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Russia pummelled Ukraine’s capital with drones and missiles on Saturday as President Volodymyr Zelensky was headed to the US to meet with President Donald Trump. Zelensky said the attack showed Russia did not want to end its invasion launched in February 2022 that has left tens of thousands dead.Ahead of Zelensky’s talks in Florida with Trump on Sunday, Russia said Kyiv and its EU backers were trying to “torpedo” a previous US-brokered plan to stop the fighting. The barrage of drones and missiles killed two people, wounded dozens and cut power and heating to hundreds of thousands of Kyiv region residents during freezing temperatures, Ukraine authorities said.Some 2,600 residential buildings were hit in the attack, as well as more than 300 schools, pre-schools or social services buildings, Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said.Zelensky said some 500 drones and 40 missiles had pounded the capital and its surrounding region.”Russian representatives engage in lengthy talks, but in reality, Kinzhals (missiles) and Shaheds (drones) speak for them,” he said. “They do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering,” he added. Just as Zelensky departed for the US, Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency announced a new probe in which it said some MPs were implicated. It tried to raid parliamentary offices but was blocked by security personnel.During the Russian onslaught, which lasted 10 hours, AFP reporters in Kyiv heard loud explosions, some accompanied by bright flashes that turned the sky orange.The Russian army said it used hypersonic missiles and drones to target infrastructure and energy facilities “used in the interests of the armed forces of Ukraine”, as well as military sites. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the attack left about 600,000 people without power while authorities said apartment blocks, a university dormitory and a petrol station had been among buildings hit. Neighbouring Poland, a NATO member, scrambled jets and put air defences on alert during the attack, the Polish military said on social media.Air traffic at two airports in Poland near the Ukrainian border were temporarily suspended during the strikes, the country’s air navigation agency said.- Florida talks -Sunday’s meeting in Florida is to focus on a new, 20-point plan that would freeze the war on its current front line but could require Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, where demilitarised buffer zones could be created, according to details revealed by Zelensky this week.The new plan, formulated with Ukraine’s input, is Kyiv’s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions, and differs markedly from an initial 28-point proposal by Washington last month that adhered to many of Russia’s core demands.Trump, speaking to news outlet Politico on Friday, said of Zelensky’s plan that “he doesn’t have anything until I approve it”. He added: “So we’ll see what he’s got.” Part of the plan includes separate US-Ukraine bilateral agreements on security guarantees, reconstruction and the economy. Zelensky said those were changing daily.”As for sensitive issues, we will discuss (the eastern region of) Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” he added.On the way to the US, Zelensky was making a stopover in Canada and was to speak in a video call with EU allies, he said.Zelensky added Saturday that the aim of talks was to reduce unresolved issues to a minimum.”Of course, today there are red lines for Ukraine and Ukrainian people. There are compromise proposals. All of these issues are very sensitive,” he said on X.Meanwhile, Ukraine needed European and US support to acquire weapons and funds, both of which were insufficient, Zelensky said — “in particular for the production of weapons and, most importantly, drones”.In negotiations, Ukraine’s “most important consideration — if we take certain steps — is that security guarantees should be strong and we should be protected”, he said.Zelensky added that Ukraine was working with the US on a roadmap for the country’s reconstruction which he said will require $700 billion to $800 billion.

