The United States is facing down an existential threat right now.
That existential threat comes from a lack of willpower. It comes from a doubt about what America is. But in terms of foreign policy, that existential threat comes from a team-up that has been growing.
That team-up is between China — which is really the sponsor state of the anti-American bloc — and its friends like Russia and Iran.
The existential threat doesn&#8217;t mean that China is going to attack the United States.
It does mean that as the United States recedes from the world, Russia will expand its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. China will expand its sphere of influence, not just in the Far East, but also in Africa, across the rest of Asia into South America. The United States is going to be in the unenviable position of having to withdraw from the world, and we will no longer be able to guarantee freedom of the seas.
A United States with no economic allies, a United States that is a secondary partner for all the rest of these countries while China is a primary partner, is a United States that has an economy that is shrinking, a United States that is forced within its own borders.
That is a problem.
There is this bizarre notion that has arisen on the Right that if the United States were to be essentially an autarky and withdraw from the rest of the world, suddenly things would get better. The belief that the amount that we expend in foreign aid, for example, or military expenditure, is a complete waste of money, and if we just spent that money at home, then magically everything would get better.
The problem, of course, is that the world is interconnected. The reason that you can obtain better, cheaper products that make your life easier every single day is because the interconnection of world trade makes that possible. And that, of course, is only possible because of the power of the United States economy and the power of the United States military.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2330-member-exclusive?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=The+Ben+Shapiro+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Why do I bring that up? Because China seems to be posing a broader and broader threat, and yet there is a bizarre unwillingness on the Left to acknowledge the threat that is China.
And on the Right, there seems to be an unwillingness to deal with the actual realities of what it would mean to face down China in a responsible and coherent fashion.
In the West, there is the bizarre perception that what we ought to do is radically increase tariffs, not just on China — which would be retaliatory and worthwhile — but on everywhere else. 
That is a gigantic mistake. And it leads to questions about the overall policy of the United States vis-à-vis China.
What exactly are we trying to do vis-à-vis China? 
I&#8217;ve made the case that if you wish to face down China, you have to do a few things. One is that you need closer trade and security relationships, not more attenuated relationships, with other countries surrounding China, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and India.
Better relations with those countries will help box in and essentially isolate China. If China wants to cheat, if they don&#8217;t want to play by the rules, if China wishes to beggar its neighbor, let them pursue an autarkic economic policy.
Autarky tends to make the country pursuing it poorer over time. Initially, it looks like an explosion of economic activity, but over time, as countries start pouring resources into less efficient modes of manufacturing in order to do it at home, rather than to import those products from abroad, they tend to empty themselves out.
This is the common pattern in economics. Every mercantilist or fascist economic system that has worked like this shows very good early growth numbers. And then that growth curve eventually peters out, and the country ends up with economic stagnation.
This happened in Japan. It happened in South Korea. If you go back prior to World War II, this happened in Germany. One of the reasons that Germany, under the Nazis, had to become an expansionist power is because Germany tried to pursue economic autarky in the 1930s, and they saw, for a brief moment in time, a gigantic manufacturing boom, people getting off unemployment lines, moving out of the Weimar Republic era.
But as it turns out, they were doing that based on state expenditures that made them less economically viable over the long term. And so then they had to turn to actual physical territorial expansionism.
Autarky very often turns into a necessity for expanding your access to resources, which leads to invasions of other countries. It is not a coincidence that countries that tend to embrace a strong mercantilist policy, an economic policy that focuses on “Let&#8217;s build everything right here at home,” find that when they can’t, they have to expand their own territorial borders or the places under their immediate dominion.
Free trade generally means that you don&#8217;t have to invade other places because you can trade with those other places.
So, when you look at China, how would you stop China? We need to build up better security and economic relationships in the Far East, and also build up better security and economic relationships with Europe.
That means that we can use tariffs as a way to force the Europeans to get rid of their non-tariff barriers. One of the ways I would be forcing the Europeans to pay their fair share is by using things like tariffs, in order to push the Europeans to pay their fair share. When it comes to, for example, the price of pharmaceuticals, Europe pays far less than what the actual market rate should be for pharmaceuticals, and then the United States ends up paying for that via our taxpayers and via our consumers.
That’s just the way that it works. We should stop that.
There are things that we can do to fight the non-tariff barriers and also the unfairness of our systems with Europe. But in the end, we should be pursuing freer trade and better relationships. 
That’s because if you&#8217;re going to box in China, you need to offer both the carrot and the stick to China, but just carrots to our friends. 
When it comes to offering carrots for our friends, we can offer a little bit of the stick in order to achieve the carrot. That is why I&#8217;m not against using tariffs as a way to pressure other countries to lower their tariffs. This is a case that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has made.
You need to box China in. You need to treat them like the adversary they are.
You need to build out other lines of supply. You need supply chains that are diversified, so we&#8217;re not as reliant on China.
You need to cut off China&#8217;s allies at the knees. If we believe, as we should, that Russia is a geopolitical adversary of the United States, then obviously we should be pursuing an attempt to get Russia to stop invading Eastern Europe.
And that means supporting allies in the region to the extent necessary to stop the Russians, because it&#8217;s not as though Russia and China aren&#8217;t talking to each other. They&#8217;re talking very extensively to each other.
If we are attempting to form a better relationship with India, then we should be attempting to form a better relationship with them. We should be trying to make trade relations with India so beneficial to India that they don&#8217;t want to trade with the Chinese. There are natural differences in opinion between China and India, which have nearly come to blows several times over the course of the last several decades.
India and China are not working hand in glove. They have actual territorial conflicts. We could be attempting to pry India out of China&#8217;s sphere of influence. 
These are all things that a responsible foreign policy would do.
And then we certainly would not be shipping many of the most important components in the battle for the future to China.
China is already stealing our intellectual property. China is already cheating when it comes to trade relationships. China is already badgering its neighbors. Why should we be sending some of our most sophisticated microchips produced in the United States? Why should we be allowing those to flow into China? Even if we&#8217;re going to argue that it&#8217;s only a marginal increase in China&#8217;s capacity, why would we allow that increase in China&#8217;s capacity?
China is our geopolitical enemy. They are our opponent. Trying to pretend otherwise is foolish because if you allow China to continue pursuing its normal policies, China will blow itself out.
China has a serious demographic problem. It does not have enough people. China is in steep demographic decline. Even though they have a billion people, they do not have enough human beings to be able to generate the economic growth necessary to pay for their gigantic redistributionist schemes and mercantilist ideas.
They have an enormous debt problem. They&#8217;ve been burying that debt problem in local and regional debt issues, and then building gigantic empty cities rooted in debt that they&#8217;re taking out from their own citizens and against their own citizens.
We tend to look at the fact that China builds some nice things and say, “Wow, they must be doing it right.”
But the fact is that mercantilism looks systematic when you look at the areas where it succeeds, but looks like a trash heap when you look at the areas where it doesn&#8217;t succeed. The areas where you don&#8217;t succeed in a centralized economy are the areas that tend to be ignored, and there are a lot of them.
Capitalism looks really messy, but it has a much higher hit rate because capital follows the best ideas. You don&#8217;t just keep investing in bad ideas the way you do with a centralized economic system, like China.
There are ways to box in China.
The question is whether the United States will actually do it.

