Return to Transcripts main page

The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Russia Pounds Kyiv Ahead Of Sunday's Peace Talks In U.S. Aired 1-1:30a ET

Aired December 27, 2025 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:34]

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to The Story Is I'm Salma Abdelaziz in for Elex Michaelson.

Russia is hitting Ukraine's capital with strikes just as major peace talks are set for Sunday in the U.S. Officials say Russia launched a major attack overnight, forcing people to take shelter in metro stations yet again. A Ukrainian journalist confirmed to CNN about an hour ago the strikes were still underway. Ukraine's air force has announced a nationwide air alert, saying drones and missiles were moving over several other regions, while Poland says it scrambled fighter jets and temporarily closed two of its airports because of the strikes in Ukraine. And that's happening ahead of a meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida. The Ukrainian leader says a peace plan is 90 percent ready, but as Kevin Liptak reports, the remaining 10 percent won't be so easy of a deal to close.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Zelenskyy's visit down here to Palm Beach on Sunday will be a significant moment. And just the fact that the Ukrainians were able to get this meeting on the calendar is itself significant. They had been pressing the Americans to arrange a meeting between the two presidents for quite some time. But what President Trump had said is that he did not believe a meeting with Zelenskyy would be useful unless they were nearing a deal on peace in Ukraine. And there has been significant progress on that front over the last week or so.

Even just down here in South Florida. An American team led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's foreign envoys, taking meetings with a Ukrainian delegation, with an envoy from Russia to try and get this peace plan over the finish line. And what we have heard from American officials is that they are 90 percent there. But of course, that remaining 10 percent remains a very sticky subject. Of course, the issue of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently occupied by Russia, has yet to be resolved.

But primarily the differences at this point appear to be those land concessions. You know, there's somewhat of an understanding that Ukraine will have to concede some territory in order for this war to end. And part of President Trump's task, I think, will be to sort of massage that subject with Zelenskyy when they sit down. You know, we have not heard from Moscow any backing off of their maximalist demands to end this war, namely that Ukraine give up the entire Donbas region. And so this will be, I think, an important moment for them to discuss this.

Now, President Trump on Friday did sound somewhat lukewarm about the prospects for success here. He says he doesn't have anything until I approve it, referring to Zelenskyy. We'll see what he's got. Zelenskyy, of course, is coming here with his own 20 point peace plan, sort of his version of the agreement that he thinks would end the war.

Zelenskyy does seem more optimistic. He said in an interview that he believed this meeting could result in an agreement to end the war, that he would agree to call a referendum on any peace plan as long as Russia agrees to a ceasefire. Of course, Vladimir Putin will not be down here in Palm Beach. And Russia remains sort of an outstanding question of whether they'll agree to this plan.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

ABDELAZIZ: Let's head over to Ukraine's capital where we are joined by Oleksiy Sorokin. He is the deputy chief editor of the Kyiv Independent.

Good morning to you, first of all. Thank you so much for being with us here. We understand there have been major attacks, a major aerial assault yet again overnight on the capital. Can you give me update on what is happening around you, your safety, what you are seeing right now?

OLEKSIY SOROKIN, DEPUTY CHIEF EDITOR, THE KYIV INDEPENDENT: Yes. Well, thank you for having me. The attack is still ongoing. A few hours back, Kyiv was hit by cruise and ballistic missiles. Right now, according to reports, there's going to be a drone attack.

We're now awaiting drones incoming from the east, eastern part of the city. We know that several buildings have been damaged in the region, not in the capital, but in the region surrounding it. And unfortunately, because it was the middle of the night and it was curfew, we have not yet received reports on is everybody all right or there injuries and casualties? We know that at least two people are injured, but for more we will have to wait maybe a few hours to see.

[01:05:21]

ABDELAZIZ: And may I ask about you personally, did you hear air raid sirens overnight? Did you have to take shelter? Are you with your family? Can you tell me about what you've experienced overnight?

SOROKIN: Well, unfortunately, it's not the first time that there's a major attack over Kyiv. I know a lot of people in Kyiv, they don't shelter during every attack. They assess the situation. The last time I sheltered when a neighboring building was hit by a drone. And then I was like, OK, me and my family, we probably are going to a shelter, right. Today, we heard explosions, we heard ballistic missiles a few hours back. But we decided to stay put and hopefully, hopefully nobody gets -- nobody gets injured.