Immediately following surprise US strikes targeting militants in Nigeria, it remained unclear who or what was actually hit as Washington and Abuja told slightly different stories.Complicating matters was the fact that the strikes were delayed by American President Donald Trump, apparently to prioritise the symbolism of launching the attack on Christmas — and allegations that Washington backed out of issuing a joint statement with the Nigerians.The two countries agree the strikes hit targets linked to Islamic State, but neither immediately provided details on which of Nigeria’s myriad armed groups were targeted.”Twenty-four hours after the bombing, neither Nigeria nor its so-called ‘international partners’ can provide clear, verifiable information about what was actually struck,” activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore said Saturday.Nigeria is battling multiple jihadist organisations, including several linked to Islamic State. Neighbouring countries are also fighting IS-linked groups, and there are worries those conflicts are spilling into the country.Mohammed Idris, the country’s information minister, said late Friday that the strikes “targeted ISIS elements attempting to penetrate Nigeria from the Sahel corridor”.More official clarity started to emerge Saturday, when Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for President Bola Tinubu, told AFP the strikes targeted Islamic State militants who were in the country to work with the Lakurawa jihadist group and “bandit” gangs.All three were targeted, and there were casualties, though it is unknown who was killed, and from which group, Bwala said.- Trump claims credit -Taking to social media the night of the strike, Trump was the first to take credit for the overnight Thursday into Friday strikes in northwestern Sokoto state — sparking worries from Nigerians that their sovereignty had been violated.Trump also told US outlet Politico that the strikes had been scheduled earlier than Thursday, “And I said, ‘nope, let’s give a Christmas present’.”The opposition People’s Democratic Party slammed the government for allowing “foreign powers” to “break the news of security operations in our country before our government does”.Early Friday, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar insisted it was a joint operation, with Tinubu ultimately giving the go-ahead and Nigeria supplying intelligence for the strikes. Tuggar later told broadcaster Arise News that, while he was on the phone ahead of the strikes with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the two had agreed on issuing a joint statement, but Washington rushed out its own.- Villages hit by mistake -Late Friday, almost 24 hours after the strikes, it was Nigeria that finally provided clarity around what the targets were: “two major Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist enclaves” in Sokoto state’s Tangaza district, according to Idris.Other villages were hit by what the information minister said was debris from the strikes.Images from an AFP photographer in Offa, in neighbouring Kwara state, showed crumbled buildings, destroyed by the debris, with roofs caved in and belongings scattered among the wreckage.Explosions in Sokoto state’s Jabo town, also apparently from the debris, shook the community and “surprised us because this area has never been” a stronghold for armed groups, local resident Haruna Kallah told AFP. The munitions used were unclear. The US military released a video showing a navy ship launching what appeared to be missiles. Idris said “the strikes were launched from maritime platforms domiciled in the Gulf of Guinea”. But he also said “a total of 16 GPS-guided precision munitions were deployed using MQ-9 Reaper” drones.- Targets unknown -The choice to strike the northwest has sowed confusion among analysts, as Nigeria’s jihadists are mainly concentrated in the northeast.Some researchers have recently linked some members of the armed group known as Lakurawa — the main jihadist group located in Sokoto State — to Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), but other analysts have disputed those links.The strikes also come after a diplomatic spat between Washington and Abuja sparked by Trump saying the violence in the country amounted to “persecution” against Christians — a framing long used by the US religious right.The Nigerian government and independent analysts reject the accusations.The framing of Nigeria’s violence in religious terms, the lack of clarity around the targets and the fact that the strikes were delayed til Christmas all add to concerns from critics that the attack was bigger on symbolism than substance.Both countries have said that more strikes are on the table.

US strikes in Nigeria this week targeted Islamic State militants from the Sahel who were in the country to work with the Lakurawa jihadist group and “bandit” gangs, a spokesman for the Nigerian president told AFP Saturday.The exact targets of the strikes, launched overnight Thursday into Friday, had been unclear.Washington and Abuja previously said they targeted IS-linked militants, without providing details on which of Nigeria’s myriad armed groups were attacked.”ISIS, Lakurawa and bandits were targeted,” Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for President Bola Tinubu, told AFP on Saturday. “ISIS found their way through the Sahel to go and assist the Lakurawa and the bandits with supplies and with training,” he said.The Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) group is active in neighbouring Niger, as well as Burkina Faso and Mali, where it is fighting a bloody insurgency against the governments of those countries.While Nigeria has long battled its own, separate jihadist conflict, analysts have been worried about the spread of armed groups from the Sahel into the west African country.”The strike was conducted at a location where, historically, you have the bandits and the Lakurawa parading around that axis,” Bwala said.”The intelligence the US government gathered, also, is that there is a mass movement of ISIS from the Sahel to that part.”There were casualties, but it was unclear who among those targeted were killed, Bwala added.The site of the strikes — in Nigeria’s northwest state of Sokoto — has puzzled analysts, since Nigeria’s jihadist insurgency is mostly concentrated in the northeast.Researchers have recently linked some members of the armed group known as Lakurawa — the main jihadist group located in Sokoto State — to the ISSP. Other analysts have disputed those links, however, and research on Lakurawa is complicated as the term has been used to describe various armed fighters in the northwest.- Diplomatic spat -In the northwest, the biggest security concern is that from criminal gangs known as bandits.They loot villages, conduct kidnappings for ransom and extort farmers and artisanal miners across swathes of rural countryside outside of government control.On Friday, Information Minister Mohammed Idris said the strikes hit “two major Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist enclaves” in Sokoto state’s Tangaza district. Other villages were hit by what the information minister said was debris from the strikes.Images from an AFP photographer in Offa, in neighbouring Kwara state, showed crumbled buildings with roofs caved in and belongings scattered among the wreckage.The strikes — which US President Donald Trump said he pushed back to happen on Christmas Day in order to “give a Christmas present” to the militants — come after a diplomatic spat between Washington and Abuja.Trump accused Nigeria in October and November of allowing “persecution” and “genocide” against Christians.The Nigerian government and independent analysts reject that framing of the country’s violence, which has long been used by the US religious right that backs Trump.The country faces multiple conflicts — from jihadists and bandits to farmer-herder violence and southeastern separatists — that kill both Christians and Muslims. On Christmas Eve, a suspected suicide bomber killed at least five people in an attack on a mosque in northeastern Borno state.After the strikes, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar said: “It is a joint operation, and it is not targeting any religion nor simply in the name of one religion or the other.”

