The Trump administration's efforts to reach a deal between Russia and Ukraine to end the war involve some unusual players and strategies. Margaret Brennan, the moderator of "Face the Nation," has more.

Washington

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Efforts by the Trump administration to end the Russia-Ukraine war have relied on a non-traditional diplomatic team, including figures such as Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, Steve Whitkoff, and Jared Kushner, rather than career diplomats. While President Trump has indicated that only a few points of disagreement remain, the Kremlin has tempered expectations, stating that no official proposal is currently on the table.

Negotiations remain fragmented, with no unified direction among US officials and European allies rallying around Ukrainian President Zelensky. Zelensky has requested access to frozen Russian funds and the return of kidnapped Ukrainian children, but ongoing Russian military actions and the absence of direct talks have complicated progress toward a peace agreement.

Breaking down Trump admin's diplomacy to end Russia-Ukraine war

President Trump says only a few points of disagreement remain on a possible deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. But the Kremlin this morning is watering down expectations so the deal is even close. For more on these efforts, we're joined now by CBS News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent and host of Face the Nation, Margaret Brennan in RDC Bureau. Good morning, Margaret, great to see you. So we just spoke with a Ukrainian member of parliament a short time ago. She says she does not trust Russia. She believes Whitkoff is negotiating, is very pro-Russian in her words, and that Russia doesn't stick to agreements. So give us the bigger picture. Where do the negotiations stand right now with the Ukrainians and Russians? Well, what we know is that at this point, there is no active diplomacy with everyone at the same table. We have not yet heard that Russia or Vladimir Putin have accepted that term sheet, which is basically what the US and Ukraine were hammering out, like what Ukraine could accept in terms of concessions. So there's no, as Russia put it, official proposal on the table. I have confirmed as of this morning that indeed next week, Steve Whitkoff, the US envoy, is planning to bring the latest proposal to Russia. That's the plan in place. So we'll see if there is any kind of concession made whatsoever by Russia. But as you've seen from attacks, even just overnight, Russia is still very much focused on pressing its advantage on the battlefield. And the Trump administration, as you heard President Trump allude to in that chat on Air Force One earlier, is assessing that Russia could really just keep going with this war and ultimately win, or at least ultimately seize the eastern part of the country. And so the US is kind of operating from that assumption at this point. And so Margaret, from your point of view, what has either shifted or changed in the past week? We went from US sources kind of saying that, hey, Zelensky could come to the US, maybe there's an agreement by Thanksgiving to actually not so much. Right, well, look, this is head-snapping diplomacy. I've really, truly never seen anything like this. You had Zelensky himself saying just yesterday, I'm ready to go talk to President Trump. I'm ready to travel. Plans were being made here in Washington and in Mar-a-Lago for any kind of interaction if they were set to go. And then President Trump posted on social media, not ready to meet with Zelensky yet. So that Thanksgiving deadline has disappeared. And we know that there is sort of just an invitation to keep moving these trains along on these parallel tracks. But I can't emphasize enough here how unusual it is to have the diplomats uninvolved with diplomacy. That's not who's negotiating. You have, on the US side, the Army Secretary, Dan Driscoll, very close to Vice President Vance, talking to the Ukrainians about security guarantees. He's not a diplomat. You have Steve Whitkoff, who just recently started in diplomacy after being a longtime Trump friend and work in real estate. And Jared Kushner, who doesn't even work for the United States government right now, are working on the Russian end of things. So this is really unusual. So if you're confused by the back and forth, imagine what the professionals are who've trained to be doing this, because they are just very much trying to understand what is happening inside the Trump inner circle with these efforts. A lot of this exploded in the press last week in a way that surprised professional diplomats. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio seems involved in a limited way. He flew in over the weekend to Geneva and then flew out, and typically would be the national security advisor and secretary of state who would be sort of marshaling all the forces to pull in the same direction. And right now, it seems like that's not yet happening. You are seeing European officials close ranks around President Zelensky to try to help him press back and get the United States to provide more guarantees security-wise. You heard President Zelensky say overnight he wants things like access to frozen Russian funds and European bank accounts, and he wants the return of those kidnapped Ukrainian children as well. Yeah, underscoring just how difficult this is, even with professionals, even when President Trump is using those he trusts to get a deal done. It's easier said than done. Margaret Brennan, always great to have you on the show. Thanks for joining us this morning. Thank you.

Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro to begin serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a failed coup, after he exhausted all appeals.

Rio de Janeiro

Brazil's Bolsonaro begins 27-year jail term for coup bid

A fire in a Hong Kong residential complex killed 13 people and injured 15 others. The blaze rapidly spread through bamboo scaffolding, leading to the evacuation of 700 residents.

Tsim Sha Tsui

Thirteen dead as blaze engulfs Hong Kong residential complex

Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 25) ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to begin a prison sentence of more than 27 years for plotting a coup in 2022, according to a court document.

Brasília

Brazil's Bolsonaro to start 27-year prison sentence for coup plot

President Trump says only a few "points of disagreement" remain on a possible deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. The president says he will meet with the leaders of both countries only when the deal is in its final stages.

Trump optimistic on Russia-Ukraine peace deal despite recent strikes

The FBI has launched an inquiry into six Democratic lawmakers after President Trump accused them of “seditious behavior” for appearing in a video encouraging U.S. service members to refuse unlawful orders.

