The dispute over occupied territories in Ukraine continues to be a sticking point amid negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow as President Donald Trump seeks to help bring an end to the war between the neighboring countries. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Fox News’ Bret Baier that a peace deal with Moscow could be close following his Sunday meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

‘Even with one question today, we’ve been very close,’ Zelenskyy told Baier on ‘Special Report.’ ‘I think we have a problem with one question: It’s about territories.’

Key issues about territory remain unresolved in talks that have taken place over months. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently said that the West must acknowledge the fact that Russia holds the advantage on the battlefield.

Zelenskyy has been reluctant to cede territory held by Russian forces since the war began in 2022 over to Moscow. 

Zelenskyy has suggested that Ukraine might be open to withdrawing from the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which Russia wants to annex, only if Ukrainian voters give their approval in a referendum. 

‘I think the compromise, if we do a free economic zone that we have, and we have to move some kilometers back. It means that Russia has to make minor steps some kilometers back,’ Zelenskyy said. ‘This free economic zone will have specific rules. Something like this referendum is the way how to accept it or not accept it.’

Putin doesn’t want peace, Zelenskyy said, despite the mounting death toll for Russian forces. 

‘I don’t trust Putin. He doesn’t want success for Ukraine,’ Zelenskyy said. ‘I believe he can say such words to President Trump… but it’s not true really.’

Following his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy said they were 90% agreed on a draft 20-point plan, despite Moscow showing no signs of budging on its territorial demands. 

The meeting came after Trump spoke with Putin over the phone where they both agreed that a deal must be reached to end Europe’s longest war in 80 years. 

It also came a day after Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv a day earlier. Moscow also claimed that Putin’s home in the Novgorod region was the target of a Ukrainian drone attack overnight, which Ukraine denies. 

Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams argued that the Biden administration’s Justice Department engaged in ‘lawfare’ against the former president’s political opponents, including himself on corruption allegations and President Donald Trump over issues such as mishandling classified documents.

‘I think what we have witnessed under President Biden’s Justice Department, Americans should never have to live through that again,’ Adams said on Monday during an appearance on Fox News’ ‘The Story.’

‘You saw everyday Americans who fought for the education of their children being put on watch lists, I think that you saw what happened with Charlie Kirk, when you saw the raiding of President Trump’s home. Debates should have happened … I think that you’re seeing the clear indication that the Justice Department under the previous administration used lawfare to go after those who disagree with them,’ he added.

Asked if he felt as angry about the alleged weaponization of the DOJ before he was targeted, Adams said ‘personal experience allows us to see firsthand the abuse.’

‘I spent my entire life, not only as a police officer, but as a state senator and borough president fighting against injustices,’ Adams said. ‘There’s a real history, a rich history, of me standing up and fighting what the criminal justice system should never be. Yes, that anger was there long before I was a target, but what I saw happen while I was the mayor is really deplorable, and we saw what happened to President Trump’s family as well.’

‘If you were to go back and look at my life story on criminal justice reform and not abuse, it goes back to being a young man who was abused at the hands of law enforcement,’ he continued. ‘And so I’ve always been a clear voice, and it really personalized it of what I was fighting for years because I experienced the lawfare myself.’

Adams was indicted in September 2024 on federal corruption charges related to bribery, wire fraud and accepting illegal foreign campaign contributions from Turkish officials and businessmen. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The mayor has insisted that the case was politically motivated over his criticism of how the Biden administration handled illegal immigration, but prosecutors in the Southern District of New York said in court filings that the investigation began in September 2021, before Adams’ public criticism of the government’s immigration policies or his mayoral election win.

The charges were dropped earlier this year at the request of the Trump administration.

Adams is set to leave office at the turn of the new year, when Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will be sworn in.

Back on Inauguration Day, few in Washington would have believed that the highly publicized friendship between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk would implode before the year’s end.

