Pope Leo XIV delivers Christmas message calling for peace in Middle East and Ukraine, urging world leaders to reject violence and embrace dialogue.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he discussed "substantive details" of a Ukraine-Russia peace deal with President Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Christmas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a “very good” conversation with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner on Christmas Day as negotiations over the terms of a potential peace deal continued.

This comes a day after Zelensky showed a willingness to remove troops from an area in Donetsk, as long as Russia would as well, and create a “free economic zone.”

Aiden Aslin, a British volunteer who joined Ukraine’s marines, was captured and tortured by Putin’s forces in 2022 and is now back fighting the Kremlin. He tells his story to the ‘World of Trouble’ podcast with world affairs editor Sam Kiley in eastern Ukraine.

In Ukraine, Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on January 7, and the long festive season starts to wind down on January 19, the day that Jesus was baptised.

Ukraine's frontline forces brace for intensified Russian attacks during winter as Moscow rejects US peace proposals despite losing over one million troops