World Briefing Plus - Budapest, Again: Where Ukraine’s Promises Go to Die

From a frosty White House visit to a Putin–Trump summit in Hungary, the choreography of ‘peace’ looks more like déjà vu — and Ukraine’s pipelines may be the next bargaining chip.

This week on World Briefing Plus, we trace the whirlwind of diplomacy that’s left Ukraine out in the cold.

First came the marathon Putin–Trump call — two and a half hours of “constructive dialogue,” as both sides called it. Then came Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington, where promises were few and optics did most of the talking.

Even though the Ukrainian president arrived with what passes for currency in Washington these days — flattery — it wasn’t enough to convince Trump to hand over Tomahawk missiles.

Now, plans are firming for a Trump–Putin summit in Budapest — the same city where, three decades ago, Ukraine surrendered its nuclear arsenal in exchange for security guarantees that never held.

In this edition, I unpack the symbolism, the back-room calculations, and what it all means for Kyiv’s future, Europe’s security, and the global order Trump claims he can fix.

Regular followers, I invite you to view this taped interview I did with Times Radio (UK), recorded just after Trump and Putin agreed to meet in Hungary. You can watch it here

World Briefing Plus video below: exclusive to paid subscribers. Stay with me as I connect the dots between diplomacy, energy pipelines, and what might really be traded in Budapest.)