No political partnership burned brighter or fizzled faster than Trump and Musk’s in 2025. What began as a joint crusade to cut federal spending through the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency quickly devolved into a public falling out that unfolded in a full-blown social media feud.

As 2025 comes to a close, here’s a look back at the biggest political breakup of the year.

October 2024 — First public appearance together

The 2024 presidential campaign was the driving force for the high-profile partnership that ensued.

After the first Trump assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, Musk endorsed Trump in an X post. Musk went on to donate more than $200 million to Trump’s presidential campaign through his super PAC, America PAC.

While the two appeared together for a virtual town hall that August, the X owner and Tesla CEO made his first public appearance with Trump on Oct. 5, as the soon-to-be president returned to Butler three months after the shooting and one month before Election Day.

Musk was jumping for joy as he joined Trump on stage.

November 2024 — Musk appointed to lead DOGE

After Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Musk was appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency.

On stage in Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, after winning the election, Trump said of Musk, ‘A star is born!’

Two weeks after the election, Trump and his family attended the SpaceX ‘Starship’ launch with Musk.

January 2025 — Inauguration Day

Trump made DOGE official on Inauguration Day by signing an executive order to cut waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government with a mandate to modernize ‘Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.’

Musk joined fellow tech moguls Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg for Trump’s inauguration.

Early 2025 — DOGE cleans house

As the Trump administration got settled, DOGE got to work pursuing Musk’s ambitious goal of cutting up to $2 trillion from the federal budget.

As of October 2025, DOGE has saved approximately $214 billion through a combination of asset sales, contract or lease cancellations, fraud and improper payment deletions, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings and workforce reductions, according to the DOGE website.

When tens of thousands of federal workers were laid off, protests began erupting across the United States, rejecting Musk’s leadership and Trump’s sweeping, second-term agenda.

March 2025 — Trump buys a Tesla 

Amid growing discontent directed at Musk and DOGE, Tesla stocks began seeing a drop earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Musk’s political involvement prompted push back from protesters. Tesla vehicles, charging stations and dealerships were targeted in a string of vandalism attacks.

In a show of support for Musk, Trump turned the White House South Lawn into a Tesla showroom and bought a red Tesla Model S.

‘He’s built this great company, and he shouldn’t be penalized, because he’s a patriot,’ Trump said.

May 2025 — Musk departs DOGE

By May, Musk began paring back his hours leading the controversial agency.

According to the Office of Government Ethics, ‘special government employees’ like Musk can work for the federal government no more than 130 days a year, which in Musk’s case was May 30.

On his last day at DOGE, Musk joined Trump in the Oval Office for a press conference celebrating the billionaire’s legacy.

June 2025 — Musk torches OBBB

Soon after Musk left the White House, Trump and Musk had their ‘big, beautiful’ breakup, fueled by congressional negotiations for Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

‘I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,’ Musk said in a post on June 3. ‘This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.’

Trump’s megabill included tax cuts, green energy spending cuts and Medicaid reform, but fiscal conservatives, like Musk, argued it didn’t do enough to reduce the nation’s $38 trillion debt crisis.

Trump told reporters he was ‘very disappointed’ in Musk’s criticism of his marquee megabill.

‘Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore,’ Trump said.

Musk then fired back on X, arguing that, ‘Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.’

The Tesla CEO urged Trump to ‘keep the EV/solar incentives cuts in the bill.’

After Musk fired off several posts on X, Trump started firing back on his own social media platform, writing on Truth Social that Musk was ‘wearing thin’ and claiming that he asked Musk to leave the White House.

‘I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!’ Trump said.

The president then threatened to ‘terminate Elon’s Government Subsidies and Contracts.’

Musk fired back with a ‘really big bomb,’ accusing Trump of being ‘in the Epstein files.’

‘This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted. The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response.

July 2025 — Fall-out fireworks

Congress narrowly passed Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act by a self-imposed July 4 deadline.