ABDELAZIZ: I'm very glad to hear of your safety. But you're also explaining to me how this has just become part of daily life even as peace talks are taking place. And we understand, of course, that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet with President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday. What can we expect of this meeting? What can change?

What can move this process forward?

SOROKIN: Well, the problem with the peace talks is that there is one side that wants to end the war and the other one that absolutely doesn't. And so right now, Zelenskyy is hoping that this new plan, this 20 point peace plan that he's bringing to President Trump on Sunday, along with two more agreements. One is the defense agreement that Ukraine is hoping to receive from the U.S. and European partners, but also an investment and reconstruction agreement that this package of plans, so to say, can sway President Trump to support it and then put pressure on Russia. Because the weird part here is that Mr. Zelenskyy is traveling to the U.S. without Russia ever agreeing to any set of peace negotiations, peace plans and so on. So we don't really know.

Even if President Trump and President Zelenskyy agree on something, sign something, will Russia actually follow. And by the attacks happening behind me, we can see that Russia is not really interested in peace.

ABDELAZIZ: Will Russia follow? So I feel like there's a bit of doubt in your voice when you're speaking about these peace talks. Can you talk to me about how ordinary Ukrainians are perceiving President Trump's peace efforts? Do they have faith that those could result in an end to the conflict? And do you feel like it could end the war.

SOROKIN: Well, this is the third or fourth time that President Trump is pushing for some kind of peace deal. A lot of Ukrainians were really scared and I would say had an aggressive approach when President Trump presented the 28 peace plan, which was effectively a Ukrainian surrender. And obviously this plan was seen as something that Russia or Mr. Dmitriev passed to Mr. Witkoff. So Ukrainians after that, they're not really -- they don't trust the U.S. Unfortunately, if we look at what happened last year and then this year, we see that the U.S. from an ally of Ukraine turn into being -- well, they call themselves -- you call them -- yourself mediators.

But in Ukraine, people are hesitant to call the U.S. a mediator. So people are hesitant to support anything that the U.S. brings. But obviously, a lot of people -- well, most people in Ukraine, they hope the war will end someday and they hope that there's going to be a just peace. And it looks like it may happen. But I personally don't believe that anything will be changing in the next few months at least.

ABDELAZIZ: Oleksiy Sorokin, that's such an important point that you're making there. Trust in short supply. How do you forge peace without trust? Thank you so much for bringing those updates from Kyiv.

Sources tell CNN that the U.S. administration has not given up its pursuit of the oil tanker that was chased near Venezuela last weekend. The Bella One fled when the Coast Guard tried to stop it, and it is still on the run. Officials no longer expect it to return to Venezuela to load up with oil. Those familiar with the situation say the U.S. is considering sending a maritime special response team to seize it. The team has experience boarding ships that refuse to submit.

[01:10:02]

The White House says the Bella One is a dark fleet vessel sailing under a false flag and covered by U.S. sanctions.

A group of Venezuelans who were sent to a maximum security prison in El Salvador are trying to challenge their deportation in U.S. court. A U.S. judge ruled this week that the Trump administration must arrange for the return of hundreds who were deported and held in CECOT prison in San Salvador. The ruling says the men's right to due process was violated and they can challenge their deportation in the United States. It requires the Trump administration to present a plan within two weeks for their return. Now the administration has invoked the 18th century Alien Enemy Act to deport the men, claiming they were gang members and forgoing hearings.

Many of the lawyers and families and here the deportees themselves seem to they have no link to the gangs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TITO MARTINEZ, VENEZUELAN RELEASED FROM CECOT (through translator): I was in ICE and they labeled me as a terrorist, which we are not. They made a mistake and they knew it. They placed me with terrorists in ICE in the United States and they beat me up. Because of that beating, I spent eight days in bed unable to get up. And that's when I started having kidney problems.

