US joins Russia and Ukraine in first trilateral talks of the war & Trump under fire for claiming NATO allies ‘avoided’ Afghanistan frontline

Day 1,429.

Today, as President Trump prompts further outrage with his claim NATO troops “avoided the frontline” in Afghanistan, we consider whether President Zelensky was right to call out Europe in his speech at Davos ahead of the first trilateral talks of the war. Then we ponder whether the Greenland saga can be put to bed, or if it’s truly indicative of a historic shift, before returning to the topic of resilience with the second half of our interview with former British army officer Ash Alexander-Cooper.

Contributors

Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X.

Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.

With thanks to Ash Alexander-Cooper OBE (former British army officer and author). @ashalexcooper on X.

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Each week, Dom Nicholls and Francis Dearnley answer your questions, provide recommended reading, and give exclusive analysis and behind-the-scenes insights – plus maps of the frontlines and diagrams of weapons to complement our daily reporting. It’s free for everyone, including non-subscribers.

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Zelensky attacks ‘weak and indecisive’ European leaders (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/01/22/zelensky-attack-weak-indecisive-european-leaders/ 

Britain helps seize Russian oil tanker in Mediterranean (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/22/britain-helps-seize-russian-oil-tanker-mediterranean/ 

This was the moment EU leaders agreed Europe must go it alone (POLITICO):

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-leaders-agree-independent-europe-summit-emmanuel-macron-friedrich-merz/ 

Exclusive: Trump's new Board of Peace could tackle Russia-Ukraine war, source says (Kyiv Independent):

https://kyivindependent.com/trump-launches-his-board-of-peace-ahead-of-meeting-with-zelensky 

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