Ahead of its final passage, Musk renewed his criticism of the reconciliation bill on social media.

In response, Trump threatened to use DOGE to investigate Musk’s government subsidies for his companies.

September 2025 — Brought together at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service

Months later, Trump and Musk reunited to honor the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated during a Turing Point USA event in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10.

Trump and Musk were spotted shaking hands at Kirk’s memorial service in a box at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

‘For Charlie,’ Musk later responded to the photo on X.

October 2025 — Trump offers kind words

Aboard Air Force One on Oct. 27, Trump seemed to bury the hatchet when asked about Musk.

‘During Charlie’s beautiful tribute, Elon came over. It’s good with Elon. I like Elon. I have always liked Elon. Elon’s good,’ Trump said.

When asked if he had spoken to Musk since Kirk’s memorial, Trump said the two have spoken ‘on and off, a little bit, very little, nothing much.’

‘Look, he’s a nice guy, and he’s a very capable guy. I have always liked him. He had a bad spell. He had a bad period. He had a bad moment. Stupid moment in his life. Very stupid. I’m sure he’d tell you that, but I like Elon, and I suspect I will always like him,’ Trump added.

November 2025 — Musk back at the White House

On Nov. 18, Musk attended a White House dinner as Trump hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 

December 2025 — Moving forward

The dust seemed to settle on Trump and Musk’s ‘big, beautiful’ breakup as 2025 came to a close. 

FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence asked Trump during a cabinet meeting on Dec. 2 whether Musk was ‘back in [his] circle of friends’ after their falling-out.

‘Well, I really don’t know. I mean, I like Elon a lot,’ Trump responded. 

Musk did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s comment request.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

Generally speaking, nobody outside of Washington, D.C., brunch spots cares very much what happens at think tanks. But recent upheavals at the Heritage Foundation are not only making news, they are potentially framing what the Republican Party will look like after President Trump leaves office.

The current kerfuffle at Heritage, the nation’s leading conservative think tank, began on Oct. 30, when its president, Kevin Roberts, gave a speech defending Tucker Carlson for interviewing a snarky young Holocaust denier.

‘The Heritage Foundation didn’t become the intellectual backbone of the conservative movement by canceling our own people or policing the consciences of Christians, and we won’t start doing that now,’ Roberts said.

A pitter-patter of outraged resignations came almost immediately, even after Roberts apologized for his remarks, but last week, almost two months later, nearly an entire division of Heritage’s legal and economic experts jumped ship to former Vice President Mike Pence’s Advancing American Freedom (AAF).

The significant question in all of this is whether Roberts playing footsie with antisemites is the real or only reason why so many top experts joined the exodus to Pence’s outfit, and there is some reason to be dubious.

Take for example Trump’s zealous use of tariffs in international trade. This kind of protectionism is constitutionally anathema to exactly the type of conservative economist who prowled the halls of Heritage, but the think tank itself was standing by the president’s policies.

Add to this that Heritage seems to be leaning heavily into Vice President JD VanceJD Vance’s 2028 presidential ambitions, in fact Roberts’ original video may have been intended for the veep who is close with Carlson and has made fighting globalism and saving small industrial towns the centerpiece of his national message.

The problem is that most of the longtime Heritage economists really like globalism and think saving ‘Nowhere, Ohio’ from oblivion is a pipe dream. Now, they truly have no seat at the table, either at Heritage or in the Trump administration.

Such tensions also exist in foreign policy and immigration, and a cynic might suggest that the Heritage bleedout is just another example of conservatives with strong ideological differences from Trump deciding it’s no longer working to cozy up to him, and taking whatever current moral outrage is available as an offramp.

This is exactly what Pence did after the Capitol riots of Jan. 6, 2021, leading him to found AAF, which, by the way, is as anti-tariffs as the day is long.

In this fight for the soul of the Republican Party and conservative movement, both Heritage and AAF are redefining what a think tank is and what it does, in important ways.