Somalia and the African Union reacted angrily Friday after Israel became the first country to formally recognise the northern region of Somaliland as an independent state.Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has pushed for international recognition for decades, with president Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi making it a top priority since taking office last year.Israel announced Friday that it viewed Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state”, prompting Somalia to call the decision a “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty that would undermine regional peace.Several other countries condemned Israel’s decision. The African Union (AU) rejected the move and warned that it risked “setting a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent”.Somaliland “remains an integral part” of Somalia, an AU member, said the pan-African body’s head Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords”, referring to a series of agreements brokered by US President Donald Trump in his first term that normalised ties between Israel and several Arab nations.Netanyahu had invited Abdullahi to visit, the Israeli leader’s office said.Asked by the New York Post newspaper whether the United States planned to also recognise Somaliland, Trump said “no”.”Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?” he added.Hailing Israel’s decision as a “historic moment”, Abdullahi said in a post on X that it marked the beginning of a “strategic partnership”.The Palestinian Authority rejected Israel’s recognition of Somaliland.It said on X that Israel had previously named Somaliland “as a destination for the forced displacement of our Palestinian people, particularly from the Gaza Strip”, and warned against “complicity” with such a move.In Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, crowds of people took to the streets to celebrate, many carrying the flag of the breakaway state, said sources.- ‘Overt interference’ -Turkey, a close ally of Somalia, also condemned the move.”This initiative by Israel, which aligns with its expansionist policy… constitutes overt interference in Somalia’s domestic affairs”, a foreign ministry statement said.Egypt said its top diplomat had spoken with counterparts from Turkey, Somalia and Djibouti, who together condemned the move and emphasised “full support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia”.In a video showing Netanyahu speaking to Abdullahi by telephone, the Israeli leader said that he believed the new relationship would offer economic opportunities.”I am very, very happy and I am very proud of this day and I want to wish you and the people of Somaliland the very, very best,” Netanyahu said.A self-proclaimed republic, Somaliland enjoys a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden and has its own money, passports and army.But it has been diplomatically isolated since unilaterally declaring independence.- Strategic move -Israel’s regional security interests may lie behind the move.”Israel requires allies in the Red Sea region for many strategic reasons, among them the possibility of a future campaign against the Houthis,” said the Institute for National Security Studies in a paper last month, referring to Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels.Israel repeatedly hit targets in Yemen after the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, in response to Houthi attacks on Israel that the rebels said were in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.The Houthis have halted their attacks since a fragile truce began in Gaza in October.Somaliland’s lack of international recognition has hampered access to foreign loans, aid and investment, and the territory remains deeply impoverished.A deal between landlocked Ethiopia and Somaliland last year to lease a stretch of coastline for a port and military base enraged Somalia.Israel has been trying to bolster relations with countries in the Middle East and Africa.Historic agreements struck late in Trump’s first term in 2020 saw several countries including the Muslim-majority United Arab Emirates and Morocco normalise relations with Israel.But wars that have stoked Arab anger, particularly in Gaza, have hampered recent efforts to expand ties further.burs-jj/jgc/ceg/mjw

Somalia and the African Union reacted angrily Friday after Israel formally recognised the northern region of Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” — the first country to do so.Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, has for decades pushed for international recognition, which has been the key priority for president Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi since he took office last year.But a Somali foreign ministry statement warned the decision was a “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty that would undermine peace in the region. Several other countries also condemned Israel’s decision.The African Union said it “firmly rejects” Israel’s move, warning: “Any attempt to undermine the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Somalia…risks setting a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent.”Somaliland “remains an integral part of the Federal Republic of Somalia”, which is a member of the AU, the pan-African body’s head, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, said.Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he announced “the official recognition of the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state”, making Israel the first country to do so.”The declaration is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” Netanyahu’s office said, referring to several agreements between Israel and Arab countries brokered by US President Donald Trump during his first presidency to normalise ties with Israel.It said Netanyahu had invited Abdullahi to visit.Trump, when asked by the New York Post newspaper about US recognition of Somaliland, said “no” and added: “Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?”Hailing Israel’s decision, Abdullahi said in a post on X that it marked the beginning of a “strategic partnership”.”This is a historic moment as we warmly welcome” he said, affirming “Somaliland’s readiness to join the Abraham Accords,” he added.In Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, crowds of people took to the streets to celebrate, many carrying the flag of the breakaway state, said sources.- ‘Overt interference’ -Turkey, a close ally of Somalia, also condemned the move.”This initiative by Israel, which aligns with its expansionist policy…constitutes overt interference in Somalia’s domestic affairs”, it said in a foreign ministry statement.Egypt’s foreign ministry said its top diplomat had spoken with his counterparts from Turkey, Somalia and Djibouti, who together condemned the move and emphasised “full support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia”.In video showing Netanyahu speaking to Abdullahi by telephone, the Israeli leader said that he believed the new relationship would offer economic opportunities.”I am very, very happy and I am very proud of this day and I want to wish you and the people of Somaliland the very, very best,” Netanyahu said.A self-proclaimed republic, Somaliland enjoys a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden, has its own money, passports and army. But since its unilateral declaration of independence in 1991, it has grappled with decades of isolation.- Strategic -Analysts say matters of strategy were behind Israel’s drive to recognise Somaliland.”Israel requires allies in the Red Sea region for many strategic reasons, among them the possibility of a future campaign against the Houthis,” said the Institute for National Security Studies in a paper last month, referring to Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels.Israel repeatedly hit targets in Yemen after the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, in response to Houthi attacks on Israel that the rebels said were in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.The Houthis have halted their attacks since a fragile truce began in Gaza in October.Somaliland’s lack of international recognition has hampered access to foreign loans, aid and investment, and the territory remains deeply impoverished.A deal between landlocked Ethiopia and Somaliland last year to lease a stretch of coastline for a port and military base enraged Somalia.Israel has been trying to bolster relations with countries in the Middle East and Africa.Historic agreements struck late in Trump’s first term in 2020 saw several countries including Muslim-majority United Arab Emirates and Morocco normalise relations with Israel, but wars that have stoked Arab anger, particularly in Gaza, have hampered recent efforts. burs-jj/jgc/ceg

Volodymyr Zelensky is due to meet President Donald Trump in Florida this weekend, but Russia accused the Ukrainian president and his EU backers Friday of seeking to “torpedo” a US-brokered plan to stop the fighting.Sunday’s meeting to discuss new peace proposals comes as Trump intensifies efforts to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War II, one that has killed tens of thousands since February 2022.The 20-point plan would freeze the war on its current front line but open the door for Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, where demilitarised buffer zones could be created, according to details revealed by Zelensky this week.Ahead of the talks, AFP journalists reported several powerful explosions in Kyiv on Saturday, and authorities warned of a possible missile attack.”Explosions in the capital. Air defence forces are operating. Stay in shelters!” Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.Ukraine’s air force announced a countrywide air alert and said drones and missiles were moving over several regions including Kyiv. Zelensky’s office said earlier that a meeting with Trump is planned for Sunday in Florida, where the US leader has a home.Trump, speaking to news outlet Politico, said about Zelensky’s plan that “he doesn’t have anything until I approve it”, adding: “So we’ll see what he’s got.”Zelensky meanwhile said he held telephone talks on Friday with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz and a host of other European leaders.A spokesperson for Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the leaders “reiterated their unshakeable commitment for a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and the importance that talks continue to progress towards this in the coming days”.