China trade cargo container hanging against clouds background

What Do We Do About China?

Ben Shapiro

China

Economy

Foreign Policy

India

Opinion

Russia

Tariffs

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remained committed to retaining all Ukrainian territory on Monday, pushing back against a key demand in the Trump-initiated proposal to end the war.
After meeting with European leaders to discuss the peace proposal, Zelensky suggested that Ukrainian leaders lacked the authority to give up land and would continue to fight to defend all of its territory.
“Under our laws, under international law — and under moral law — we have no right to give anything away,” Zelensky said, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/12/08/europe-ukraine-leaders-trump-plan/">The Washington Post</a>. “That is what we are fighting for.”
President Donald Trump told <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/09/donald-trump-full-interview-transcript-00681693">POLITICO</a> in a wide-ranging interview that was released on Tuesday that Ukraine needs to &#8220;play ball,&#8221; adding that &#8220;Russia has the upper hand.&#8221;
&#8220;They’re much bigger. They’re much stronger in that sense. I give the people of Ukraine and the military of Ukraine tremendous credit for the bravery and for the fighting and all of that. But you know, at some point, size will win, generally,&#8221; Trump added.
Trump&#8217;s 28-point peace plan, which is on the table before Zelensky and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/ukraine/trump-zelenskyy-hasnt-read-russia-ukraine-peace-plan-war-europe-putin-rcna247956" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> requires Ukraine to hand over some of its territory to Russia in exchange for the United States giving Ukraine security guarantees. Trump told POLITICO that Zelensky needs to &#8220;get on the ball and start accepting things.&#8221;
The two biggest hurdles to a peace deal are territorial disputes over Ukraine&#8217;s Donbas region and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg. Russian forces now control most of the Donbas, but Ukraine has not given up the region. Kellogg said over the weekend that Ukraine and Russia are &#8220;really, really close&#8221; to a deal, but Zelensky&#8217;s latest remark and comments from Russian officials suggest otherwise.
Putin’s top foreign policy aide said on Sunday that the United States needs to make “radical changes” to its proposal before Russia moves forward with a deal.
The president said that Russia&#8217;s continued missile strikes on Ukraine, which have killed dozens of civilians in recent weeks, are &#8220;a sad thing for humanity.&#8221;
On Sunday, Trump said that he was &#8220;disappointed&#8221; in Zelensky&#8217;s lack of movement on peace negotiations, accusing the Ukrainian leader of not reading the proposal to end the Ukraine-Russia war.
&#8220;His people love it, but he has it. Russia is fine with it … but I’m not sure Zelensky is fine with it,&#8221; Trump said.
Trump also called on Zelensky to hold an election, something Ukraine has not done since the beginning of the war in February 2022.
&#8220;I think it’s an important time to hold an election. They’re using war not to hold an election, but, I would think the Ukrainian people should have that choice,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;And maybe Zelensky would win. I don’t know who would win. But they haven’t had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore.&#8221;

Trump/Zelensky

Zelensky Vows Not To Cede Territory As Trump Says Russia Has ‘Upper Hand’