Traditionally, wealthy donors would give money to guys with good hair to get elected and also fund bald guys at think tanks, who were rarely seen or heard from, to produce the actual policy. But voters have seen through this, leading the think tanks to more direct outreach to the public.

In the 2024 election, Heritage’s ‘Project 2025’ was a headline story for months, something completely unprecedented in the history of presidential politics for a think tank. Today, through moves such as hiring Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice, Heritage is committing to more populism and activism and less back-room algebra.

AAF is starting to play this game too. The think tank put out a satirical X post comparing the flood of Heritage staffers coming their way to a college football team dominating in the transfer portal, another hint that more than moral outrage was at play here.

The headwind that AAF is likely to run into with conservative voters in their anti-populism efforts is that populism is popular, and globalism, along with many other core tenets of the pre-Trump GOP, isn’t.

The best chance for AAF, and it’s not a bad one, is to focus on lowering prices by lowering tariff. But a conservative think tank yelling that prices are too high while the GOP holds the White House and Congress is a nightmare for Republican midterm hopes.

The more vital question is what American voters want more, deeper discounts on foreign goods from China or functional communities where they can raise their families? For AAF to succeed it must address the latter, not just the former.

In Vance’s, and increasingly Heritage’s, vision of America, our small industrial towns see a revival through tariffs and foreign investment. In AAF’s vision, those towns may continue to wither, but Americans are free to move to where the jobs and abundance are.

Neither proponents of these visions can guarantee the success of their proposed programs, but the ‘save our towns’ side is currently in power and ascending. If AAF wants to change that, it needs more than moral outrage. It needs to convince Americans that globalism really wasn’t so bad, and that it is time to return to it.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency has surged additional personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota as part of an ongoing effort to ‘dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.’

Patel said Sunday that the bureau moved resources into the state before recent online attention intensified, pointing to the Feeding Our Future investigation, which uncovered a $250 million scheme that siphoned federal food aid intended for children during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The case has already resulted in 78 indictments and 57 convictions, with prosecutors also charging defendants in a separate plot to bribe a juror with $120,000 in cash, Patel said, adding that the investigation remains ongoing.

‘The FBI believes this is just the tip of a very large iceberg. We will continue to follow the money and protect children, and this investigation very much remains ongoing,’ he wrote on X. ‘Furthermore, many are also being referred to immigrations officials for possible further denaturalization and deportation proceedings where eligible.’

Patel’s announcement comes in the wake of a viral video posted on social media Friday by independent journalist Nick Shirley that highlighted alleged fraud involving Minnesota childcare and learning centers. 

In the video, many of the facilities appeared non-operational despite allegedly receiving millions of dollars in government aid.

Republican lawmakers, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., as well as Vice President JD Vance, have responded to the viral video, with Emmer accusing Gov. Tim Walz of sitting ‘idly by while billions were stolen from hardworking Minnesotans.’

Shirley’s video also follows a group of Minnesota state staff members who accused Walz in November of failing to act on widespread fraud warnings and retaliating against whistleblowers.

An X account calling itself Minnesota Staff Fraud Reporting Commentary, which says it consists of more than 480 Minnesota state staff members, wrote that Walz is ‘100% responsible for massive fraud in Minnesota.’

‘We let Tim Walz know of fraud early on, hoping for a partnership in stopping fraud but no, we got the opposite response. Tim Walz systematically retaliated against whistleblowers using monitoring, threats, repression, and did his best to discredit fraud reports,’ the group claimed. ‘In addition to retaliating against whistleblower[s], Tim Walz disempowered the Office of the Legislative Auditor, allowing agencies to disregard their audit findings and guidance.’

Walz addressed the fraud at a press conference in late November, saying it ‘undermines trust in government,’ and ‘undermines programs that are absolutely critical in improving quality of life.’

‘If you’re committing fraud, no matter where you come from, what you look like, what you believe, you are going to go to jail,’ he added.