While I was bedridden, they transferred me to El Salvador where I was tortured.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Nigeria's Foreign Ministry says no civilians were killed in U.S. airstrikes on Christmas Day. The U.S. said the strikes targeted Islamic State terrorists in locations around the country, but people in one village in northwestern Nigeria say the attacks were shocking and confusing. They say that's because Muslims and Christians live in harmony there. CNN's Larry Madowo has more on those strikes.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump says the Christmas night airstrikes carried out by the United States in the northwest of Nigeria against Islamist terrorists were a Christmas present. He told Politico that they wanted to do it earlier, but he said, nope, let's do it on Christmas Day. And they didn't see it coming. He claims that these camps were decimated. We haven't seen much battle damage assessment, so we don't know the exact impact of the airstrikes. We did see some small craters created in one part of Sokoto State where this attack happened and also some criticism from clerics and others in Nigeria. One Muslim cleric pointing out that Sokoto is about 80 percent, 90 percent Muslim and has not had a lot of militant attacks and questioning why the U.S. targeted this largely Muslim province in the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has shown that Nigeria is very weak. It's at the weakest point in life of Nigeria whereby foreign false will come and bully Nigerians into accepting this kind of indignation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: But Nigeria's foreign minister pushed back on any claims that it allowed the U.S. to violate its airspace. They collaborated in this and they're very proud of the work that was done here. But they disagree on the Americans characterizing this as a religious fight. They say terrorism affects both Muslims and Christians in Nigeria and across the Sahel, this arid and semi-arid part Africa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YUSUF TUGGAR, NIGERIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER: It was a collaborative effort between Nigeria and the U.S. And President Tinubu gave the go ahead before it took place. And we don't see it violating our sovereignty or territorial integrity, which is very important. And it is not about religion. It's about the protection of lives and property of Nigerians and our neighbors as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: Exact numbers of Christian or Muslim victims of these attacks in Nigeria are hard to come by, but the population is evenly split between Christians and Muslims. Some of the reasons behind these conflicts has been the battle for resources between herders and farmers. There's been ethnic tensions and yes, there have been religious angles to some of these conflicts, killings and kidnappings that have been widely reported. But a few days ago, there was an explosion blamed on a suicide bomber at a mosque. The Nigerian vice president visited victims of that attack.

It has been animating issue for many in the U.S. MAGA right. And it finally made its way before President Trump. And we saw this cryptic post from the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who only said, more to come.

Larry Madowo, CNN, London.

ABDELAZIZ: Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an immediate ceasefire after weeks of fierce border clashes. Both countries announced the deal a short time ago. It follows nearly three weeks of clashes that have killed more than 100 people. As part of the agreement, the two countries agreed to maintain current troop deployments with no further movement. Thailand and Cambodia signed a ceasefire in the fall that Donald Trump helped broker.

The fighting resumed earlier this month when that ceasefire broke down.

[01:15:08]

Now an explosion during Friday prayers in a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs has killed at least eight people. The attack injured another 18 people. Syria state news agency reports that explosive devices were planted inside the mosque to target worshippers. As you can see there, the interior sustained heavy damage and was strewn with debris. Survivors describe the scene as chaos.

A group calling itself Ansara Sunnah (ph) claimed responsibility. Syrian officials have not yet commented on that claim.

Israel's military has launched an operation in the occupied West Bank. The mission was ordered shortly after a deadly car and knife attack in northern Israel on Friday. Police say the suspect, a Palestinian man, killed two people when he ran over a pedestrian with a car and stabbed a teenage girl. CNN's Matthew Chance has more from Jerusalem.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, police are calling it a rolling terror attack in which two people have been killed in northern Israel. The suspect, a Palestinian from the occupied west bank, ran over a 68-year-old Israeli man in the city of Beit She'an, according to police, and then stabbed a teenage Israeli woman near the kibbutz, a 16 year-old-boy, is also said to have been left injured. Police say the attacker was ultimately confronted by a civilian bystander and then evacuated to a hospital in what's described as a -- as a moderate condition. Shortly after the attacks, a military operation in the west bank city of Qabatiya, believed to be the suspect's hometown, was launched.

