Trump 15-year security guarantee not enough to keep Russia away, says Zelensky after Mar-a-Lago talks
Ukraine: The Latest
Louisa Wells / Francis Dearnley
4.8 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 29 December 2025
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Day 1,404.
Today, President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have secured a 15-year American security guarantee from President Donald Trump after their meeting in Mar-a-Lago. But questions remain over the other key sticking points of a potential peace deal.
Plus, a postcard from Kyiv’s first marathon since the full-blown war began. Journalist Benjamin Lynch ran the half-marathon with a recorder alongside 13,000 other people to give us a flavour of the event.
Pic credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Contributors
Venetia Rainey (Co-host Battle Lines podcast). @venetiarainey on X.
Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.
With thanks to Ben Lynch (Journalist). @ben_lynch99 on X.
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Each week, Dom Nicholls and Francis Dearnley answer your questions, provide recommended reading, and give exclusive analysis and behind-the-scenes insights – plus maps of the frontlines and diagrams of weapons to complement our daily reporting. It’s free for everyone, including non-subscribers.
CONTENT REFERENCED:
Listen to Adelie Pojzman-Pontay reflect on Russia and China’s relationship on our sister podcast Battle Lines:
Zelensky asks Trump for 50 years of US security guarantees:
Roland’s Oliphant’s comment piece on Mariupol Theatre being reopened:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/11/mariupol-theatre-putin-ukraine-plans/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Telegraph. |
| 0:09.1 | I'm Venetian, and this is Ukraine the latest. |
| 0:13.3 | Today, as President Vladimir Zelensky appears to have secured a 15-year American security guarantee from President Donald Trump, |
| 0:20.1 | questions remain over the other key sticking points of a potential peace deal. |
| 0:24.8 | Plus, we'll be hearing a postcard from Kiev's first marathon since the full-blown war began. |
| 0:30.1 | Bravery takes you through the most unimaginable hardships to finally reward you with victory. |
| 0:38.3 | The Russia does not want peace. |
| 0:41.3 | First, we're fighting, with our help for the Ukraine, |
| 0:45.3 | also our freedom and our European |
| 0:49.3 | Worship. If I'm president, I will have that war settled in one day, 24 hours. |
| 0:54.3 | We are with you, not just today or tomorrow, but for a hundred years. |
| 0:59.4 | We can't as European, let us gain the Russia in Ukraine. |
| 1:03.9 | Nobody's going to break us. We're strong. We're Ukraine is. |
| 1:09.8 | It's Monday, the 29th of December. three years and 310 days since the full-scale invasion began. |
| 1:16.9 | Merry Christmas to everyone, and thank you for tuning into Ukraine the latest today. |
| 1:20.4 | I hope you're having a lovely holiday, a lovely Twixmas, as they say here in the UK. |
| 1:24.3 | As we haven't had a live episode for a while due to the holidays here and across much of the West, I'm going to be running through the key military and diplomatic updates of the last five days. So just bear with me as we recap a few bits from last week before getting to the big news that I know you're all waiting for of the Trump and Zelensky talks in Mar-a-Lago yesterday. Don will be sharing his analysis of that meeting and then you'll hear a |
| 1:44.7 | dispatch from Keeves Marathon, followed by final thoughts. So let's crack on, starting with military |
| 1:49.7 | updates as usual and we'll begin with activity in Ukraine. There are a few bits worth flagging |
| 1:55.2 | from last week. Russian drone attacks damaged Slovakia, Palau and Liberia flagged vessels in the |
| 2:00.6 | ports of Ukraine's |
| 2:01.5 | Odessa and Mikhailayaev regions, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Kaleba said on Friday. |
... |
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