Donald Trump

Global Politics

Politics

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

Trump leans on both Ukraine and Russia as peace negotiations grind on, Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak heads to Capitol Hill, and a new memo reveals Biden knew his immigration policies would have chaotic consequences—and chose to proceed anyway.
It’s Tuesday, December 9, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251209-member-exclusive">video version can be seen on The Daily Wir</a>e:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Zelensky Rallies European Support Amid U.S. Peace Talks</h2>
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Topline: President Zelensky met with European leaders on Monday to rally support for the war.
State of play: Peace talks have made some progress over the past few weeks, but that progress has stalled. After President Trump <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1997812364931195249">appeared</a> frustrated on Sunday and suggested that Zelensky was ignoring the peace plan, the Ukrainian president addressed the current framework on Monday.
According to Zelensky, the disagreement is over the Donbas region in Ukraine’s east. The Trump administration reportedly wants Ukraine to hand over control of the rest of the Donbas to Russia, which controls most of it already. In return, Ukraine would get security guarantees and financing to help rebuild. But Zelensky says he can’t because the Ukrainian constitution forbids ceding territory that way.
Zelensky’s corner: Zelensky wants a freeze along the current lines of the conflict. And he doesn’t appear to be alone. European leaders seem frustrated, too.
Zelensky appeared in London on Monday and met with the E3, or the top leaders in Europe: U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“The principles remain the principles that we&#8217;ve operated on for a very, very long time, which is that we stand with Ukraine. If there&#8217;s to be a ceasefire, it needs to be a just and lasting ceasefire,” <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1998077179251261884">said</a> Starmer.
Merz was the most vocal about disagreements with the United States:
“We are still and remain strongly behind Ukraine and giving support to your country because we all know that the destiny of [Ukraine] is the destiny of Europe,” <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1998077179251261884">said</a> Merz. “I&#8217;m skeptical about some of the details which we are seeing in the documents coming from the U.S. side, but we have to talk about that.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Daily Wire To Testify Before Congress </h2>
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Topline: Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak will testify to the Senate on Wednesday as an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daily-wires-luke-rosiak-will-testify-before-the-senate-on-massive-federal-dei-scheme">expert</a> on what he calls the government’s longest-running, largest, and most corrupt DEI program. Morning Wire spoke to Rosiak ahead of his appearance in the Senate. (The following interview has been lightly edited.)
Morning Wire: The Senate Small Business Committee oversees the Small Business Administration and its government-wide minority contracting program called 8(a) or “set-aside contracting.&#8221; Luke, you’re getting prepared to testify–that’s very exciting. First, how did this come about–it’s actually years in the making, right?
Rosiak: About 15 years ago, I was sitting in a cafe doing some computer programming when I got offered a job. A well-dressed black man was sitting next to me and said he noticed that I was programming in C++, and that he needed to hire some people quickly for the computer programming company he owned.
The problem is I was coding in a different language that looks nothing like C++. I tried to figure out how he owned a computer company and didn’t know that. He said it was an 8(a) contract from the government, and that he just gets contracts and then finds people to do the work.
It struck me that this is a pretty poor way to run the government. I’m not even a professional computer programmer; I just dabble in it. But for all I know, he was ready to hire me to build some sensitive government system.
Anyway, instead of taking the job, I dug into this 8(a) program, and what I found was that that’s more or less exactly how it works.
Morning Wire: Explain to us–what exactly is going on here?
Rosiak: If you’re a racial minority, the government can give you a contract without trying to find the best price or the best person.
More than five percent of all federal contracts are reserved for minorities and women, who are often really just men who put their company in their wife’s name. The program was created in 1978 to help black people, but now it’s gone really off the rails. Indians get preference for contracts even though they have a higher median income than whites, and they’re overrepresented in fields like IT, which didn’t even exist prior to the civil rights era. 
Morning Wire: So some of the people receiving these preferential U.S. government contracts are actually foreigners, people who are minorities because they’re immigrants.
Rosiak: Yes. But what I’m going to tell the Senate is that the scandal here is a little different than you might think. It’s really a loophole exploited by the government and big corporations, you heard Accenture mentioned in that video, to circumvent competitive bidding.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Early Warnings About Border Chaos</h2>
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Topline: A new report reveals that former President Biden was told he could’ve stopped illegal immigration, but chose not to during his tenure in the White House. 
A shocking <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/us/politics/biden-immigration-trump.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The New York Times said that President Biden was warned while on the campaign trail, before he even assumed office, that some of his immigration policies would lead to political chaos. That&#8217;s exactly what happened as the consequences of Biden’s policies began to unfold at the border.
The record amounts of illegal immigration that swamped the border, then towns, then major cities, drove the immigration issue to become a priority for voters in the next election. The issue also likely played a major role in President Trump&#8217;s victory.
According to The New York Times, there were a number of memos and meetings where aides and experts brought up immigration and warned the Biden team that his policies needed to be stricter or the border would descend into what it became, which was millions of illegal immigrants coming across in a free-for-all.
In a 2020 memo from aides cautioned Biden’s “inner circle” “that his promises—coupled with pent-up demand from the Trump years and economic hardship from Covid—could provoke a spike in border crossings,” according to the Times.
The memo offered potential solutions to tighten permissions for illegal border crossers, “including making it easier to quickly reject asylum claims; holding people in ‘reception centers’ until their cases could be heard; transferring some migrants to other countries; and continuing to make some asylum seekers wait in Mexico, while ensuring they had access to shelter,” the Times reported.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda: After the fact, many former officials are saying there were many mistakes made on the Biden team and by Biden himself, who knowingly went against this advice. They scrapped rules such as asylum restrictions and remain in Mexico, which kept people in Mexico rather than releasing them into the United States after they crossed illegally.
After the changes, the number of illegal crossings ticked up–8 million illegal immigrants crossed into the country and many were released. Border authorities conducted poor vetting because Biden wanted a very quick, expeditious process. That let in terrorists, traffickers, and cartel members that led to chaos across the country, such as in Aurora, Colorado, where Tren de Aragua took over apartment complexes.

Luke Rosiak

Morning Brief: Get A Sneak Peak Of Daily Wire Investigative Reporter Luke Rosiak’s Senate Testimony

Emmanuel Macron

Immigration

Joe Biden

Keir Starmer

Morning Wire

Small Business Administration

The Daily Wire

President Donald Trump called out Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, accusing him of not acting on the Trump administration&#8217;s proposal to end the Ukraine-Russia war.
Speaking to reporters at the Kennedy Center on Sunday evening, Trump <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1997812364931195249">suggested</a> that his team&#8217;s discussions with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Zelensky have been held up by the Ukrainian president.
&#8220;I have to say that I&#8217;m a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn&#8217;t yet read the proposal. That was as of a few hours ago,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;His people love it, but he has it. Russia is fine with it &#8230; but I&#8217;m not sure Zelensky is fine with it.&#8221;
Zelensky said on Sunday that he spoke with Trump&#8217;s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the president&#8217;s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, but that the conversation was &#8220;not easy,&#8221; NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/ukraine/trump-zelenskyy-hasnt-read-russia-ukraine-peace-plan-war-europe-putin-rcna247956">reported</a>.
“The American envoys are aware of Ukraine’s core positions, and the conversation was constructive, though not easy,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1997797626931023883">added</a> in a post on social media that Ukraine wants to see Russia &#8220;held accountable for what it is doing — for the daily strikes, for the constant terror against our people, and for the war itself.&#8221;
&#8220;Ukraine deserves a dignified peace, and whether there will be peace depends entirely on Russia – on our collective pressure on Russia and on the sound negotiating positions of the United States, Europe, and all our other partners,&#8221; the Ukrainian president said.
Zelensky is set to meet with European leaders in London, Brussels, and Rome on Monday as Europe attempts to influence the Trump-initiated peace talks while watching from the outside.
While Trump said that Russia &#8220;is fine with&#8221; the proposed peace deal, Putin&#8217;s top foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said on Sunday that the United States needs to make &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-envoy-says-ukraine-peace-deal-is-close-but-moscow-wants-radical-change?author=Reuters&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=U.S.+Envoy+says+Ukraine+Peace+Deal+Is+Close%2C+But+Moscow+Wants+Radical+Change">radical changes</a>&#8221; to its proposal. Ushakov did not specify what exactly the Kremlin wanted from the United States or Ukraine, but added that Putin discussed &#8220;territorial problems&#8221; with Witkoff and Kushner during a four-hour meeting in Moscow last week.
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Russia has been pushing for control of the Donbas region of Ukraine. Putin&#8217;s forces now control most of the Donbas, but Ukraine is holding onto part of the region as the war continues. The two biggest hurdles remaining in the peace negotiations are territorial disputes over the Donbas and Ukraine&#8217;s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg.
Kellogg said that Russia and Ukraine are &#8220;really, really close&#8221; to a deal.
“If we get those two issues settled, I think the rest of the things will work out fairly well,” Kellogg said. “We’re almost there.”
After promising to end the Ukraine-Russia war on his first day back in office, Trump&#8217;s negotiations for the end of the conflict have stalled and restarted multiple times throughout the first year of his second term. Last month, the Trump administration rekindled peace negotiations with a 28-point plan to end the war. American and Ukrainian officials met in Miami for three days last week for more peace talks, but so far, there has been no movement from those meetings.

