Zelensky reveals 20-point plan to end Ukraine war

Global News Podcast

BBC

Daily News, News

4.2 • 7.8K Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2025

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

President Volodymyr Zelensky has presented a draft agreement to end the war in Ukraine, after negotiations with US. It is now being reviewed by the Kremlin. The document includes security guarantees for Ukraine from the US, NATO and Europe, but President Zelensky says the question of ceding territory is still unresolved. Also: France, Germany and the European Union condemn a decision by the US to impose visa bans on the former EU commissioner Thierry Breton and four others involved in regulating tech companies. The French President Emmanuel Macron says the measures amount to "intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty". More than 100 people have been killed in the past two weeks in drone attacks in Sudan’s South Kordofan region. The United Nations says it is alarmed by the growing use of drones by both Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. And as people prepare to hand out their Christmas presents, we look at the impact of AI toys on child development.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts.
0:05.4	This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service.
0:10.1	I'm Celia Hatton, and at 16 hours GMT on Wednesday, the 24th of December, these are our main stories.
0:18.1	President Zelensky reveals a peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine after
0:22.5	talks with Washington. And the UN says both sides in Sudan's civil war are using drones with
0:28.9	deadly results. Let's start in Ukraine, where in the last few hours, Kyiv's released the latest draft of the peace plan.
0:40.0	It's hammering out with the Trump administration.
0:42.5	It's a possible pathway to end Russia's war on Ukraine.
0:46.6	This new version shows some changes in Ukraine's stance, with Kiev floating the possibility that its troops could withdraw from the eastern Donbass region,
0:56.9	making it a free economic zone.
0:59.4	There are security guarantees for Kiev, too, with a coordinated response from the U.S., NATO and the Europeans,
1:06.5	if Russia invades Ukraine again.
1:08.8	The Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, said the Russians would weigh in on the draft deal
1:13.5	once the Americans had spoken to them, adding that his side was working hard to end the war.
1:23.5	Ukraine has never been, and will never never be an obstacle to peace.
1:28.9	We are working actively and doing everything necessary to ensure that the documents come to fruition and that they are realistic.
1:37.0	The key is that Russia must not sabotage this diplomacy and must take ending the war 100% seriously.
1:45.5	The conflicts dragged on for nearly four years.
1:48.2	On Tuesday, officials said three people, including a young child, were killed in massive
1:53.4	overnight Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine.
1:57.0	There have been repeated calls for a Christmas truce, which Russia has apparently rejected.
2:02.8	For more on the draft deal and other developments, I spoke with our correspondent in Kiev, Samira Hussein.
	...

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