NewsNation National Correspondent Robert Sherman has found himself on the frontlines of some of the world’s biggest stories: from Ukraine to Israel and across the United States. He shares what he’s seeing on the ground. Subscribe to his newsletter: Frontlines with Robert Sherman here.
(NewsNation) — Good Evening.
We are watching global affairs closely this evening and waiting to see if we will be on the move soon — either east or south. I’ll keep you posted.
Here are a few of the developments internationally we are following.
‘UKRAINE WAS HEARD‘
President Trump just said this evening he believes the talks between special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Russian President Vladimir Putin went well.
“President Putin had a very good meeting yesterday with Jared Kushner and with Steve Witkoff,” the president said. “What comes out of that meeting? I can’t tell you because it does take two to tango. You know, Ukraine, I think we have something pretty well worked out with them. They’re very satisfied, considering.”
While the Kremlin has not signaled iron-clad agreements, it has labeled talks as constructive.
In a statement posted to X, the Ukrainian president backed up that talks between the Ukrainians and Americans are progressing as well.
“Everything is now proceeding quite effectively – at meetings in Geneva and Florida, Ukraine was heard, and Ukraine was listened to. And that matters. We expect it will continue exactly this way,” Zelenskyy said. “A dignified peace is only possible if Ukraine’s interests are taken into account.”
There is plenty of pressure on Zelenskyy in Ukraine, especially since his chief of staff Andriyy Yermak resigned amid the corruption scandal that has penetrated Zelenskyy’s inner circle.
Some numbers that do not bode well for the Ukrainian president are coming in. This is from the Ukrainian research company “Sociopolis.”
“The majority (60.0%) of Ukrainians believe that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is personally responsible for the corrupt actions of the co-founder of the Kvartal 95 studio, Timur Mindich, as well as other persons involved in the relevant anti-corruption investigation,” it said.
About 54.0% of those surveyed say they still “trust” Zelenskyy, which is above water but down from 59.7% in September of this year.
About 52.2% surveyed believe Zelenskyy should limit himself to one term as he initially promised in 2019.
VENEZUELA IS ‘NOT A PRESSURE CAMPAIGN’
The president, also this evening, says he has broader ambitions when it comes to Venezuela beyond simple geopolitical pressure.
“It’s much beyond that,” he said. There has been reporting in recent days the president wants the Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro, out of office.
There has been ample tension in Washington over these boat strikes carried out on September 2. In this incident, a second strike on a vessel reportedly killed two people who were hanging onto the burning vessel after an initial strike.
The White House has rallied around Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as well as Admiral Bradley, who the administration said ordered that second strike. Some Democrats contend this could constitute a possible war crime, whereas Secretary Hegseth has cited the “fog of war.”
“I did not personally see survivors,” Hegseth said. “The thing was on fire. It exploded, there’s fire, there’s smoke.”
President Trump, when asked specifically whether he supported the decision to kill survivors in the Sept. 2 boat strike operation, said: “I support the decision to knock out the boats and whoever is piloting the boats, most of them are gone, but whoever piloted those boats, they’re guilty of trying to kill people in our country.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has given a clear indication the U.S. will not be backing down.
“We’ve only just begun striking narco-boats and putting narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean because they’ve been poisoning the American people,” Hegseth said.
The secretary added that fewer alleged drug-trafficking vessels are going through the Caribbean right now and believes deterrence is working.
Nevertheless, there is ample American firepower in the region with the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford stopping off in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In Venezuela, The New York Times reports President Maduro is nervous about the possibility of precision strikes used to eliminate him. That report says the Venezuelan leader has been changing sleep locations and cell phones to protect his whereabouts.
UPDATE ON ‘LESSONS FROM THE FRONT‘
Eight days to go until I’m able to share this project with the world and my first book hits shelves.
I’m watching the momentum really spike this week, especially after Bill O’Reilly’s endorsement and my recent interview with Lachlan Cartwright.
For those who have gotten a sneak peak at it, two words seem to be rising to the top from pre-readers: “honest” and “relatable.” I hope those same elements land with all readers when this hits shelves December 11.
I can’t thank you enough for your support. For those still interested in preordering, you can do so through Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Bloomsbury.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of NewsNation.