Trump ‘Disappointed’ Zelensky ‘Hasn’t Yet Read’ His Peace Proposal

U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s outgoing Ukraine envoy said a deal to end the Ukraine war was &#8220;really close&#8221; and depended on resolving just two major issues but the Kremlin said there had to be radical changes to some of the U.S. proposals.
Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a &#8220;peacemaker&#8221; president, says that ending Europe&#8217;s deadliest conflict since World War Two has so far been the most elusive foreign policy aim of his presidency.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops in the Donbas, which is made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, who is due to step down in January, told the Reagan National Defense Forum that efforts to resolve the conflict were in &#8220;the last 10 meters&#8221; which he said was always the hardest.
The two main outstanding issues, Kellogg said, were on territory &#8211; primarily the future of the Donbas &#8211; and the future of Ukraine&#8217;s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe&#8217;s largest, which is under Russian control.
&#8220;If we get those two issues settled, I think the rest of the things will work out fairly well,&#8221; Kellogg said on Saturday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California. &#8220;We&#8217;re almost there.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;re really, really close,&#8221; said Kellogg.
After President Vladimir Putin held four hours of Kremlin talks last week with Trump&#8217;s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump&#8217;s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Putin&#8217;s top foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said &#8220;territorial problems&#8221; were discussed.
That is Kremlin shorthand for Russian claims to the whole of Donbas, though Ukraine is still in control of at least 5,000 square km (1,900 square miles) of the area. Almost all countries recognize Donbas as part of Ukraine.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that handing over the rest of Donetsk would be illegal without a referendum and would give Russia a platform to launch assaults deeper into Ukraine in the future.
Ushakov was quoted by Russian media on Sunday as saying that the United States would have to &#8220;make serious, I would say, radical changes to their papers&#8221; on Ukraine. He did not clarify what changes Moscow wanted Washington to make.
Zelensky said on Saturday that he had had a long and &#8220;substantive&#8221; phone call with Witkoff and Kushner. The Kremlin has said it expects Kushner to be doing the main work on drafting a possible deal.
Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general who served in Vietnam, Panama and Iraq, said the scale of the death and injuries caused by the Ukraine war was &#8220;horrific&#8221; and unprecedented in terms of a regional war.
Kellogg said that, together, Russia and Ukraine have suffered more than 2 million casualties, including dead and wounded since the war began. Neither Russia nor Ukraine disclose credible estimates of their losses.
Russia currently controls 19.2% of Ukraine, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, all of Luhansk, more than 80% of Donetsk, about 75% of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, and slivers of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
A leaked set of 28 U.S. draft peace proposals emerged last month, alarming Ukrainian and European officials who said it bowed to Moscow&#8217;s main demands on NATO, Russian control of a fifth of Ukraine and restrictions on Ukraine&#8217;s army.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

Donald Trump/Vladimir Putin/Volodymyr Zelensky

U.S. Envoy says Ukraine Peace Deal Is Close, But Moscow Wants Radical Change

World

A large-scale Russian drone and missile attack damaged power facilities in eight Ukrainian regions, causing blackouts and forcing nuclear power plants to cut power output, officials and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday.
Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine&#8217;s energy sector and infrastructure in recent weeks, targeting power stations and railway hubs as winter deepens and the war approaches its fourth anniversary.
There was no breakthrough in U.S.-brokered talks this week aimed at ending the conflict.
Ukraine operates three nuclear power plants which produce more than half of the country&#8217;s electricity and IAEA said the plants cut production due to &#8220;widespread military activities overnight&#8221;.
The Ukrainian military said Russia had launched 653 drones and 51 missiles on Ukraine overnight. Ukrainian forces downed 585 drones and 30 missiles, the military said.
Power and heat generation facilities in Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions were targeted in the attack, Ukraine&#8217;s ministry for development of communities and territories said.
It said on Telegram that 9,500 customers remained without heat and 34,000 without water supply in the southern Odesa region.
&#8220;Port facilities (in Odesa) have also been attacked: part of the infrastructure has been de-energised, and operators have switched to backup power from generators,&#8221; the ministry said.
&#8220;Emergency repair work is already underway where safety conditions permit. Energy companies are doing everything possible to restore power to all customers as quickly as possible,&#8221; the energy ministry said on Telegram.
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Among the sites hit overnight was a railway hub near Kyiv, where the depot and railway carriages were damaged, Ukrainian state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia said.
The railway did not report any casualties from the attack, in the town of Fastiv.
&#8220;Russia continues to disregard any peace efforts and instead strikes critical civilian infrastructure, including our energy system and railways,&#8221; Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.
&#8220;This shows that no decisions to strengthen Ukraine and raise pressure on Russia can be delayed. And especially not under the pretext of peace process,&#8221; he added.
Ukrzaliznytsia said on the Telegram messaging app that it was forced to cancel several suburban trains near the capital and the city of Chernihiv in northeastern Ukraine.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces launched a &#8220;massive strike&#8221; overnight in response to what it called Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets.
The ministry said the strike used high-precision, long-range air- and ground-based weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and long-range drones.
It targeted Ukraine&#8217;s military-industrial enterprises, energy facilities supporting their operations, and port infrastructure used for military purposes, the ministry added.
Separately, sirens sounded early on Saturday in Lubartow in the Lublin region of eastern Poland, private broadcaster RMF FM reported.
RMF quoted local mayor Krzysztof Pasnik as saying the warning was activated due to the situation in Ukraine.
Poland scrambled jets overnight due to the Russian attacks on Ukraine, but the Operational Command of the Armed Forces said there were no airspace violations.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; additional reporting by Alan Charlish in Warsaw; Editing by William Mallard, Bernadette Baum and Aidan Lewis)

