Entertainment
In talks with Zelenskiy, Trump appears to press pause on fresh support
- Zelenskiy’s visit aimed at acquiring weapons to sustain war with Russia.
- Trump appears more intent on brokering peace deal between two sides.
- US, Ukraine presidents discuss call between Russia’s Putin and Trump.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy came to the White House on Friday looking for weapons to keep fighting his country’s war with Russia, but met an American president who appears more intent on brokering a peace deal than upgrading Ukraine’s arsenal.
While US President Donald Trump did not rule out providing the long-range Tomahawk missiles Zelenskiy seeks, Trump appeared cool to the prospect as he looked ahead to a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary in the coming weeks.
The two leaders then went behind closed doors where they also discussed a call the previous day between the Russian president and Trump, who has portrayed himself as a mediator between the warring forces despite the fact that Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
‘Get along a little’
“I think President Zelenskiy wants it done, and I think President Putin wants it done. Now all they have to do is get along a little bit,” Trump told reporters.
Zelenskiy, however, noted how difficult it has been to try to secure a ceasefire. “We want this. Putin doesn’t want (it),” he said.
The Ukrainian leader was frank, telling Trump that Ukraine has thousands of drones ready for an offensive against Russian targets, but needs American missiles.
“We don’t have Tomahawks, that’s why we need Tomahawks,” he said.
Trump responded: “We’d much rather have them not need Tomahawks.”
Later, Trump reiterated that he wants the United States to hold onto its weaponry. “We want Tomahawks also. We don’t want to be giving away things that we need to protect our country,” he said.
After the meeting, which Zelenskiy described as productive, he told reporters he did not want to talk about long-range missiles, saying the US did not want escalation, and that he was “realistic” about his chance of getting them.
The Ukrainian president, who spoke by phone with European leaders after the meeting, said he was counting on Trump to pressure Putin “to stop this war.”
When asked about Trump’s comments, Zelenskiy said: “President (Trump) is right, and we have to stop where we are. This is important, to stop where we are, and then to speak.”
Back to the table
It was unclear what Putin had told Trump that prompted him to agree to the upcoming meeting. Their August summit in Alaska ended early with no major breakthrough.
The Kremlin said much needed to be decided and that the summit might take place “a little later” than within the two-week period mentioned by Trump.
Trump’s conciliatory tone after the call with Putin raised questions over the near-term likelihood of assistance to Ukraine and reignited European fears of a deal that suits Russia. A spokesperson for the European Union said it welcomed the talks if they could help bring peace to Ukraine.
Trump was asked on Friday whether he was concerned Putin might be “playing” him for time by agreeing to talks.
“You know, I’ve been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well, so it’s possible,” Trump replied.
Michael Carpenter, a former US official who is now a senior fellow at International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the meeting with Trump was not what Zelenskiy had been hoping for but was in line with the administration’s approach to the war.
“The underlying reality is that there is no inclination to impose costs on Russia,” he said.
The president expressed affection for Zelenskiy, at one point praising him for wearing what Trump called a “very stylish” dark suit jacket after he was knocked earlier this year for visiting the White House without one.
“He looks beautiful in his jacket,” Trump said. “I hope people notice.”
War has intensified
Trump, who has campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize, is eager to add to the list of conflicts he says he has been instrumental in ending.
More than 3-1/2 years after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has made some territorial gains this year, but Ukraine’s top military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Thursday that the Russian offensive had failed.
Putin this month said his forces had taken almost 5,000 square kilometres (1,930 square miles) of land in Ukraine in 2025, equivalent to adding 1% of Ukraine’s territory to the nearly 20% already held.
Both sides have also escalated attacks on each other’s energy systems, and Russian drones and jets have strayed into Nato countries.
Analysts see talks as delaying tactic
The White House had seemed in recent days to be increasingly frustrated with Putin and leaning toward granting Zelenskiy fresh support, including the Tomahawk missiles that Ukrainians say would help them inflict more damage to Russia’s war machine.
After Friday’s talks, Zelenskiy said Russia was “afraid” of Tomahawks. Moscow has warned that supplying such missiles would mark a serious escalation.
Putin’s move appeared meant to make the US transfer of such weapons less likely, said Max Bergmann, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Mykola Bielieskov, a senior analyst at Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian non-governmental organisation that is a major procurer of military equipment for the Ukrainian armed forces, said Tomahawk missiles would level a playing field that is tipped toward Russia.
“We don’t expect Russia to crumble after one, two or three successful strikes,” Bielieskov said. “But it’s about pressure, constant pressure. It’s about disrupting the military-industrial complex.”
Madelyn Cline has opened about her experience of working with the two big names of Hollywood; Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz.
