News of the World

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US / NIGERIA

Trump launches ‘powerful and deadly’ Christmas Day strikes on ISIS targeting Christians in Nigeria: ‘Terrorist Scum’

President Trump announced Thursday that the US military hit ISIS terrorists in Nigeria targeting Christians with “numerous” deadly airstrikes.

“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” the president continued.

“The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.

“Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper. May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”

US Africa Command said the Christmas Day strike was carried out in Sokoto state and initial assessments indicate “multiple ISIS terrorists were killed in the ISIS camps.”

The Department of War shared unclassified footage of a missile being launched from the deck of a military vessel after Trump announced the operation.
The Pentagon coordinated with the Nigerian government ahead of the strikes.

“The Department of War worked with the government of Nigeria to carry out these strikes,” a War Department official told The Post.

“These strikes were approved by the government of Nigeria.”

Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the strike was carried out as part of ongoing security cooperation with the US, which includes the exchange of intelligence and strategic coordination to take out militant groups.

“This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West,” the ministry said in a statement.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth noted that Trump “was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end.”

“The [Department of War] is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas. More to come…” Hegseth wrote on X.

“Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation,” he added. “Merry Christmas!”

The US military had reportedly been conducting intelligence-gathering flights over large swaths of Nigeria since late last month, according to Reuters.

UKRAINE WAR

Ukraine delivers humiliating Christmas Day blow to Putin by recapturing key city

Ukraine dealt Russian dictator Vladimir Putin a humiliating Christmas Day blow when it routed Kremlin troops to wrest back control of its key eastern city of Kupyansk, a vital railroad hub, Kviv said.

The staggering setback for the Kremlin occurred as fighting continued between both sides for nearly the fourth straight year and a US-brokered peace plan remained stalled.

“Kypyansk currently has several dozen [Russian troops], they are surrendering, Viktor Trehubov, the spokesman for Ukraine’s Joint Forces, told the Kyiv Post on Thursday. “There have even been cases of foreigners — foreign mercenaries for the Russians — giving themselves up.

“Even Russian propagandists have switched to a line acknowledging that the city is no longer under their control,” Trehubov said. “In reality, it was never fully taken by them in order to be lost, aside from a short period in 2022.”

Adding insult to injury, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took a shot at Putin in a Christmas message to his countrymen, wishing, “May he perish.”
Russian military bloggers had already grown critical of Moscow’s recent claims of military gains in Kupyansk, charging that Kremlin brasshad “prematurely” moved troops from the city, “leaving the town vulnerable to Ukrainian infiltrations,” the Institute for the Study of War said this week.

Putin’s embarrassing setback in Kupyansk came as the two sides exchanged a barrage of military drones over the holiday, with Russia launching more than 130 drones overnight.

The Russian attacks caused major power outages in Odesa, Ukraine’s most important port, and inflicted heavy damage in the city and surrounding areas, CNN reported Thursday.

Zelensky called the Russians “barbarians” for the attacks.

Canada Announces $1.8B for Ukraine as Zelensky Heads to US to Meet Trump

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax on Saturday during a stopover before traveling to the United States for peace talks with President Donald Trump, according to the CBC.

During the meeting, Carney announced an additional $2.5 billion CAD ($1.8 billion USD) in economic aid for Ukraine in its fight against Moscow, which he said will help the country unlock financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

The meeting came hours after Russia launched a massive attack on Kyiv with ballistic missiles and drones, killing at least one person and wounding 27, including two children, according to the Associated Press.

Newsweek reached out to Carney's office via email on Saturday for comment.
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What To Know

Russia targeted Ukraine with 519 drones and 40 missiles on Saturday, Ukraine's air force said. The Russian Defense Ministry said it carried out a "massive strike" using "long-range precision-guided weapons from land, air and sea, including Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles" and drones, targeting energy infrastructure facilities used by Ukraine's forces and military-industrial enterprises, according to the AP.

However, more than 10 residential buildings were damaged, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. The attacks hit seven locations across the capital and knocked out electricity and heating in some districts. A fire broke out in an 18-story residential building in the Dnipro district, and a 24-story residential building in the Darnytsia district was also struck.