- Security guarantees -The new plan formulated with Ukraine’s input is Kyiv’s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions and is very different from an initial 28-point proposal tabled by Washington last month that adhered to many of Russia’s core demands.Part of the plan includes separate US-Ukraine bilateral agreements on security guarantees, reconstruction and the economy. Zelensky said those were changing on a daily basis.”We will discuss these documents, security guarantees,” he said of Sunday’s meeting.”As for sensitive issues, we will discuss (the eastern region of) Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and we will certainly discuss other issues,” he added.Russia signalled its opposition to the plan ahead of the Florida talks.The Kremlin said Friday that foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov had held telephone talks with US officials, and deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov criticised Zelensky’s stance.- Russia accuses EU -“Our ability to make the final push and reach an agreement will depend on our own work and the political will of the other party,” Ryabkov said on Russian television.”Especially in a context where Kyiv and its sponsors — notably within the European Union, who are not in favour of an agreement — have stepped up efforts to torpedo it.”He said the proposal drawn up with Zelensky input “differs radically” from points initially drawn up by US and Russian officials in contacts this month.He said any deal had to “remain within the limits” fixed by Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin when they met in Alaska in August, or else “no accord can be reached”.Zelensky said this week there were still disagreements between Kyiv and Washington over the two core issues of territory and and the status of the Zaporizhzhia plant.Washington has pushed Ukraine to withdraw from the 20 percent of the eastern Donetsk region that it still controls — Russia’s main territorial demand.It has also proposed joint US-Ukrainian-Russian control of Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear plant, which Russia seized during the invasion.Zelensky said he could only give up more land if the Ukrainian people agree to it in a referendum, and he does not want Russian participation in the nuclear plant.Ukraine appears to have won some concessions in the new plan, which, according to Zelensky, removed a requirement for Kyiv to legally renounce its bid to join NATO as well as previous clauses on territory seized by Russia since 2014 being recognised as belonging to Moscow.But Moscow has shown little inclination to abandon its hardline territorial demands that Ukraine fully withdraw from Donbas and end efforts to join NATO.Zelensky said Ukrainian negotiators were not directly in touch with Moscow, but that the United States acted as intermediary and was awaiting Russia’s response to the latest proposal.”I think we will know their official response in the coming days,” Zelensky said.”Russia is always looking for reasons not to agree,” he added.

Nigeria on Friday signalled that more strikes against jihadist groups were expected after a Christmas Day attack by US forces that President Donald Trump said “decimated” Islamic State-linked camps they targeted in the northwest of the country.Nigeria insisted it was a joint operation, saying that it provided intelligence for Thursday’s attack. The US military said the strikes killed multiple IS fighters. A Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the strikes “were approved by the government of Nigeria,” without saying whether Nigeria’s military had been involved. Trump said in an interview published Friday that the strikes had been scheduled earlier than Thursday, “And I said, ‘nope, let’s give a Christmas present.'”They didn’t think that was coming, but we hit them hard. Every camp got decimated,” he told Politico.Nigeria, located in west Africa, faces interlinked security crises, with jihadists waging an insurgency in the northeast since 2009 and armed gangs raiding villages and staging kidnappings in the northwest.The strikes came after Abuja and Washington have been locked in a diplomatic dispute over what Trump has characterised as the mass killing of Christians amid Nigeria’s myriad armed conflicts.Questions remain over which armed group was targeted, and details over the strikes have varied between Nigerian and US accounts.Washington’s framing of the violence as amounting to Christian “persecution” is rejected by the Nigerian government and independent analysts, but has nonetheless resulted in increased security coordination.US defence officials posted a video of what appeared to be a nighttime missile launch from the deck of a battleship flying the US flag.”It’s Nigeria that provided the intelligence,” the country’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, told broadcaster Channels TV, saying he had been on the phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of the strikes.Asked if there would be more strikes, Tuggar said: “It is an ongoing thing” adding “it must be made clear that it is a joint operation, and it is not targeting any religion.”- Targets unclear -Nigerian information minister Mohammed Idris said in a statement that the US strikes used 16 guided munitions launched from medium-altitude MQ-9 Reaper drones “successfully neutralising” IS elements attempting to penetrate Nigeria through the Sahel.Both countries said the strikes targeted militants linked to the Islamic State group, without providing details.The Department of Defense’s US Africa Command said “multiple ISIS terrorists” were killed in an attack in the northwestern state of Sokoto.Residents in Sokoto told AFP they were shocked by the blasts, saying some strikes hit a town that was not a militant stronghold.Nigeria’s armed groups are mostly concentrated in the northeast, but have made inroads into the northwest.Researchers have recently linked some members of an armed group known as Lakurawa — the main jihadist group located in Sokoto State — to Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), which is mostly active in neighbouring Niger and Mali.Other analysts have disputed those links.”We initially thought it was (an) attack by Lakurawa,” said Haruna Kallah, a resident of Jabo town.That the explosions were in fact the result of a US strike “surprised us because this area has never been a Lakurawa enclave.”Tukur Shehu, a resident of Tangaza, a neighbouring district, said two strikes targeted villages known to house Lakurawa camps from where they launch attacks and keep hostages.