The New York Times reported that what initially appeared to many Minnesotans as an isolated case of pandemic-era fraud has broadened into a much wider concern for state and federal officials.

The Times reported that over the past five years, according to law enforcement authorities, several fraud schemes proliferated in parts of Minnesota’s Somali community. A number of individuals allegedly created companies that billed state agencies for millions of dollars’ worth of social services that were never delivered.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that peace talks to end the war in Ukraine are close to completion after a meeting in Florida with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with both leaders citing major progress on a 20-point plan while acknowledging unresolved disputes over territory, ceasefire terms and Ukrainian approval.

Trump and Zelenskyy spoke to reporters following their meeting at Mar-a-Lago, describing weeks of negotiations involving U.S., Ukrainian, European Union and NATO officials that have moved a potential peace framework close to the finish line, though several high-stakes issues remain unresolved.

Trump said negotiations have intensified over the past month and suggested discussions are far more advanced than at any previous point in the war, while cautioning that final agreements depend on resolving a small number of difficult questions.

‘We could be very close,’ Trump said. ‘There are one or two very thorny issues, very tough issues. But I think we’re doing very well. We made a lot of progress today, but really, we’ve made it over the last month. This is not a one-day process. It’s very complicated stuff.’

Zelenskyy echoed that assessment, confirming that negotiators have largely agreed on the framework of a deal and crediting sustained diplomacy across multiple international meetings leading up to the Florida talks.

He said negotiations have taken place over several weeks in cities including Geneva, Miami, Berlin and at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, with American and Ukrainian teams working toward a shared peace framework.

‘We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework, which includes – and we have great achievements – a 20-point peace plan, 90% agreed,’ Zelenskyy said.

Both leaders said European and NATO officials were closely involved in the process, with a joint call held following the meeting that included senior leaders from across the continent and international institutions.

Zelenskyy said teams are expected to meet again in the coming weeks to finalize remaining issues and that Trump has agreed to potentially host further talks in Washington with European leaders and a Ukrainian delegation.

Despite the progress, territory – particularly the status of Donbas – remains one of the most difficult unresolved issues, with Trump and Zelenskyy acknowledging differing positions between Ukraine and Russia.

Trump suggested that time could be a critical factor in negotiations, warning that delays could result in further territorial losses as fighting continues.

‘Some of that land has been taken,’ Trump said. ‘Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months. Are you better off making a deal now?’

Zelenskyy stressed that any final agreement would need to comply with Ukrainian law and reflect the will of the Ukrainian people, potentially requiring parliamentary approval or a national referendum.

‘Our society, too, has to choose and decide who has to vote, because it’s their land – the land not of one person,’ Zelenskyy said. ‘It’s the land of our nation for a lot of generations.’

Trump said polling shows strong public support for ending the war and reiterated his desire to bring the conflict to a close, citing the scale of casualties on both sides.

‘We want to see it ended,’ Trump said. ‘I want it ended because I don’t want to see so many people dying. We’re losing massive numbers of people – the biggest by far since World War II.’

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Sunday called for President Trump to only focus on America’s needs as the president meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The president has been heavily involved in the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts since returning to the White House.

Trump met with Zelenskyy on Sunday at Mar-a-Lago to discuss a peace plan aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war that began with an invasion by Moscow in February 2022.

Netanyahu arrived in Florida on Sunday ahead of their scheduled meeting on Monday at Trump’s estate to address Israel’s conflicts in the Middle East. It will be the sixth meeting of the year between the two leaders.

Greene, responding to Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy and Netanyahu, said that the Trump administration should address the needs of Americans rather than becoming further involved in global conflicts.

‘Zelensky today. Netanyahu tomorrow,’ she wrote on X.

‘Can we just do America?’ the congresswoman continued.

The congresswoman has been a vocal critic of supplying U.S. military aid to foreign countries amid the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.

