Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort, Palm Beach, Florida, December 28, 2025 (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
EA-Frontline VideoCast: Allying with Putin, Trump Betrays Ukraine
EA on Australia’s ABC: Ukraine — Russia’s War in the Black Sea
Thursday’s Coverage: Zelensky — Trump Has “Betrayed” Us
UPDATE 1624 GMT:
Pope Leo XIV has appealed to Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire allowing the delivery of food and medical assistance into Russian-occupied Oleshky in southern Ukraine.
Expressing his “grave concern”, the Pope asked for voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population of the city in the Kherson region.
Oleshky had a pre-invasion population of 24,000. Around 2,000 civilians, including 50 children, remain in the city and its surrounding villages.
Residents have sent messages that they are eating weeds in an effort to survive.
Ukrainian military authorities have attempted airdrops of emergency food, water, and medical supplies with large drones. It is unclear how much of the aid has been intercepted by the Russian military.
UPDATE 1454 GMT:
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says that he sees “no willingness on the Russian side to end this war”.
Against this backdrop, I believe it is appropriate, logical, and understandable for Ukraine to strike targets within Russia that hinder the war effort of the Russian government and the Russian army – including both communication and energy supply systems….
[This is] the only means Ukraine has to signal to Russia that it is prepared to defend itself.
UPDATE 1451 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked the European Union for another €70 billion ($79 billion) next year to fund Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
Zelensky told EU leaders that the war will cost €155 billion ($174 billion) in 2027: “And we need at least €70 billion more from you – for defense, for weapons, and for our resilience. This is a realistic amount.”
UPDATE 1431 GMT:
In his closed-door address to European Union leaders, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky implicitly addressed the Trump camp’s apparent betrayal of Ukraine:
I am grateful to all of you who are trying to keep Europe and the United States together. There are so many people with good hearts in America who sincerely want evil to lose and Ukraine to stand strong. These are the very hearts that helped Europe defend its freedom and that fought on D-Day, won the Cold War, and won what is best for Europe. Hearts that want to be allies, not to divide or humiliate Europe, and I believe most Americans still feel this way.
And at the end of the day, the American people will have their say.
Putin will listen to America if America really turns up the heat on him and makes one thing clear: either he chooses peace or he gets no more money for his war.
UPDATE 1412 GMT:
Asked about Donald Trump’s attacks on him, including that he is supposedly more difficult to deal with than Vladimir Putin, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said:
I’m only standing up for Ukraine’s interests. And no matter how Russia would like to limit all of our rights, it’s clear that we do have a right to defend ourselves.
He explained that Vladimir Putin “does not seek negotiations in any format” but only “playing these games of words”: “He does not want the war to end.”
Zelensky asked about the Trump diesel deal with Russia, which could be followed by gas agreements or other attempts to lift sanctions on Russia or its frozen assets, “If I don’t stand up to this, if I don’t defend it, who else will do this diplomatically?”
He continues that Russia’s demands are not just about territory but about “our country’s existence”. Putin “wants to destroy us” and “does not respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
The President summarized, “We’re now standing and fighting. What’s the alternative? Annihilation.”
UPDATE 1144 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken about air defense and the White House’s restrictions on Starshield, the military service of Starlink.
He said of the critical situation with air defense interceptors, “We are picking them up where we can: one or two here, five there, ten there, arranging all of this and bringing them to Ukraine.”
Zelensky said Ukraine’s requests for further help are “the bare minimum” needed. He was confident that European countries have enough interceptors to share and “go through this winter”.
He said that Starshield has been restored, but not yet to previous speeds needed for the frontline and air defenses.
Starlink was not turned off, but the speed limits were lowered…and we were incapable of shooting down some Shahed drones, and were no longer able to use one of the tools to protect our population.
Jet-powered Shaheds move at 400 km/h, he noted, and the Starshield speed limits were reduced to 70 km/h.
Our Defense ministry is in touch and my partners, they told me that there were signals from the White House that they would return these capabilities. Have they returned the previous, previous, speed limits? No. But is it coming back now? Yes.
UPDATE 1130 GMT:
Hungary’s Prime Minister Péter Magyar has commented on his first meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Magyar replaced the pro-Kremlin Viktor Orbán, who had led Hungary the previous 12 years, after victory in April’s Parliamentary elections.