- Public opinion divided -While public opinion on the strikes appeared split, the Nigerian government publicly welcomed them.”I think Trump would not have accepted a ‘No,'” said Malik Samuel, an Abuja-based researcher for Good Governance Africa, an NGO.Nigerian authorities are keen to be seen as cooperating with the US, Samuel told AFP, even though “both the perpetrators and the victims in the northwest are overwhelmingly Muslim.”Security analyst Brant Philip said the results of the strikes were “not significant, but much is expected soon.”tba-sn-nro-str-abu/jh/msp/bgs

Christmas under Donald Trump brought air strikes abroad and political threats at home, as the US president used the holiday to project a vision of power rooted less in peace than grievance, even as aides leaned into their Christian faith.On Tuesday and Wednesday, the president flooded his Truth Social feed with posts that ditched the usual holiday cheer. Instead of goodwill to all, Trump announced military action against jihadists in Nigeria and hurled insults at his enemies.Trump said Friday that the strikes, conducted the day before, had “decimated” jihadist camps in northern Nigeria, describing the operation as a surprise blow delivered as a “Christmas present.”In an interview with Politico, the president said he had personally delayed the action until Thursday to catch militants off guard — hitting “every camp” involved.The strikes, he said, were retaliation for a “slaughter of Christians” in the west African nation. Then came a caustic Christmas greeting aimed at his political rivals, branding them “radical leftist scum.”On Thursday, Trump dropped an even darker line: “Enjoy what may be your last Merry Christmas.” The cryptic warning appeared to hint at Democrats he believes will be exposed when files tied to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are all released.The White House, by contrast, issued a traditional message later that day — heavy on scripture — signed by the president and First Lady Melania Trump.The statement invoked God seven times, celebrating “the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” and praying for “God’s abiding love, divine mercy, and everlasting peace.”Trump has long claimed credit for restoring “Merry Christmas” to public life, accusing his first-term predecessor Barack Obama of pushing “Happy Holidays” — a greeting seen as more inclusive of multiple faiths. In reality, Obama regularly said “Merry Christmas.” This year, though, Trump skipped formal worship entirely. The official schedule shows the 79-year-old billionaire spent the holiday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida without attending church.Across the administration, Christmas messaging leaned hard into Christianity. The Homeland Security Department urged Americans to “remember the miracle of Christ’s birth,” while Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a nativity scene and spoke of “the hope of Eternal Life through Christ.” – ‘Always… a Christian nation’ -The Pentagon even hosted its first-ever Christmas Mass on December 17.Religious language is nothing new in the politics of the United States — a country that calls itself “one nation under God.” But the First Amendment bars any official creed. That hasn’t stopped Vice President JD Vance from pushing Christian doctrine into every corner of policy, from diplomacy to immigration.”A true Christian politics, it cannot just be about the protection of the unborn… It must be at the heart of our full understanding of government,” he told a recent rally organized by the conservative group Turning Point USA.”We have been, and by the grace of God, we always will be, a Christian nation,” Vance added. The crowd roared.Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, offers a disciplined Christian nationalist vision. But Trump’s version is more personal — and messianic.In his January inauguration speech, he claimed God saved him from assassination so he could fulfill America’s destiny. Since then, he has sold $60 “God Bless The USA” Bibles, launched a White House Office of Faith under televangelist Paula White, and posted photos of himself praying at his desk, pastors hovering around him.Trump, never known as a committed churchgoer, now speaks often of his own salvation. “I want to try and get to heaven if possible,” he told Fox News in August, suggesting brokering peace in Ukraine might help. At other moments, however, he has sounded far less confident.”I hear I’m not doing well — I hear I’m really at the bottom of the totem pole!” he has said, again linking any improvement in his prospects to a potential peace deal in Ukraine.His bleakest assessment came on October 15, when he remarked: “I don’t think there’s anything that’s going to get me into heaven.