World Briefing Plus (Video): From Odesa to the Middle East - The World Is Burning and Washington Has Left the Building

Reporting from two front lines in one week: Odesa is bleeding, the Middle East is shifting, and paths to peace run through Islamabad and Ankara - not Washington

I’m coming to you live from Odesa - and I mean that literally. I filmed the World Briefing Plus video below just two to three hours after the last Russian drone crossed the morning sky. Last night was a relentless, all-night pummelling of this city. And in the past 48 hours, the port of Odesa - the very same Black Sea hub that feeds the world, that ships grain and fertilizer to millions - was also hit and damaged. Let that sink in.

Tonight, a 24-hour Orthodox Easter ceasefire is supposed to begin between Russia and Ukraine. But here’s my hot take: if Russia is bombing Odessa right up to the edge of that ceasefire, what does that tell you about how seriously they take peace? What kind of credible partner for negotiations attacks a city and its world port hours before a supposed truce?

And while all of this is happening, where is Washington? Donald Trump has at least twice threatened to withdraw weapons from Ukraine. JD Vance just came back from Hungary - not to confront Russia on its doorstep, but to accuse Ukraine of interfering in Hungarian and U.S. elections. You cannot make this up. The United States under Donald Trump is not a credible broker for peace in Ukraine. Full stop.

But here’s where it gets interesting - and hopeful. I also just returned from the Middle East. Two front lines in one week. And what I’m seeing is that a new architecture of diplomacy is emerging. Pakistan has stepped up as the lead interlocutor in Middle East peace talks. Gulf nations are at the table. These are players with real skin in the game - real stakes in what happens next. That’s what I argued on CNN today, and it’s what I believe deeply.

So here’s my argument for Ukraine: it’s time to look to Turkey. Ankara knows Russia. It knows Ukraine. It has massive interests in Black Sea security. It is a serious middle power with credibility on both sides. Let Turkey lead. Let the U.S. step back.

And one more thing - Ukraine has leverage it isn’t using. The same Iranian drones that are raining down on Ukraine are now threatening Gulf states like the UAE. Those countries need Ukrainian expertise and Ukrainian kit to defend themselves. That’s leverage. Ukraine should use it - pressing Gulf nations to pull the welcome mat from Putin’s oligarchs, restrict Russian tourism (at least temporarily), and make clear that business as usual with Moscow has a cost.

This is World Briefing Plus. I’ve been on two front lines this week so you don’t have to be. Let’s get into it. (World Briefing Plus is my subscriber-only video briefing - upgrade now to access the full deep dive into the forces shaping the week behind us, and the risks ahead.)