Greetings from Odesa, and the sun-kissed shores of the Black Sea.
In this week’s World Briefing Plus video, I unpack a dramatic 48 hours for Ukraine.
Kyiv’s negotiators sat through eight hours of talks in Miami, only for day two to be scrapped after it emerged that President Trump had, mid-negotiation, phoned Putin and agreed to lift sanctions on Russian diesel. The Ukrainian side is furious, and has vowed to keep hitting Russian energy infrastructure.
Even more troubling: Washington reportedly threatened, once again, to cut off the intelligence sharing that makes those long-range strikes possible.
And since I recorded this, things have only got worse: Trump is now echoing Putin’s line that Ukraine needs a new president. I’ll have more on that soon.
I also look at the shameful US reaction to the Nobel Peace Prize going to Navi Pillay, a richly deserved honour.
Then I take you outside with me for a walk along Odesa’s port and beachfront, with context and on-the-ground detail you simply won’t find anywhere else. This is what boots on the ground looks like.
The full video is just for paid subscribers. If you value independent reporting from places most foreign correspondents have left, please consider upgrading to World Briefing Plus. Your support directly funds this work, and there’s a great deal coming between now and the end of the year that I’d like you to be part of.
Thank you for being here!
