Ukraine’s former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi warns that Russia’s unchanging goal after 12 years of conflict remains the destruction of Ukraine’s statehood — and that any premature peace would risk national collapse.

In a reflection on the course of the war, Zaluzhnyi says Ukraine entered the 2022 invasion underfunded and ill-equipped, while Russia had been steadily expanding its military capabilities.

He credits the “heroism” of Ukrainian troops and citizens for blocking Moscow’s plan for a swift takeover of Kyiv.

After that failure, he argues, Russia shifted to a long-term strategy of attrition, fortifying its economy, propaganda apparatus and military reserves while drawing Ukraine into a grinding conflict.

The limited gains seen in 2024–25, he says, show how effective this approach has been for Moscow.

Zaluzhnyi warns that Russia aims not only for battlefield victories but for a simultaneous breakdown of Ukraine’s military, political and economic stability — and that without a coherent Western security plan, the conflict could widen into Eastern Europe.

He insists Ukraine still seeks full victory but must also consider a durable peace that would allow reforms, reconstruction and anti-corruption efforts.

Such progress, however, is impossible without serious security guarantees: NATO membership, the deployment of allied forces, or even nuclear deterrence on Ukrainian soil.

With none of these options currently offered, Zaluzhnyi concludes that the war is likely to continue, and Ukraine’s central objective must be to prevent Russia from having the capability to attack again in the future.

Source: The Telegraph

US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack on Türkiye-Greece relations:

It makes no sense for two great countries that are bound to each other to still have resentment over things that happened hundreds and thousands of years ago.

Source: Kathimerini

US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack:

President Trump is a student of history.

Maduro and his associates have reached out to Washington through several backchannels, and officials say ongoing discussions are exploring what future communication might look like.

Source: CNN

MORE: Turkish MoD releases video showing Bayraktar KIZILELMA’s historic achievement.

NEW: Netanyahu has submitted a request for a pardon to Israeli President Herzog.

Nigeria: The army killed four militants in an operation in eastern Taraba and seized weapons and ammunition.

Pope Leo XIV has departed Istanbul for Beirut.

Many Ukrainian troops say Trump’s proposed peace plan — which would require Ukraine to give up the Donbas and limit its military — feels like capitulation, not compromise.

From the front line near Pokrovsk, senior sergeant Volodymyr Rzhavskyi said the idea of recognizing Russian control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions is “a real surrender.”

He and other soldiers insist they won’t abandon territory they still defend.

Source: NBC News

NEW: India plans to begin talks with Russia on buying Su-57 fighter jets and the S-500 missile defense system during Putin’s visit.

The discussions come despite pressure from the Trump administration to scale back India-Russia defense ties.

India and Russia maintain a long-standing strategic partnership, and Moscow remains India’s biggest weapons supplier.

With the Indian Air Force facing a fighter shortage, officials say Russian jets would be easier to integrate and maintain, and the Su-57’s long-range missiles would significantly boost capability.

Source: Bloomberg

Reuters:

Venezuela’s defense strategy is built on asymmetric warfare, not direct confrontation.

If the U.S. strikes, the military plans to disperse nationwide, using sabotage, ambushes, and guerrilla-style attacks from more than 280 hidden positions.

A second plan, known internally as “anarchization,” would activate intelligence units and armed pro-government groups to create chaos in Caracas and make the country difficult to control.

Trump:

Crooked Joe Biden, Mayorkas, and so-called “Border Czar” Kamala Harris really screwed our Country by letting anyone and everyone come in totally unchecked and unvetted!

NATO is preparing for the possibility of facing Russia with far less help from the US as Washington pulls back troops and focuses on Asia.

A large wargame in Romania showed European forces — led by France — practicing defense largely on their own, revealing serious weaknesses in logistics, air defense, intelligence and long-range strike capabilities that still depend heavily on the US.

Source: Bloomberg

Aboard his flight from Istanbul to Beirut, Pope Leo XIV said the Holy See continues to view a two-state solution as the only path to a just resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Marco Rubio:

This is not just about ending a war. This is about ending a war in a way that creates a mechanism and a way forward that will allow Ukraine to be independent and sovereign, never have another war again, and create tremendous prosperity for its people.

CENTCOM:

Between Nov. 24–27, U.S. Central Command and the Syrian Ministry of Interior located and destroyed more than 15 ISIS weapons-cache sites across Syria’s Rif Damashq province.

U.S. personnel from CJTF–Operation Inherent Resolve and Syrian forces conducted coordinated airstrikes and ground demolitions, eliminating over 130 mortars and rockets, multiple small arms, machine guns, anti-tank mines, IED materials, and illicit drugs.

📸 Steve Witkoff during today’s meeting with the Ukrainian delegation.

Marco Rubio:

We don't just want to end the war, we also want to help Ukraine be safe forever.

So never again will they face another invasion.

Trump: Ukraine has some difficult problems.

Reporter: What do you mean by that?

Trump: They have a corruption situation going on, which is not helpful. But there is a good chance we can make a deal.

Reporter: Does your warning for Venezuela mean that an airstrike is imminent? Or should we not read it that way?

Trump: Don't read anything into it.

BIG: Trump confirms that he had a phone call with Maduro.