Russian Drones, Missiles Hit Ukraine Power And Transport Sectors, Kyiv Says

Kyiv

Some hopeful news emerged, even as the war between Russia and Ukraine drags on. First Lady Melania Trump’s office just announced that seven additional children — six boys and one girl — have been reunited with their families in Ukraine as part of a humanitarian effort.
The first lady released the following statement on the news: “My dedication to guaranteeing the safe return of children to their families in this region is unwavering.”
Trump <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/seven-more-children-returned-families-ukraine-melania-trump-says-2025-12-04/">revealed</a> in October that eight Ukrainian children who had been displaced during the conflict were reunited with their families, bringing the total number of reunited families to 15. 
“I commend the leadership and persistent diplomacy of Russia and Ukraine in the pursuit of the reunification of children and families,” the statement continued. “Their bridge-building has created a tangible collaborative environment — an anchor for optimism. This cooperation will continue to drive the process forward through the next phase.”
“In close partnership, my representative and I have provided humanitarian support from the United States to enhance the reunification initiative’s outcome. My hope is that, ultimately, our collective efforts will lead to broader regional stability.”
The Kremlin’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, <a href="https://t.me/malvovabelova/6040">posted</a> on Telegram, thanking the first lady for her “unwavering commitment and involvement in the effort.”
Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, President Trump said that his team is making “tremendous progress” toward ending the years-long Russia-Ukraine war, offering updates on his peace negotiations.  
Trump confirmed that no more meetings would take place until Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reached the final stages of a resolution, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-vows-no-meetings-with-putin-zelensky-until-the-deal-to-end-this-war-is-final">reported</a>.
“Let’s all hope that PEACE can be accomplished AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!” Trump said in part in a statement last week.
The president’s statement came after news that Ukraine has agreed to the terms of a potential peace deal, negotiated by the Trump White House, that could end the years-long war with Russia.
“The Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal,” Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll told ABC News on November 25. “There are some minor details to be sorted out but they have agreed to a peace deal.”
Mary Margaret Olohan contributed to this report.

First Lady Melania Trump

Melania Trump Says 7 More Ukrainian Children Reunited With Their Families

Melania Trump Announces 7 More Ukrainian Children Were Reunited With Their Families

