2026 is expected to be an eventful year, both at home and abroad.

For more on what's ahead and to look at this past week of news, we turn now to the analysis

of Brooks and K. P.P. Hart, that is, New York Times columnist David Brooks and Jonathan Kepart of

MS Now. Great to see you both. Happy New Year.

Happy New. All right, let's kick this off by talking about the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine.

We've seen a lot of headlines this week, and I need to start there because that war is

about to mark four years in February.

We saw the new year begin with a massive Russian drone barrage in Ukraine, hundreds of strikes

in that country.

We saw President Zelensky and President Trump meet at

Moralago last weekend, say there's progress on a peace plan. This week we saw a special envoy

Steve Wickoff continue to hold calls with Zelensky and other European officials. And in his own

New Year's address, Zelensky said that the peace plan is 90% ready. So, David, when you take

all of this and you look ahead, do you see progress being made?

Is 2026 the year that the war ends?

Possibly, but I'm color-me-sceptical. I mean, this is the year we'll find out whether the international

community can respond with effectively when one nation tries to conquer another.

And unfortunately, what the Trump administration has done recently has been

pressuring Zelensky to make concessions, slow walking the weapons we've been

providing for them, putting him in a tough position, he makes some concessions, and

then in theory we give him in turn security guarantees.

And it's supposed to be like Article 5 of the NATO Treaty,

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