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is to meet President Donald Trump in Florida this weekend, but Russia accused him and his EU backers Friday of seeking to “torpedo” a US-brokered plan to stop the fighting.Sunday’s meeting to discuss new peace proposals comes amidst Trump’s intensified efforts to broker an agreement on Europe’s worst conflict since World War II which has killed tens of thousands since February 2022.The latest plan is a 20-point proposal that would freeze the war on its current front line but open the door for Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, where demilitarised buffer zones could be created, according to details revealed by Zelensky this week.Zelensky’s office said a meeting with Trump is planned for Sunday in Florida, where the US leader has a home.Trump, speaking to news outlet Politico, said about Zelensky’s plan that “he doesn’t have anything until I approve it”, adding: “So we’ll see what he’s got.” Zelensky meanwhile said he held telephone talks on Friday with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and a host of other European leaders, ahead of his latest diplomatic foray. A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the leaders “reiterated their unshakeable commitment for a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and the importance that talks continue to progress towards this in the coming days”.- Security guarantees -The new plan formulated with Ukraine’s input is Kyiv’s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions, and is very different to an initial 28-point proposal tabled by Washington last month that adhered to many of Russia’s core demands.Part of the plan includes separate US-Ukraine bilateral agreements on security guarantees, reconstruction and the economy. Zelensky said those were changing on a daily basis.”We will discuss these documents, security guarantees,” he said of Sunday’s meeting.”As for sensitive issues, we will discuss (the eastern region of) Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and we will certainly discuss other issues,” he added.Russia signalled its opposition to the plan ahead of the Florida talks.The Kremlin said Friday that foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov had held telephone talks with US officials, and deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov criticised Zelensky’s stance.- Russia accuses EU -“Our ability to make the final push and reach an agreement will depend on our own work and the political will of the other party,” Ryabkov said on Russian television.”Especially in a context where Kyiv and its sponsors — notably within the European Union, who are not in favour of an agreement — have stepped up efforts to torpedo it.”He said the proposal drawn up with Zelensky input “differs radically” from points initially drawn up by US and Russian officials in contacts this month.”Without an adequate resolution of the problems at the origin of this crisis, it will be quite simply impossible to reach a definitive accord,” Ryabkov added.He said any deal had to “remain within the limits” fixed by Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin when they met in Alaska in August, or else “no accord can be reached”.Zelensky said this week there was still disagreements between Kyiv and Washington over the two core issues of territory and and the status of the Zaporizhzhia plant.Washington has pushed Ukraine to withdraw from the 20 percent of the eastern Donetsk region that it still controls — Russia’s main territorial demand.It has also proposed joint US-Ukrainian-Russian control of Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear plant that Russia seized during the invasion.Zelensky said he could only give up more land if the Ukrainian people agree to it in a referendum, and he does not want Russian participation in the nuclear plant.Ukraine did appear to have won some concessions in the new plan, which, according to Zelensky, removed a requirement for Kyiv to legally renounce its bid to join NATO as well as previous clauses on territory seized by Russia since 2014 being recognised as belonging to Moscow.Moscow has however shown little inclination to abandon its hardline territorial demands that Ukraine fully withdraw from Donbas and end efforts to join NATO.It also wants a ban on Western countries deploying peacekeeping troops in Ukraine and sweeping political and military restrictions that Kyiv says are tantamount to capitulation.Zelensky said Ukrainian negotiators were not directly in touch with Moscow, but that the United States acted as intermediary and was awaiting Russia’s response to the latest proposal.”I think we will know their official response in the coming days,” Zelensky said.He expressed scepticism over whether Moscow genuinely wanted to halt its invasion. “Russia is always looking for reasons not to agree,” he said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Friday she is expecting her second child, becoming the first person in the high-profile role to be pregnant.”The greatest Christmas gift we could ever ask for — a baby girl coming in May,” Leavitt posted on Instagram.She thanked President Donald Trump for his support and for “fostering a pro-family environment in the White House.”Leavitt, 28, who is married to real estate developer Nicholas Riccio, became the youngest ever White House press secretary when appointed in January at the start of Trump’s second term.She has won a reputation for ruthlessly effective appearances at press briefings, fiercely defending the president and quashing critical journalists.