The American actress and model will be starring in the upcoming film Day Drinker alongside Depp and Cruz.
Cline has recently shared her feedback about how she felt working with the two.
She added, “That was a really emotionally intense one. I actually just heard some really wonderful feedback about it, so that’s exciting.”
Madelyn feels lucky to have an opportunity to work with the legends. She believes that learning from them priceless.
The Knives Out actress told Interview magazine, “It’s a crime thriller, but it also exists in its own world. It’s Penelope and Johnny, and Marc Webb. The opportunity to be in another situation where I’m watching these legends work and learning from them is absolutely priceless.”
Day Drinker is going to be an action thriller directed by Marc Webb. The film will also mark as the comeback of Depp following his viral legal battle with ex Amber Heard.
The makers dropped the first look of the Pirates of the Caribbean actor from the film in which he looked completely unrecognizable.
- Pakistan, PLA commence joint Warrior-IX exercise: ISPR.
- Says exercise focuses on counterterrorism operations.
- Adds drill aims to enhance interoperability and skills.
The Pakistan Army and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China have commenced the joint military exercise “Warrior-IX”, the ninth edition in the series of bilateral counterterrorism exercises conducted annually between the two iron-clad brothers, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement on Tuesday.
The military’s media wing said that the exercise began on December 1, focusing on counterterrorism operations, with the aim of enhancing interoperability, refining professional skills, and exchanging best practices in modern warfare.
Pakistan and China enjoy a longstanding, time-tested defence cooperation rooted in mutual trust and strategic partnership.
Exercise Warrior-IX stands as a testament to the robust military-to-military relations between the two countries and reaffirms their shared commitment to regional peace, stability, and security, the ISPR statement read.
“Mangla Corps Commander, Major General Bian Xiaoming, Deputy Chief of Staff, Western Theatre Command, PLA, and other senior military officials from both Pakistan and China attended the opening ceremony of the exercise that was held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Pabbi,” it added.
Entertainment
KP police warned against taking part in political activities as PTI plans to protest in Islamabad today
- DIG Security Division issues directives to KP police personnel.
- Police directed to avoid participating in political activity.
- Asked to remain in their legal and geographical jurisdictions.
PESHAWAR: Police officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been directed to perform their duties within their legal and geographical jurisdictions amid concerns expressed by the Centre over use of state machinery by the PTI-led provincial government for political demonstration.
In an official circular sent to senior officers across the province, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Security Division Shakir Hussain Dawar reminded police personnel that they are duty-bound to maintain neutrality and must not take part in any form of political activity.
The directive reinforces existing rules that prohibit members of the law-enforcement force from aligning with a political group or joining their demonstrations and rallies.
The instructions come amid concerns within the federal government that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) may attempt to use the provincial police force for political purposes, as the party plans to stage a protest outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC) today.
PTI’s KP chapter spokesperson Adeel Iqbal said the party had decided to hold the demonstration on December 2 (today). Speaking to Geo News on Saturday, he claimed: “This time, there will be a well-defined strategy for meeting the PTI founder.”
He warned that the party would respond to “any unlawful actions taken against them”, adding that the days of “those violating the Constitution were numbered”.
Chief Minister KP Sohail Afridi has repeatedly been denied permission to meet the incarcerated PTI founder in Adiala Jail — the latest refusal being the eighth since he took office. After the most recent denial last week, he spent the night outside the Adiala jail.
He was later joined by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, head of the Tehreek Tahaffuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Mishal Yousafzai, Senator Gurdeep Singh, Senator Rubina Naz, MNA Zulfiqar Ahmed and KP’s Information Minister Shafi Jan.
In view of today’s protest announcement, authorities in the capital have reiterated that Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code remains in force in Islamabad, prohibiting protests, rallies or public gatherings. The district administration warned that action would be taken immediately against any unlawful activity.
“Police and other law-enforcement agencies have been put on high alert,” the statement said, adding that all security bodies would work together to maintain order. Citizens were advised to avoid activities declared unlawful under Section 144.
Meantime, Rawalpindi’s Deputy Commissioner Hasan Waqar Cheema also imposed Section 144 in the city from December 1 to 3.
Meanwhile, the sons of the imprisoned former prime minister have expressed fears that authorities may be concealing “something irreversible” about his condition after more than three weeks without any verifiable information regarding his well-being.
Kasim Khan told Reuters that despite a court-ordered right to weekly meetings, the family had not had direct contact with him, fuelling speculation about a possible transfer to some other undisclosed location or deterioration of his health.
The PTI founder has been in jail since August 2023, following his removal from office through a no-confidence vote in April 2022.
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