President Vladimir Putin has warned again that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war in Ukraine.

“Either we liberate these territories by force, or Ukrainian troops will leave these territories,” he told India Today. Moscow controls some 85% of Donbas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out ceding territory.

Putin’s comments come after President Donald Trump said his negotiators discussing a US peace plan believed Russia’s leader “would like to end the war” after Tuesday’s talks in Moscow.

Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, who was in Moscow, is due to meet Ukraine’s team in Florida.

Trump said Tuesday’s talks in the Kremlin were “reasonably good”, adding it was too soon to say what would happen as “it does take two to tango.”

The original iteration of the US peace plan proposed to hand over areas of the Donbas still under Ukrainian control to the de facto control of Putin – but the Witkoff team presented a modified version in Moscow.

In his India Today interview ahead of a state visit to Delhi, Putin said he had not seen the new version before his talks with Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

“That’s why we had to go over every point, that’s why it took so long,” the Kremlin leader said.

He also said Moscow disagreed with parts of the US plan.

“At times we said that yes, we can discuss this, but to that we can’t agree,” Putin said.

He did not name the sticking points. At least two significant points of contention remain – the fate of Ukrainian territory seized by Russian forces and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Putin’s senior foreign policy adviser and key negotiator Yuri Ushakov earlier said straight after the talks that they produced “no compromise” on ending the war.

Ushakov also implied that the Russian negotiating position had been strengthened thanks to what Moscow said were its recent successes on the battlefield.

Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of stalling any ceasefire agreements, saying Moscow is seeking to seize more Ukrainian territory.

Commenting on the Kremlin talks, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybhia said Putin was “wasting the world’s time”.

Ukraine has long insisted on firm security guarantees for Ukraine in any deal.

On Wednesday, Zelensky said “the world clearly feels that there is a real opportunity to end the war” – but negotiations must be “backed by pressure on Russia”, which Kyiv and its European allies accuse of deliberately stalling any ceasefire agreements.

The Ukrainian president said last week his top negotiators had managed to make some key changes in the original US peace plan – seen as strongly favouring Moscow – during talks with an American delegation in Geneva on 23 November.

In a joint statement, US and Ukrainian negotiators said at the time that they had drawn up an “updated and refined peace framework” – but provided no further details.

Top negotiators from Europe – who had voiced concern over the original US plan – were also in the Swiss city last week, meeting separately with the Ukrainian and the US teams.

In a separate development on Thursday, Germany’s Der Spiegel news website said it had obtained a confidential transcript of a conference call in which European leaders expressed concern over the US negotiations.

“There is a possibility that the US will betray Ukraine on the issue of territory without clarity on security guarantees,” French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly said, according to an English transcript of Monday’s conference call.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was quoted as warning that Zelensky had to be “extremely careful in the coming days”.

“They are playing games, both with you and with us,” Merz reportedly said.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb was also quoted as saying: “We mustn’t leave Ukraine and Volodymyr alone with these guys.”

The BBC has not seen the reported transcript.

In response to a Der Spiegel inquiry, France’s Élysée Palace stated that “the president did not express himself in those terms”. The presidential office declined to provide details on how Macron expressed himself, citing confidentiality.

Stubb declined to comment to Der Spiegel, and Merz has not commented on the issue.

The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

In recent weeks, Russian troops have been slowly advancing in south-east Ukraine, despite reported heavy combat casualties.

The controversial streamer RaKai has finally spoken out after a viral moment at a Walmart reportedly led to his suspension from Twitch. In the clip that circulated widely online, RaKai was seen picking up a bouquet of flowers and handing it to a woman, apparently without paying. The footage triggered a wave of outrage and speculation, with many calling it shoplifting filmed live. RaKai claimed he instructed an assistant to tell the woman to put the flowers back before she left the store, suggesting the bouquet was not a gift but a mistaken, unpaid item.The incident prompted Twitch to suspend his channel under the “illegal activities” clause, with an initial notice of a two-year ban. The message shown on his dashboard cited a 730-day suspension, which stunned many of his followers and set off debates over streamer ethics and platform enforcement.