Magyar welcomed the Ukrainian Parliament’s adoption of a new law on minority education, including for ethnic Hungarians, as “a first step towards restoring mutual trust”. He said the two sides will “continue consultations … at the ministerial level”: “We agreed that it is in the interest of both countries to place their political and economic relations on a new foundation.”
Magyar declared his solidarity with Zelensky “in the face of inhumane Russian aggression against his country”: “Hungary stands ready to provide assistance, through all available diplomatic means, towards achieving an immediate ceasefire and a lasting peace.”
UPDATE 1124 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed his meeting, at the European Union summit, with European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Zelensky cited the latest Russian attacks, including the murder of two civilians and injuring of 17 in Kharkiv city.
Right now, there are no signals from Russia that it is ready to end its war. The signals it is sending point to something entirely different and certainly do not bring peace any closer….
European leadership is needed to ensure that people’s lives are sufficiently protected from this Russian terror.
Zelensky cited discussions on air defense, energy, financial resilience, and Ukraine’s candidacy for EU membership.
UPDATE 0853 GMT:
At least three civilians have been murdered and seven injured in Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv by Russian strikes.
Around 370,000 customers lost power in the Volyn region in western Ukraine as Russia damaged civilian and critical infrastructure facilities.
Ukraine’s air defenses intercepted 114 of 149 drones fired by Russia overnight. Strikes were recorded at 24 locations.
UPDATE 0846 GMT:
Ukraine’s supply of Patriot interceptor missiles is critically low, say Kyiv’s officials.
One said “only a couple” of Patriot missiles remain, after an October 7 supply of ten was depleted to counter Russian attacks on Kyiv. Another said there are no missiles at all.
UPDATE 0829 GMT:
Arriving with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a European Union leaders’ meeting in Brussels, European Council President António Costa said the EU’s support to Ukraine “remains as strong as ever”.
In an implicit message to the Trump Administration, Costa made clear:
This is no time to withdraw the support to Ukraine. This is no time to relieve Russia’s sanctions.
This is essential to bring Russia to accept a real ceasefire, to bring Russia to the table of negotiations and to stop this war.
He said to Zelensky, “You can count on us not only to support you in war, but most important for your future as a member of the European Union.”
Von der Leyen called out Moscow’s attacks on energy infrastructure and said, “One thing is absolutely clear: we will not lift any sanctions unless Russia stops the war.”
She said discussions will include support for Kyiv through the winter and defining Ukraine’s path to the European Union as two more “negotiating clusters” are opened, bringing the total to four of six required for accession.
Zelensky responded that he is happy to have “huge support” from “leaders, real leaders”. Ukraine wants the war to end as soon as possible, but there are “no signals from the Russian side that they are ready to end this war.
“That’s why we have to prepare for the winter” over defense and energy, he explained.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: The White House issued the order to limit Ukraine’s access to Starshield, the military version of Starlink, earlier this week, according to “two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter”.
The restriction scuttled Ukrainian missions on the frontline and undermined Ukraine’s air defenses, putting civilians and US personnel at risk from Russia’s missile and drone strikes.
The officials said leaders at the Defense Department received a message that the service for the Ukrainian military needed to be slowed. They did not identify who in the White House made the decision or who was responsible for implementing the order.
A “senior US official” denied that the request came from Donald Trump.
Ukrainian officials said service had been restored on Thursday. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and UK counterpart Wes Streeting, meeting in Washington, highlighted the restoration. They did not explain the cause of the outage although Streeting said, “This is not the first time we’ve seen a falling out between Washington and Kyiv.”
Allies rallied behind Ukraine at a European Union summit in Brussels, attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said it was “crucial” that Ukraine receive “all the means necessary to protect itself” after meeting Zelensky. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted, “I can reassure you, dear Ukrainian friends and President Zelensky: YOU ARE NOT ALONE.”
On Thursday, after the latest Russian strikes, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky also referred to the cutoff of early-warning intelligence and Donald Trump’s agreement to purchase Russian diesel fuel:
It is important that our partners help us defend against this. Residential buildings, stores, energy and other critical infrastructure are under attack virtually nonstop. Not a single hour of peace.
What is happening is Russia’s pointed response to the signals it is receiving from America. Unfortunately, there are dangerous signals about the possibility of further sanctions relief.
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