FBI probes Democrats over video urging troops to refuse illegal orders

President Donald Trump's administration has ramped up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by designating the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization. But the entity that the U.S. government alleges is led by Maduro is not a cartel per se.

Caracas

U.S. labels Maduro-tied Cartel de los Soles as terror organization

The head of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, said late on Monday (November 24) that his paramilitaries would immediately enter into a three-month humanitarian truce in its conflict with the country's armed forces.

Khartoum

Sudan's RSF paramilitary says it will enter into ceasefire

A U.S. official tells CBS News that Ukraine has agreed to a peace proposal brokered by the Trump administration, but some details still need to be sorted out. CBS News' Holly Williams reports.

Kyiv

Ukraine agrees to peace proposal with Russia, U.S. official says

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the U.S.- and Israeli-backed organization to distribute aid in Gaza, said on Monday (November 24) it was ending its operations after months of criticism over the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach GHF hubs.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Divisive U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza aid group ends operations

Darfur

Sudan's RSF paramilitary says it will enter into a ceasefire

Chauncey Billups, who was serving as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers until his suspension, pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges related to alleged rigged high-stakes poker games.

Chauncey Billups pleads not guilty to charges

The Kremlin on Monday (November 24) said that a European counter-proposal to a U.S. 28-point peace plan for Ukraine was not constructive and that it simply did not work for Moscow.

Moscow

Kremlin rejects revised European peace plan to end war in Ukraine

A federal judge has dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James on the grounds that Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney who secured their indictments, was unlawfully appointed to the role.

Cases against James Comey, Letitia James dismissed

At least 90 people have died in a week of torrential rain, flooding and landslides in south-central Vietnam, authorities said. Popular tourist areas have been heavily hit, with parts of Nha Trang submerged and deadly landslides cutting off roads near Da Lat.

Nha Trang

Vietnam flooding kills at least 90

The Trump Administration is ramping up pressure on Venezuela as the Air Force conducted a simulated nighttime attack along the country's coast. Charlie D'Agata has the latest.

Trump ramps up pressure on Venezuela with nighttime Air Force attack

Israel killed Ali Tabtabai, the acting chief of staff of militant group Hezbollah, in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut on Sunday, the Israeli military said.

Beirut

Middle East Conflict

Israel kills Hezbollah military leader in Beirut strike

While Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange daily drone fire, an updated peace framework is being worked out in Geneva between Ukraine, the US and European partners.

Ukraine upholds red lines as Geneva peace talks continue

Álvaro García Ortiz's decision came less than a week after he received a two-year suspension and a fine for disclosing private information about the partner of an opposition politician.

Madrid

Spain's attorney general resigns after conviction over data leak

U.S. President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency has been disbanded with eight months remaining in its mandate, and Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor has told Reuters that the cost-cutting body now "doesn't exist".

DOGE 'doesn't exist' with eight months left on its charter

Al-Burhan rejected a new truce proposal from US envoy as the “worst yet”, accusing the Quad mediators of bias due to the UAE’s involvement.

Al Fashir

Sudan’s army chief rejects quad truce proposal as ‘worst yet’

Three suicide bombers and three security personnel killed in attack on the Federal Constabulary headquarters in Peshawar, media reports say.

Peshawar

Six killed in suicide attack on security complex in Pakistan

The attack which Israel says to have killed chief of staff Haytham Tabtabai in the southern suburbs of Beirut also killed four other people and injured 25.

Israel says to have killed top Hezbollah official in strike on Beirut

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer suggested that former Prince Andrew should testify before the U.S. Congress as part of its ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer did not discuss Andrew’s case directly but said, as a matter of principle, everyone involved should cooperate with the inquiry.

London

Starmer says former Prince Andrew should testify in Epstein probe

About 50 schoolchildren aged 10–18 who were abducted in Niger state, Nigeria, have escaped, authorities confirmed. They fled individually between Friday and Saturday, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria, which runs the school. Officials continue to track those still missing.

Niger

50 abducted Nigerian schoolchildren escape, authorities say

The first G20 summit to be held in Africa has been labelled a "triumph of multilateralism," as leaders from the world's more powerful economies came together in Johannesburg. South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa used his presidency to highlight the priorities of Africa and the global south.

Johannesburg

G20 shared goals 'outweigh differences' as summit ends

After running a day overtime, delegates at COP30, the United Nations climate summit in Belém, Brazil, finally reached a deal on a final agreement, but one that falls well short of the high expectations held by many delegates, environmental groups and NGOs.

Belém

COP30 climate deal falls short of expectations

Washington signaled room for negotiation on a 28-point plan to end the Ukraine war, denying claims by some U.S. senators that it is a Russian "wish list," as Kyiv and European allies criticized the proposal ahead of Sunday talks in Geneva.

Geneva

Europeans push for stronger deal for Ukraine as Geneva talks continue

The United States is set to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, four U.S. officials told Reuters, as the Trump administration steps up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro's government.

U.S. to launch new phase of Venezuela operations, sources say

Premier Li Qiang said Beijing wants to work with Pretoria to safeguard the multilateral trading system.

China pledges to work more closely with South Africa

Brazil's COP30 presidency pushed through a compromise climate deal that would boost finance for poor nations coping with global warming but that omitted any mention of the fossil fuels driving it.

Breaking down Trump admin's diplomacy to end Russia-Ukraine war

Breakdown

See The Full Story

Ukraine Invasion