas and that the Americans wanted Zelensky to accept all of it.”

A person with knowledge of the timeline said Trump was hoping for a deal “by Christmas”.

Zelensky: “I Am Ready for Elections”

Trump snapped in an interview with Politico published on Tuesday, “They haven’t had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy any more.”

The jab echoed the Kremlin’s long-time line that the Zelensky Government is illegitimate. Early this year, when he cut off all US support of Ukraine’s resistance, Trump lied that Zelensky was a “dictator” with only 4% support among Ukrainians.

Zelensky responded on Tuesday evening, “Since this question is raised today by the President of the United States of America, our partners, I will answer very briefly: look, I am ready for elections.”

He pushed back, “This is a question for the people of Ukraine, not people from other states, with all due respect to our partners”.

Then he set the condition: “I am asking … the United States to help me, possibly together with European colleagues, to ensure security for the elections, and then in the next 60 to 90 days Ukraine will be ready to hold [them].”

Zelensky’s five-year term expired in May 2024, but the Ukrainian Constitution prohibits elections under martial law. There is a cross-party consensus that security and political considerations do not allow for the conduct of a vote.

“It would only cause harm,” said Serhiy Rakhmanin, an MP from the opposition Holos party. “He’s the commander-in-chief, and the country is in a position where we don’t have that luxury, whatever issues we might have with him. It would only help the enemy.

Zelensky said he will take advice from allies on security, and from MPs on amendment of the Constitution to allow for elections.

Zelensky-Europe’s 3 Documents to End Russia’s Invasion

After two days of meetings with European partners, Zelensky said on Tuesday night that they are working on three documents to end Russia’s invasion: a framework peace agreement, security guarantees, and reconstruction.

The framework has 20 points, in comparison with the 28 in the Kremlin-Witkoff-Kushner proposal. The President said it “keeps evolving” as it must reflect “the interests of Ukraine, Europe, and the world”.

On security guarantees, he said, “I’m waiting for proposals from our military and from their dialogue with the Americans”. As Washington “is not yet ready to see Ukraine in NATO”, the priority is effective guarantees from Europe and, critically, from the US.

The US said they want Ukraine to have realistic security guarantees this time, approved by Congress, so that we can feel them, so that we have weapons.

If needed, sanctions would be applied, so that we have air defense, and it should be [NATO] Article 5-like….But we haven’t worked out the details yet.