Melania Trump

NATO ups its support for Ukraine as the United States pursues peace talks, the Trump administration freezes asylum and visa reviews from 19 countries, and a watchdog exposes billions of taxpayer dollars in fraud under Biden-era diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
It’s Thursday, December 4, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251204-member-exclusive">video version</a> can be seen on The Daily Wire:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">NATO Wants A Say On Ukraine</h2>
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Topline: The United States continues to facilitate talks between Russia and Ukraine while other NATO countries rally support for Kiev.
NATO wants to be more involved in the discussions on Ukraine than it has been recently. Almost every foreign minister for NATO met in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss that and the broader approach to Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was notably absent from the meeting — the first time in over two decades that the U.S. secretary of State had missed a gathering like this. Though that didn’t deeply concern many officials because Rubio has built up a lot of trust among NATO allies. 
Rutte digs in: The United States has been trying to find an end to the war that both sides can live with. But NATO’s secretary-general, Mark Rutte, has made plans to keep funding Ukraine through 2026 and maybe longer if necessary.
“We have to make sure that whilst [peace talks] take place and we are not sure when they will end, that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going, to fight back against the Russians, but also in the strongest possible position when peace talks really get to a point where they sit at the table,” Rutte <a href="https://x.com/TRTWorldNow/status/1996176461934534920">said</a> on Wednesday.
Some members of the NATO alliance have poured money into a program to buy U.S. weapons for Ukraine to the tune of about $1 billion a month.
Moscow talks: The Kremlin said Tuesday that it couldn’t find a compromise it could agree with after U.S. officials met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow said that some of the American proposals have been good — likely in reference to the early framework that received so much pushback from Ukraine and the rest of Europe.
Moscow seems to be dead set on territorial gains over what it has control of already, however. Putin has repeatedly signaled that he wants all of the Donbas region, which he does not have full control over.
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump’s Immigration Moves After National Guard Shooting</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1009647 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Topline: The Trump administration halts more immigration following the D.C. shooting of two National Guard troops by an Afghan migrant.
Trump has already halted the processing of asylum applications and put a pause on visas, but there is a lot more being done. The Trump administration has directed U.S. citizenship and immigration services to look at 19 countries that it says are of concern as potential hotbeds of terrorism. Those countries include Afghanistan and several others in the Middle East, in Africa, and in South Asia.
The Trump administration wants USCIS, the agency that vets immigration applications, to scrutinize individuals who are applying or have been accepted to some programs. What this looks like in practice is the administration halting all processing of any legal immigration applications from individuals from these 19 countries.
For those who have been accepted to become green card recipients or citizens already, swearing in ceremonies have been put on pause as the Trump administration more thoroughly vets them.
National Guard shooting: The Department of Homeland Security now says this individual was barely vetted. Interestingly, when the United States left Afghanistan during the botched withdrawal from the country, the alleged shooter had no criminal background check. Nor did he have a biometrics check, cyber background check, or financial background check.
Nor was he the only one who came through this way. There were about 77,000 others admitted into the country through what&#8217;s called Operation Allies Welcome.
This lax vetting has already been pointed out before. A government watchdog came out months after the withdrawal and said the vetting was poor and minimal at the time. In some known cases, individuals were “vetted,” let into the country through this program, and then only after were their links to terrorism discovered.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The SBA Program Spending Taxpayer Money On DEI</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1009645" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: New investigations from Peter Schweizer’s Government Accountability Institute have revealed just how much taxpayer money has been funneled through federal DEI initiatives – sparking more allegations of widespread fraud and corruption under the Biden administration that still needs to be rooted out.
Morning Wire spoke with Seamus Bruner, director of research at the Government Accountability Institute, about what&#8217;s being called the “DEI Industrial Complex.” (This interview has been edited for clarity.)
Morning Wire: Your team has done extensive research on what&#8217;s being called the “DEI Industrial Complex.” We&#8217;ve had our own investigative reporter, Luke Rosiak, digging into this and revealing some pretty alarming findings. First, what kinds of potential abuses are we seeing related to DEI in the federal government?
Bruner: This our latest exposé, and we give Luke a great shout out in it. He&#8217;s done amazing work on this Small Business Administration program. It&#8217;s called 8(a). Kind of an unwieldy title, but the devil is in the details with this. It&#8217;s a multi-billion dollar pass through scheme that rewards minority contractors or people who are “disadvantaged,” which has a very loose definition. I mean, perhaps even just not having access to internet when you&#8217;re way up in your mountain cabin in Yosemite or wherever could qualify you. But you have these firms that set up, Native American firms or any other sort of minority group — Native Americans have been pretty blessed by this program to the tune of billions of dollars. And it turns out that they&#8217;re not disadvantaged at all. The shareholders wear Rolex watches and are very wealthy. Well, in turn, this allows them to partner with real big firms like the Boston Consulting Group or McKinsey &amp; Company or firms that are not at all disadvantaged, and they receive no bid contracts under this program. And for anybody who knows anything about a no bid contract, it&#8217;s about as corrupt as it can be.
Morning Wire: Right. Why are we just now learning about this corruption?
Bruner: The program has been around for decades, but only under the Biden administration did the quotas triple. It really exploded just in the last several years. There was a USAID program, the contracting officials at USAID were taking bribes, over $1 million in bribes. We&#8217;ve also seen a $100 million contract. The minority contractor got 65% of that $100 million. So, well over $50 million. They only did a small fraction of the work.
Morning Wire: Do you think the DEI movement in particular really ratcheted this up – is that the culprit here in terms of the scale that we&#8217;re seeing now?
Bruner: Yeah, absolutely. President Trump, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, and Treasury Secretary Bessent deserve credit. They really kicked off the investigations into this. The problem is that even though the Trump administration has declared war on DEI in the federal government, this isn&#8217;t necessarily called a “DEI program.” We&#8217;re seeing this across all kinds of sectors, especially in education. They&#8217;re getting rid of the word “DEI” and they&#8217;re using new words – “disadvantaged” or what have you. And the problem is, that there are “disadvantaged” people in America and we do want to support them and help them. But when you are giving multi-billion dollar conglomerates contracts under the banner of being “disadvantaged,” it hurts everybody.

MRN_251204_V!

Morning Brief: NATO Steps Up For Ukraine, Trump Expands Immigration Crackdown, & More Biden DEI Fraud

Morning Brief: NATO Steps Up For Ukraine, Trump Expands Immigration Crackdown, And SBA Funds DEI

Afghanistan

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Kelly Loeffler

Marco Rubio

NATO

President Donald Trump defended U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday after a leaked phone call showed the diplomat advising a top Russian aide on how to approach Trump.
Witkoff’s phone call with Yuri Ushakov, top foreign policy aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, took place last month. Bloomberg published a transcript of the call on Tuesday, igniting backlash and calls for Witkoff&#8217;s removal for allegedly favoring Russia over Ukraine.
Trump dismissed complaints over the phone call, saying that what took place was “standard” negotiation.
“That’s a standard thing, you know, because he’s gotta sell this to Ukraine, he’s gotta sell Ukraine to Russia. That’s what a deal maker does. You gotta say, look, they want this, you’ve gotta convince him with this, and you know, that’s a very standard form of negotiation,” Trump <a href="https://x.com/CBSNews/status/1993722285883068521">said</a> when asked about the phone call aboard Air Force One on Tuesday evening.
“I haven’t heard it, but I heard it was standard negotiation. And I would imagine he’s saying the same thing to Ukraine, because each party has to give and take,” the president added.
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Trump also dismissed concerns that Witkoff is pro-Russian.
“No, I think, look, this war could go on for years, and Russia’s got a lot more people and a lot more soldiers, you know? So I think if Ukraine can make a deal, it’s a good thing. I think it’s great for both,” said Trump.
The phone call sparked backlash from some Republicans, such as Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska.
“For those who oppose the Russian invasion and want to see Ukraine prevail as a sovereign &amp; democratic country, it is clear that Witkoff fully favors the Russians. He cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do less than he? He should be fired,” <a href="https://x.com/RepDonBacon/status/1993446393076498714">said</a> Bacon.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania <a href="https://x.com/RepBrianFitz/status/1993428150492316095">called</a> the phone call “a major problem. And one of the many reasons why these ridiculous side shows and secret meetings need to stop.”
In the October 14 phone call, Witkoff advised Ushakov on how Putin should approach Trump to have the most favorable meeting, including flattering Trump with compliments over the recently struck ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The U.S. envoy said a similar plan to the 20-point Israel-Hamas plan could be struck between Russia and Ukraine.
Witkoff also advised Ushakov that Putin should schedule a phone call with Trump before Trump was set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Maybe he (Putin) says to President Trump: you know, Steve and Yuri discussed a very similar 20-point plan to peace and that could be something that we think might move the needle a little bit, we’re open to those sorts of things — to explore what it’s going to take to get a peace deal done,” Witkoff said, according to the transcript published by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-25/witkoff-discusses-ukraine-plans-with-key-putin-aide-transcript">Bloomberg</a>.
“Now, me to you, I know what it’s going to take to get a peace deal done: Donetsk and maybe a land swap somewhere. But I’m saying instead of talking like that, let’s talk more hopefully because I think we’re going to get to a deal here. And I think Yuri, the president will give me a lot of space and discretion to get to the deal,” Witkoff said.

Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump

Trump Dismisses Backlash Against Witkoff Over Leaked Phone Call With Top Russian Diplomat

Steve Witkoff

United States

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that his team is making &#8220;tremendous progress&#8221; toward ending the years-long Russia-Ukraine war, offering updates on his peace negotiations ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Trump&#8217;s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will meet with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as his Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll meets with the Ukrainians, the president shared. Though there had been some talk of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky coming to the United States this week, Trump dispelled this rumor, noting that he will only meet with Zelensky and Putin when they have reached a deal.
&#8220;Over the past week, my team has made tremendous progress with respect to ending the War between Russia and Ukraine (A War that would have NEVER started if I were President!),&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;Last month 25,000 soldiers died. The original 28-Point Peace Plan, which was drafted by the United States, has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement.&#8221;
&#8220;I will be briefed on all progress made, along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles,&#8221; the president added of his team&#8217;s meetings with the warring world leaders.
<div id="attachment_1006069" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-vows-no-meetings-with-putin-zelensky-until-the-deal-to-end-this-war-is-final/u-s-washington-d-c-trump-ukraine-zelensky-meeting" rel="attachment wp-att-1006069"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1006069" class="wp-image-1006069 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2241665155-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2241665155-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2241665155-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2241665155-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2241665155.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>U.S. President Donald Trump 2nd L welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, Oct 17, 2025. (Photo by Hu Yousong/Xinhua via Getty Images)</div>
&#8220;I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;Thank you for your attention to this very important matter, and let’s all hope that PEACE can be accomplished AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!&#8221;
The president&#8217;s statement came after news that Ukraine has agreed to the terms of a potential peace deal, negotiated by the Trump White House, that could end the years-long war with Russia.
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“The Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal,” Driscoll <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-holds-secret-meetings-russians-abu-dhabi-ukraine/story?id=127840867" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> ABC News on Tuesday morning. “There are some minor details to be sorted out but they have agreed to a peace deal.”
A White House official told The Daily Wire late Tuesday morning that no meeting between Zelensky and President Trump had been scheduled “at this time,&#8221; and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also stressed Tuesday morning that “there are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.”
A spokesman for Driscoll, who was part of a Monday evening meeting of U.S. officials with the Russian delegation, said in a statement that “late Monday and throughout Tuesday, Secretary Driscoll and team have been in discussions with the Russian delegation to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine.”
“The talks are going well and we remain optimistic,” said LTC Jeff Tolbert, who is Driscoll’s spokesman. “Secretary Driscoll is closely synchronized with the White House and the U.S. interagency as these talks progress.”

President Trump Pardons Thanksgiving Turkeys

Trump Vows No Meetings With Putin, Zelensky Until ‘The Deal To End This War Is FINAL’

U.S. Army

Ukraine has agreed to the terms of a potential peace deal, negotiated by President Donald Trump’s White House, that could end the years-long war with Russia, a U.S. official told the press on Tuesday. 
&#8220;The Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal,&#8221; U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-holds-secret-meetings-russians-abu-dhabi-ukraine/story?id=127840867"> told</a> ABC News on Tuesday morning. &#8220;There are some minor details to be sorted out but they have agreed to a peace deal.&#8221;
While there was some buzz around Washington that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy might travel to the United States this week, a White House official told The Daily Wire late Tuesday morning that no meeting between Zelenskyy and President Trump has been scheduled &#8220;at this time.&#8221;
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also mentioned the “minor details” in a statement on Tuesday morning. 
“Over the past week, the United States has made tremendous progress towards a peace deal by bringing both Ukraine and Russia to the table,” she said in a post on “X.” 
“There are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.” 
The news comes as United States officials met with Russian representatives on Monday night, also working to bring an end to the war through the peace deal. 
<div id="attachment_1005671" style="width: 864px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russia-ukraine-war-inches-towards-a-close-as-ukraine-agrees-to-peace-plan/u-s-president-trump-and-russian-president-putin-meet-on-war-in-ukraine-at-u-s-air-base-in-alaska-7" rel="attachment wp-att-1005671"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1005671" class="wp-image-1005671 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2230342687-854x576.jpg" alt="" width="854" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2230342687-854x576.jpg 854w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2230342687-300x202.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2230342687-768x518.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2230342687.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 854px) 100vw, 854px" /></a>U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold a press conference at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)</div>
A spokesman for Driscoll, who was part of the group of officials meeting with the Russian delegation, said in a statement that “late Monday and throughout Tuesday, Secretary Driscoll and team have been in discussions with the Russian delegation to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine.”
“The talks are going well and we remain optimistic,” said LTC Jeff Tolbert, who is Driscoll’s spokesman. “Secretary Driscoll is closely synchronized with the White House and the U.S. interagency as these talks progress.”
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The Ukrainian delegation is also in the United Arab Emirates, where the conversations are taking place, and is in contact with Driscoll and his team, a U.S. official told Fox News.
 On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-says-they-just-had-most-productive-day-yet-in-russia-ukraine-peace-talks">shared that he had</a> the most “productive day” yet as he engaged in talks between the two countries. 
“There are a couple issues that we need to continue to work on. But I think the report today is that today was worthwhile,” Rubio told reporters on Sunday. “It was probably the most productive day we have had on this issue, maybe in the entirety of our engagement, but certainly in a very long time.”
“I can tell you that the items that remain are not insurmountable, we just need more time than what we have today,” the secretary said, noting that President Donald Trump is “quite pleased” about the “amount of progress that’s been made.”
As for the president himself, he posted an early Monday morning Truth Social post expressing cautious optimism about the deal. 
“Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine???” he asked. “Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky

Russia-Ukraine War Inches Towards A Close As Ukraine Agrees To Peace Plan

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Negotiations continue as a deal for peace in Ukraine takes shape, the surge of new Turning Point USA chapter requests hits a surprising stonewall, and the Trump administration reverses a longstanding approach to handling homelessness.
It’s Tuesday, November 25, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251125">video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Pushes Peace In Ukraine </h2>
Topline: American and Ukrainian diplomats continue to meet in Europe this week as they negotiate the details of a peace plan with Russia. 
The White House presented both sides with a 28-point peace plan that included significant concessions from Ukraine. Initially, it appeared the plan was a final offer—Trump went so far as to set a Thanksgiving deadline —and there were even reports that the Trump administration would cut off all military and financial aid if Ukraine turned it down, which it did. But now it appears that all-or-nothing language was more of a negotiating tactic from Trump.
After strong pushback from Ukraine and the European Union, the White House now says the plan is meant as a starting point. As Secretary of State Marco Rubio put it, “just because it’s printed on a piece of paper doesn’t indicate finality … you get input and you make adjustments.”
President Donald Trump displayed some cautious optimism, writing on Truth Social Monday, “Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine??? Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening.”
What’s in the way: The main issue for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is that the current plan would require Ukraine to surrender large portions of land in the East that would then be recognized as Russian territory. He pushed back publicly on that demand Monday, saying, “It is crucial to support the principles on which Europe stands, that borders cannot be changed by force.”
Kyiv also wants to see more concrete security guarantees that would put on paper assurances of European and U.S. military support if Russia were to relaunch its invasion.
But the big problem now is that if Ukraine succeeds in amending the plan to its liking, there’s a good chance Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t sign on. After the initial plan was released, he said it “could form the basis of a final peace settlement.” But that could well change if significant changes are made.
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Christian Colleges Reject TPUSA</h2>
Topline: TPUSA chapters are exploding across college campuses in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, with 44,000 new applications. But a surprising number of Christian colleges and universities have rejected the organization, telling students they aren’t allowed to start new clubs.
Which schools? It’s a surprisingly long list of schools that have rejected TPUSA chapters. Point Loma Nazarene in California rejected students’ requests for a TPUSA chapter at least three times. At Biola, one of the largest evangelical universities in the country, students’ first request for a chapter was denied in 2023. In September, after Charlie’s assassination, they tried again and aren’t getting an answer.
Another Christian school, Concordia University in Wisconsin, initially rejected TPUSA, but after a student&#8217;s post about it went viral last month, they reversed course.
All told, about 20 Christian colleges and universities have said TPUSA isn’t welcome on their campuses. That includes well-known schools like Bob Jones University, Asbury, Oral Roberts, and Loyola University New Orleans. 
Why? The reasons for rejection vary by school. The students and alumni who want to see new TPUSA chapters at the schools don’t always buy the reasons they’re being given.
Point Loma said its board of directors rejected TPUSA largely because of a professor watchlist that “exposes and documents&#8221; professors who allegedly discriminate against conservative students. Even though Point Loma students agreed not to use or contribute to that list, the board still felt TPUSA doesn’t represent the kind of “constructive communication” they require from official clubs.
However, the school has approved left-leaning clubs like BREAK that focus on issues like “gender equality” and &#8220;gender justice,&#8221; and the &#8220;Center for Justice and Reconciliation,&#8221; which focuses on &#8220;immigration and racial justice.” The administration also removed a Charlie Kirk memorial that had been put up on campus after his death.
A similar situation has played out at Biola. Biola approved the left-leaning club, Students for Justice and Liberation, which says it stands for “progressive values,” the same semester they applied. Yet the verdict on TPUSA is being dragged out.
In the first rejection, the decision once again went all the way to the board of directors, and they said they took issue with TPUSA’s “narrative” and “tactics.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump’s Turn On Homelessness</h2>
Topline: The Trump administration has recently announced major changes to how the federal government funds housing for the homeless. The administration says the changes will encourage more self-sufficiency and reduce drug abuse, while opponents say it could lead to almost 200,000 people being kicked out of their homes. 
Morning Wire spoke to Judge Glock, director of research at the Manhattan Institute, about the administration’s announcement. (The following interview has been edited for clarity.)
Morning Wire: This all revolves around federal funding for homelessness. First, how does the federal government actually distribute money for this issue?  
Glock: Every year, the feds announce how nonprofits and other groups can apply for what are known as Continuum of Care or CoC grants. The CoC grants a total of about three-and-a-half billion dollars a year and mainly goes to nonprofits that provide housing. And I should just say that homeless nonprofits read this yearly announcement like it’s the Talmud or the Bible or something, because it says what they have to do to compete for the federal money and what sort of programs they can fund and what sort of things are forbidden.
Morning Wire: Got it. The administration’s announcement this year said the federal government would no longer support what it calls “the failed ‘Housing First’ ideology.” Can you explain a little bit about what “Housing First” means? 
Glock: The “Housing First” idea is that the only way to “solve” homelessness is to give the homeless subsidized and permanent housing without any conditions before entering the housing or strings attached afterwards. The basic idea is that you provide both housing and services, but it’s all voluntary. A nonprofit couldn’t force a person in one of these Housing First apartments to, say, take a drug test or even get a mental health screening. And for a little over a decade–including, I might add, through the first Trump administration–these annual funding announcements said federal money would be given almost exclusively to groups that practiced the “Housing First” philosophy. Because in most of the country, the federal money is the main source of funding for the homeless, the Housing First idea became something of a nationwide mandate.
Morning Wire: Right – so that made it a nationwide policy. What does this announcement actually change?
Glock: The biggest change is that there is no more Housing First mandate. Instead, the administration says nonprofits must provide treatment for underlying issues instead of just focusing on housing. The Housing First program was supposed to provide treatment, but it said people just kind of had to come to the treatment on their own. The problem was it’s often impossible for people in the midst of, say, a heroin addiction or schizophrenic episode to really pursue treatment. This new policy will mandate some treatment services for those in the housing units and will require more housing to be “transitional,” meaning for a limited time period until people can get back on their feet, instead of the old permanent housing model.

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Morning Brief: Ukraine’s New Deal, TPUSA Vs. Christian Schools, & Trump’s Homeless Policy

Morning Brief: New Ukraine Peace Plan, TPUSA Rejected, And Trump’s Turn On Homelessness

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