She has also referred to Zelenskyy as ‘a dictator who canceled elections’ and labeled Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as a genocide and humanitarian crisis.

This comes after Taylor Greene, who is set to resign from the House in January, had a public spat with Trump over the past few months as Trump took issue with the Georgia Republican’s push to release documents related to the investigations into deceased sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump had withdrawn his endorsement of Greene and called her a ‘traitor’ over the public feud.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago on Monday afternoon, with talks expected to focus on renewed tensions with Iran and the possibility of advancing to additional stages of the Gaza peace plan.

Before meeting with the president, Netanyahu is slated to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday morning.

Dr. Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told Fox News Digital that President Trump has likely been pressuring Netanyahu since the peace plan’s implementation, noting that the American leader has little patience for Middle Eastern timelines, which he said are far longer than those in the U.S. and the real estate sector.

‘The problem is that Hamas knows all it has to do is survive and continue controlling the western part of Gaza while attacking Israel, as it has been doing from Gaza’s tunnel network, in order to ratchet up tensions between Israel and the U.S.,’ Diker said.

Netanyahu’s mission during the visit, he continued, will be first to lay out Israel’s threat assessment regarding Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas as extremely serious, and to impress upon the president that Tehran is rebuilding its military capabilities. He is also likely to seek to persuade Trump to allow Israel to take the steps it deems necessary to defeat Hamas.

Israeli opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid told Fox News Digital that ‘We [Israel] should be coordinating with President Trump on all the major fronts, but the top priority has to be the management of stage two in Gaza.’

Lapid added, ‘Israel needs to achieve the disarmament of Hamas and the removal of the threat from Gaza, and that requires the implementation of President Trump’s plan.’

During the meeting, Netanyahu will reportedly present Trump with plans for a potential strike on Iran. Israel has warned Washington that a recent Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps missile drill could be masking preparations for an attack, a concern that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir conveyed to U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper during recent meetings in Tel Aviv.

In a Saturday interview reported by the country’s media, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country is engaged in what he described as a ‘total war‘ with the U.S., Israel and Europe. The Times of Israel reported him saying, ‘In my opinion, we are at total war with the United States, Israel and Europe,’ Pezeshkian said. ‘They want to bring our country to its knees.’

Axios reported that U.S. intelligence assesses there is no immediate threat, while Israeli defense officials say forces remain on heightened alert.

According to Dr. Meir Javedanfar, a lecturer on Iran and the Middle East at Reichman University, Netanyahu’s plan is expected to call for strikes on Iran’s missile program.

‘Israel will probably hope that such a wide-scale attack would further undermine the legitimacy of Iran’s supreme leader, thereby creating greater political instability within the country. This is especially true given that after the recent war with Israel, Iran’s economy has deteriorated significantly, and the regime is not taking the necessary steps to address these problems,’ he said.

Israeli Minister for Settlement and National Missions Orit Strook stressed the importance of completing full Gaza demilitarization before moving forward with further stages of the plan.

She referenced Trump’s address to the Israeli Knesset in October, noting that he highlighted his role in building international support for Gaza’s demilitarization and securing a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the full dismantling of weapons, tunnels and terror infrastructure.

‘Hamas wakes up every day with a mission to hurt us,’ Strook told Fox News Digital. ‘The IDF will not withdraw even one meter, and no rehabilitation framework will be established until full demilitarization is completed.

‘If, God forbid, the opposite happens in the meeting, it will be a failure of the peace plan, a failure for Trump himself — who would be settling for fake demilitarization— and a failure for us. We will not be able to say that we won this war if Hamas remains armed,’ she added.

Trump is nevertheless expected to soon unveil the second stage of his Gaza framework, despite Hamas’s failure to return the remains of Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, who was killed during the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre, and whose body was taken to Gaza by Hamas terrorists.

Fox News Digital’s Sophia Compton contributed to this report.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared Saturday that his country ‘is willing to do whatever it takes’ to end its war with Russia ahead of a meeting Sunday in Florida with President Donald Trump.