What happened with the Walmart clip and Twitch’s response

Twitch’s decision to suspend RaKai followed a string of controversial incidents, but the bouquet incident became the flashpoint. According to reports, the clip showed RaKai putting flowers in a woman’s hands and then appearing to leave without paying. Viewers challenge his intent, arguing that handing over unpaid items already pushes beyond acceptable content boundaries for a live-streaming platform. The ban notice on RaKai’s Twitch account listed “Illegal Activities” as the cause, with the suspension set to expire in December 2027. The decision sparked backlash from fellow streamers and parts of the online community, some questioned whether the punishment fit the act, while others defended Twitch’s move as a necessary stance against public shoplifting. As public pressure mounted, Twitch later clarified that the “two-year” label was a mistake caused by a “visual bug” in the appeals portal. The platform said the error affected only RaKai’s display and no other users; the actual suspension length, conveyed via email, was reportedly shorter. Twitch also confirmed the issue was isolated and has since been corrected. Despite the correction, RaKai’s reputation has taken a hit. Fans remain divided: some accept his explanation and hope for a return, others believe the stunt crossed a moral line and expect lasting consequences.RaKai’s explanation may shed light on his intentions, that the flowers weren’t meant to be a stolen gift, but rather a misjudged moment quickly reversed. Still, the viral clip exposed how live streaming in public spaces can backfire, especially when real-life actions blur into content. Twitch’s swift enforcement, and subsequent correction, underscores the challenges platforms face balancing creator freedom, community standards, and real-world consequences. Regardless of whether the ban’s duration was a bug or not, the incident has reshaped RaKai’s public image and serves as a cautionary tale for streamers about the risks of “IRL content.”Also Read: MrBeast becomes the top US YouTuber for the sixth year in a row

Foreign investors have pulled out Rs 13,121 crore (USD 1.46 billion) from Indian equities in the first four days of December, taking the total outflow for 2025 to Rs 1.56 lakh crore (USD 17.8 billion), data from NSDL showed on Thursday.

This sharp withdrawal follows a net outflow of Rs 3,765 crore in November, continuing the pressure on the markets.

These outflows come after a brief pause in October, when FPIs invested Rs 14,610 crore, breaking a three-month streak of massive withdrawals — Rs 23,885 crore in September, Rs 34,990 crore in August, and Rs 17,700 crore in July.

According to the data, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) withdrew a net amount of Rs 13,121 crore from Indian equities in this month during December 1-4.

The renewed selling this month is largely due to year-end portfolio repositioning by global investors, a common trend in December before the holiday season, Vaqarjaved Khan, Senior Fundamental Analyst at Angel One, said.

Adding to the pressure, the weak performance of the Indian rupee, one of the poorest-performing currencies globally in 2025, has further discouraged foreign investors, he added.According to him, the ongoing delay in the India-US trade deal has also dampened global sentiment.Despite the outflows, domestic markets showed some relief. The benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended their four-day losing streak on Thursday, supported by buying in technology and IT stocks.

At the same time, the Indian rupee broke its six-day decline, appreciating 22 paise to close at Rs 89.97 per US dollar, a move attributed to suspected central bank intervention and the unwinding of speculative dollar positions.

Looking ahead, markets are awaiting the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision on interest rate decision, due on Thursday, with the economists divided over the likely outcome of whether the central bank will hold or change interest rates, Nandish Shah, Deputy Vice President at HDFC Securities, said.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday formally appointed Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir as Pakistan’s first Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) for a period of five years.The move follows the recent passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment on November 12, which created the post of CDF to unify command across the armed forces and streamline decision-making during critical situations.

The newly created CDF replaces the abolished office of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), which formally ended on November 27 following the retirement of General Sahir Shamshad Mirza.President Zardari approved the recommendation submitted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for Munir’s appointment. A press release from the President’s office extended best wishes to Munir in his new role. The same release also announced a two-year extension in the service of Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu, Chief of Air Staff, effective from the completion of his current tenure in March 2026. Law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the reforms “bring constitutional oversight to defence appointments while maintaining military honour and tradition” and confirmed there were no legal or political obstacles to Munir’s appointment. He also stated that the Defence Ministry was preparing a new organogram for the CDF to reflect the changes.Field Marshal Munir, who was initially appointed as COAS in November 2022 for three years, had his tenure extended to five years in 2024. With this appointment, he assumes a historic dual role, serving simultaneously as Chief of Army Staff and the first Chief of Defence Forces, marking a significant shift in Pakistan’s military hierarchy and institutional structure.The 27th Constitutional Amendment elevates the army chief to the role of CDF with constitutional authority over all three branches of the military: army, navy and air force. It also introduces judicial reforms, including the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) to handle constitutional matters, allowing the Supreme Court to focus on civil and criminal cases.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the amendment as a demonstration of national unity, highlighting the role of law enforcement in recent counterterrorism efforts. While the ruling coalition including PPP, PML-N, and MQM-P, supported the amendment, opposition parties criticized it as unconstitutional, warning it could concentrate excessive power in the military.PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan described it as the “Baku Amendments,” accusing the government of undermining democracy. PPP Senator Raza Rabbani warned the changes could damage provincial autonomy and roll back powers devolved under the 18th Amendment, according to Dawn. Following Munir’s appointment, the next key step will be appointing the commander of the National Strategic Command (NSC), a four-star position previously under the CJCSC. The NSC commander will be appointed by the prime minister on the recommendation of the CDF.