In a statement, the Israeli Defense minister, Israel Katz, said that he instructed the army to act forcefully and to immediately locate and thwart every terrorist and every terrorist infrastructure in the city. But the attack has also fueled calls in Israel for even tougher anti- terrorism measures with Israel's far right. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir saying the attack demonstrates, quote, "the urgent need to pass a death penalty for terrorists," which the Israeli government is currently debating.

Anyone who sets out to carry out anti-Semitic terror attacks must know that Israel will not allow them to continue living, will send them straight to hell. That's what Ben-Gvir said in a statement after the latest incidents. Sort of illustrating just how tense the bloodletting continues to be in this region.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Jerusalem.

ABDELAZIZ: From U.S. strikes on Iran to devastating fires in Los Angeles, we look next at some of the news events that went viral this year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [01:21:48]

ABDELAZIZ: As we prepare to say farewell to 2025, CNN's Boris Sanchez takes a look at some of the most surprising and astonishing news events that went viral this year. From Oval Office spots to a new pope from Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Number 10, Trump targets Iran. Hours after the United States began its precision airstrikes on three nuclear facilities in an unprecedented aerial bombardment of Iran, the president spoke to the nation.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tonight. I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): In the aftermath, some members of Congress openly questioned the constitutionality of the strikes, while others, especially MAGA lawmakers, supported the administration.

Number nine, L.A. devastated. Satellite images showing the breadth and depth of the runaway Eaton wildfire, the fast moving flames this past January forcing thousands to flee their homes in search of higher and safer ground. Devastation like this will take years to rebuild.

Number eight, a shocking midair collision caught on tape. On January 29th of this year, an American Airlines flight operated by American Eagle and a U.S. army Blackhawk helicopter collided over the freezing Potomac River at night. The tragedy caught on tape. The jet was on final approach to Reagan National while the helicopter had been performing a required flying evaluation. All 67 people aboard both aircrafts died.

Number seven, an American is Pope. In May, shortly after the death of Pope Francis, the College of Cardinals elected their next leader. And to the surprise of many, the choice was this man, Chicago's very own Cardinal, Robert Francis Prevost, the first Augustinian pope.

POPE LEO XIV: I invite you to recognize the marvels that the Lord has done.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Even more surprising, he briefly spoke in English during his first Mass.

Number six, hot mic. Justin Trudeau, who at the time was Canada's prime minister, overheard making a jaw dropping admission to business leaders back in February, essentially telling them that President Trump's talk of making Canada a 51st U.S. state was no joke. So far, Canada remains Canada.

Number five, Cramer speaks out. Famed CNBC broadcaster Jim Cramer, appearing on Erin Burnett's show earlier this year, admitting he was misled by the Trump administration's tariffs policy. Listen.

JIM CRAMER, CNBC HOST: Over and over again the president said, listen, it's going to be reciprocal. So you do it, we do it. And that was going to be so good. And I really believed in it. And I feel like a sucker tonight.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Number four, swallowed whole. A father on a kayak captures the moment his son Adrian was briefly swallowed by a humpback whale off the coast of Chile. Adrian told CNN he didn't realize at first it was a whale and thought he just got caught up in a big wave.

[01:25:02]

ADRIAN SIMANCAS, SWALLOWED BY WHALE: If the whale had hit me, it would be more dangerous.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): What a story to tell his grandkids.

Number three, beauty influencer gunned down. Valeria Marquez was shot and killed by a man who entered her salon, all while on a TikTok live stream in Zapopan, Mexico. Her death sending shockwaves through a country grappling with frequent suspected cases of femicide.

Number two, Jimmy Kimmel speaking out. After a brief suspension following controversial comments he made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Jimmy Kimmel returned to ABC late night to say he never intended to make light of Kirk's murder, also delivering powerful remarks about freedom of speech.

JIMMY KIMMEL, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE" HOST: This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): And the number one, viral video on CNN's countdown, the feud seen around the world.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Can I answer?

TRUMP: Wait a minute. No, no, you've done a lot of talking.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): On the left, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy hoping to win more lethal aid from the President. On the right, President Trump moments before he would launch into a verbal rampage against Zelenskyy.

Boris Sanchez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: Thank you for watching. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in Atlanta. "Quest's World of Wonder" is next. Then I'll be back with more news at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)