In a series of posts on X, the Ukrainian leader said, ‘If the whole world – Europe and America – is on our side, together we will stop Putin,’ but, ‘if anyone – whether the U.S. or Europe – is on Russia’s side, this means the war will continue.’

‘There are no other options here. And this is a risk for all countries in the world. Because Russia will not stop, regardless of any agreements, any eloquent messages from them. They will not stop at Ukraine,’ Zelenskyy warned. He is set to meet with Trump in Florida on Sunday, where Zelenskyy said he will share a 20-point peace proposal to end the conflict with Russia. 

The posts came after Russia launched a fresh overnight attack against Kyiv involving hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles. Zelenskyy said the attack put the ‘true attitude’ of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle on display.

The overnight blitz in Ukraine’s capital left at least one person dead and 27 injured, local authorities told the Associated Press. 

‘Another Russian attack is still ongoing: since last night, there have been almost 500 drones – a large number of ‘shaheds’ – as well as 40 missiles, including Kinzhals. The primary target is Kyiv – energy facilities and civilian infrastructure,’ Zelenskyy wrote on X on Saturday morning. ‘Regrettably, there have been hits, and ordinary residential buildings have been damaged. Rescuers are searching for a person trapped under the rubble of one of them.’ 

‘There have been many questions over the past few days – so where is Russia’s response to the proposals to end the war offered by the United States and the world? Russian representatives engage in lengthy talks, but in reality, Kinzhals and ‘shaheds’ speak for them. This is the true attitude of Putin and his inner circle,’ Zelenskyy added. ‘They do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering and increase their pressure on others around the world.’

Zelenskyy also said Saturday that, ‘If Russia turns even the Christmas and New Year period into a time of destroyed homes and burned apartments, of ruined power plants, then this sick activity can only be responded to with truly strong steps.’ 

‘The United States has this capability. Europe has this capability. Many of our partners have this capability. The key is to use it,’ he declared. 

Zelenskyy added in another X post later Saturday morning that, ‘Ukraine did not start this war. Russia started it.’

‘Ukraine supported President Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire. Ukraine has agreed to many different compromises, and this is documented in our draft agreements, in our 20-point plan. Ukraine is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war. For us, priority number one – or the only priority – is ending the war,’ Zelenskyy continued.

‘For us, the priority is peace. We need to be strong at the negotiating table. To be strong, we need the support of the world: Europe and the United States. And this includes air defenses – which are currently insufficient, weaponry – which is currently insufficient, and money – thankfully, there is now a European decision, but, frankly, there is a constant shortage of funds, in particular for the production of weapons and, most importantly, drones,’ he said.

Trump, ahead of the meeting with Zelenskyy, has said he will call the final shots on a peace deal to end the conflict.

‘He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,’ Trump told Politico Friday. ‘So we’ll see what he’s got.’ 

The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that it carried out a ‘massive strike’ overnight, using ‘long-range precision-guided weapons from land, air, and sea, including Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles’ and drones, on energy infrastructure facilities ‘used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,’ as well as ‘Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises.’ 

The ministry said the strike came in response to Ukraine’s attacks on ‘civilian objects’ in Russia.

Earlier on Saturday, the ministry said its air defenses shot down seven Ukrainian drones over the Russian regions of Krasnodar and Adygeya overnight. 

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancey and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

This year has had no shortage of alarming Chinese espionage efforts targeting the United States that were uncovered by government officials.

2025 saw the conviction of a former active-duty military member accused of selling Navy secrets to Chinese intelligence, the arrests of Chinese nationals accused of trying to recruit active-duty service members as intelligence assets and smuggle dangerous toxins into the United States, the disruption of a Chinese ‘Hacker-for-Hire’ ecosystem, and more.