Poland scrambled fighter jets and temporarily closed airports in Lublin and Rzeszow near the border with Ukraine during Russia's attacks, though there was no violation of Polish airspace.

Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv that he and Trump will discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, an "economic agreement," and "territorial issues" during Sunday's talks, particularly concerning the Donetsk region and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Speaking by audio note in a WhatsApp chat with journalists, Zelensky said he would prioritize discussing security guarantees and aim to ensure there were "as few unresolved issues as possible" while respecting Ukraine's red lines, the AP reported.

He has indicated that in the draft peace plan, the U.S. has committed to providing guarantees that mirror Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which means an attack on Ukraine would trigger a collective military response from the U.S. and its allies. However, key details must be worked out in a bilateral agreement.

Earlier this week, Zelensky indicated willingness to withdraw troops from Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland as part of a peace plan, but only if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces. Moscow has demanded that Ukraine relinquish remaining territory in the Donbas region where Russia has captured most of Luhansk and approximately 70 percent of Donetsk.

Zelensky spoke with Carney by phone on Friday, updating the prime minister "on the status of our diplomatic efforts with the United States," the CBC reported. The prime minister's office confirmed Saturday's meeting, which began at approximately 1 p.m. AT (Atlantic Time).

Europe ‘Getting Ready’ for Russia War Despite Trump Talks—Kremlin

European nations are preparing for war with Russia, Moscow's foreign minister has said, ahead of a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Florida.
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What To Know

"After a new administration came to power in the United States, Europe and the European Union emerged as the main obstacles to peace," Russia's veteran Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russia's Tass state news agency in an interview published on Sunday. "They are making no secret of the fact that they are getting ready to fight it out with Russia on the battlefield."

European countries watched on with some anxiety as the Trump administration took office in January and pursued a rapprochement with Moscow, largely a pariah state for many nations in Europe since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

Concern has continued to mount in European capitals and Kyiv that U.S.-backed peace talks could end up producing a deal to end the war that puts Ukraine on the back foot and could be seen as rewarding Moscow.

Alongside the negotiations, fears have risen in the alliance, particularly along NATO members on the eastern flank pressed up against Russia, that Moscow could use an end to fighting to regroup and prepare an attack beyond Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed this as "nonsense."

NATO pledged back in June to raise defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP on "core" defense capabilities like tanks or other hardware, and another 1.5 percent on related security and defense spending, such as infrastructure. This was a major surge from recent years, when NATO members struggled to dedicate 2 percent of GDP to defense. Experts say Russia spends above 7 percent of its GDP and about a fifth of all government money on its military.

"We are not at war, but we are no longer at peace," Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in September this year. "We are no longer in the time that was so beautiful and so quiet and so peaceful."

European officials have raised the alarm over "hybrid attacks" often blamed on Russia. This refers to operations that fall short of open warfare, like weaponizing migration, carrying out cyberattacks or damaging critical infrastructure.

Ukraine Strikes Russian Oil Refinery Ahead of Trump-Zelensky Talks

Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery overnight, Kyiv's military said on Sunday, just ahead of a planned meeting between the country's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, and U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida this weekend.
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What To Know

Ukraine struck the Syzran oil refinery in Russia's Samara region, southeast of Moscow, with long-range drones, the Ukrainian military said in a statement. The attack caused a fire at the site, according to Kyiv, but Ukrainian authorities said the extent of the damage was still being assessed.

Russia's Defense Ministry said early on Sunday its air defenses had detected and taken out 25 Ukrainian drones overnight, nearly half of which were intercepted over Samara. Moscow did not reference an attack on oil facilities in the region.

Ukraine said the site is capable of processing almost 9 million tons of oil each year and was supporting Russia's military.

Kyiv also attacked Syzran in early December. Reuters reported that the strikes earlier this month had forced the refinery to temporarily stop processing.

Kyiv said on Sunday it had hit "a number of other facilities," including a site for strike drones in the Russian-controlled city of Makiivka, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, and storage for uncrewed boats in western Crimea.

Ukraine had said on Thursday its forces had attacked the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Russia's Rostov region, bordering eastern Ukraine, using British air-launched Storm Shadow missiles.

Hours later, Russian Telegram channels separately reported explosions in the Russian city of Volgograd late on Thursday in an area hosting a major oil refinery operated by the country's energy giant, Lukoil. Ukraine said on Sunday the strike had damaged a pipeline and part of the processing plant at the site.

Russia launched 48 drones at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's air force said in a separate statement on Sunday. The Ukrainian military intercepted 30 of the drones, but 18 struck nine unspecified locations across the country, according to the air force.

Ukrainian officials said one person had been injured in "massive shelling" in the southern Kherson region overnight and a residential building had caught fire after a drone attack in the southern Odesa area. Ukraine's Energy Ministry said Russia had attacked the country's infrastructure into Sunday and tens of thousands of people had no access to power.

Large-scale drone and missile strikes the previous night largely targeted Ukraine's capital, killing at least one person and injuring 32 others, according to officials. Zelensky said these attacks were evidence Russia does "not want to end the war."

Trump willing to travel to Ukraine, pitch parliament on ceding land to Russia in bid to end war

President Trump on Sunday suggested he would be willing to go to Ukraine to convince its parliament to concede land to Russia in a bid to end the war after meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky —while declaring peace is “closer than ever before.”

The two leaders held a wide-ranging discussion over lunch at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday afternoon about how to end the nearly four-year-old conflict, which Trump called “the biggest war, certainly the deadliest war, since World War II.”

Trump, asked by a reporter at a post-summit press conference about whether he would go to Ukraine to help end the war, replied, “I’d have no problem with doing it.

“I don’t anticipate it. I would like to get the deal done and not necessarily have to go,” he said.

But “I’ve offered to go and speak to their parliament,” Trump said, specifically referring to the potential need by Ukraine to concede some of the Donbas region to Russia.

Trump said the US and Ukraine were “95 percent” in agreement about much of Zelensky’s proposed 20-point peace plan but acknowledged that certain issues, such as control of Ukraine’s contested Donbas region, would be tough to resolve.

“There are one or two very thorny issues, very tough issues,”  Trump said, citing Donbas in particular as an “issue they’re gonna have to iron out, but I think it’s moving in the right direction.

“I think the land — you’re talking about — some of that land has been taken,” he said, referring to Russia’s incursion.

“Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months — and you’re better off making a deal now.”

Throughout the peace talks, Zelensky has maintained that he lacks the authority to cede land to Russia on his own, casting doubt on territorial concessions.

During the press conference, the Ukrainian leader explained that his country’s parliament could potentially vote on the issue or they could put it up for a referendum.

“It’s their land,” Zelensky explained, referring to the Ukrainian people. “The land, not of one person, it’s the land of our nation for a lot of generations.”

Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin has been adamant that Ukraine cede the rest of Donbas, despite the Kremlin so far failing to conquer that territory by force throughout the deadly war.

Ukraine’s newly revamped 20-point plan is a pared-down version of a previous US 28-point plan, which was viewed as much more pro-Russian.

The revised plan, which Zelensky has described as “the main framework for ending the war,” includes proposals for security guarantees from the US, NATO and European allies should Russia try to invade Ukraine again, as well as steps to reaffirm Ukraine’s sovereignty and a proposed non-aggression pact between the sides.

Zelensky pointed to Ukraine obtaining security guarantees as the “key milestone” to achieving lasting peace.

“We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework, which includes the 20-point peace plan — 90% agreed, and  U.S.-Ukraine security guarantees — 100% agreed. U.S.-Europe-Ukraine security guarantees — almost agreed. Military dimension — 100% agreed,” Zelensky said.

Trump said he believes Russia will play a role in rebuilding Ukraine after hostilities conclude and that the Kremlin “wants Ukraine to succeed.”

Zelensky looked visibly uncomfortable and seemingly bit his tongue when Trump made that remark.

Ukrainian leaders have been careful to refrain from doing anything that could set Trump off. At one point, Trump briefly appeared to make a quick reference to the infamous Feb. 28 Oval Office blow-up with Zelensky that has kept Ukrainian officials on edge when dealing with the famously mercurial Trump.

As for peace, Trump said, “There’s nothing more important.