‘President Trump is not afraid of the Chinese,’ Gatestone Institute senior Fellow Gordon Chang said on Fox Business’ ‘Mornings with Maria’ following a new arms sale to Taiwan. However, Chang lamented that Trump was ambivalent to the ‘information war’ with China, noting that ‘the Chinese are able to tar him and tell the rest of the world that Trump is afraid of the Chinese … but when you look at the reality, President Trump is going after China across the board,’ Chang argued.

One of the alarming Chinese espionage headlines to hit the news this year was an effort by several Chinese nationals to smuggle a pathogen described by the government as a ‘potential agroterrorism weapon’ into the United States in 2024. A complaint against the suspects was unsealed by federal officials this year, leading the case to make headlines nationwide. 

One of those individuals complicit in the case, Yunqing Jian, 33, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China and a researcher employed at the University of Michigan, was allegedly receiving money from the Chinese government for her work on the pathogen the suspects were trying to smuggle. Meanwhile, her boyfriend, who worked at a Chinese university conducting research on that same pathogen, initially lied but then admitted to smuggling it through the Detroit airport so it could be taken to the University of Michigan laboratory where his girlfriend worked.

Jian eventually pleaded guilty. She was later sentenced to time served and then deported back to China. Her boyfriend was immediately deported to China when he was caught at the Detroit airport trying to bring the toxin into the United States.  

Just this month, a separate Chinese researcher from Indiana University was also accused by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of trying to smuggle a dangerous toxin into the country, this time Escherichia coli (E. coli). The FBI identified the smuggling suspect as post-doctoral researcher Youhuang Xiang, who also allegedly made false statements to law enforcement.

Federal officials have disrupted Chinese intelligence efforts to recruit assets in the United States this year as well, according to Justice Department communications.

In July, federal officials disrupted a ‘Clandestine PRC Ministry of State Security Intelligence Network’ that was operating in the United States and was attempting to bribe active-duty soldiers with thousands in cash to work for them as assets. 

The following month, in a separate case, a federal jury convicted former Navy sailor, Jinchao Wei, also known as Patrick Wei, who was caught trying to sell military secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer for $12,000.

Hacking was a big part of Chinese espionage efforts in 2025 too. 

A major Chinese-linked hacking threat referred to as ‘Salt Typhoon’ was reported this year to have launched an attack compromising at least 200 American companies as part of its broader efforts that have included gaining access to law enforcement wiretapping mechanisms and information on members of Congress, according to the top cyber chief at the FBI. Critical infrastructure manufacturers like AT&T, Verizon, Charter Communications, and others have reportedly been exposed by the group, which was first uncovered publicly in 2024 but whose efforts have dated back several years.

Earlier this year, in March, the Department of Justice also announced that federal officials had disrupted a ‘Hacker-for-Hire Ecosystem’ operating out of China at the direction of Chinese intelligence officers as well. These malicious actors worked for private companies and as contractors in China, which was intended to hack and steal information in a way that would obscure the Chinese government’s involvement, the DOJ said.

China’s increasing acquisition of farmland in the United States has been of growing concern during 2025 as well, with Chinese-linked entities buying up land near military bases, including a trailer park near Missouri’s Whiteman Air Force Base. 

‘From smuggling crop-killing pathogens and E. Coli into the United States, to conspicuously purchasing a trailer park that shares a fence with America’s entire B-2 bomber fleet and selling ‘green’ tech devices that spread kill switches across our electrical grid, Communist China seeks to harm the American homeland,’ Michael Lucci, a China-hawk and the founder of State Armor Action, a conservative group with a mission to develop and enact state-level solutions to global security threats such as those emanating from China.

‘Furthermore, these events are just the tip of the iceberg,’ Lucci continued. ‘Lawmakers across the country must accelerate action to shield Americans from CCP influence, espionage, and sabotage. Communist China treats the United States as an enemy, and it is past time we recognize the CCP party-state always and everywhere chooses conflict with the United States.’

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.