KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold urgent talks Thursday with leaders and officials from about 30 countries that are supporting Kyiv’s effort to obtain fair terms for an end to the war with Russia.
The leaders of Germany, Britain and France were among those expected to take part in the meeting of Ukraine's allies, dubbed the Coalition of the Willing, via video link.
Zelenskyy indicated the talks were hastily arranged as Kyiv officials scramble to avoid getting boxed in by U.S. President Donald Trump's demands for a swift settlement. European governments are trying to help steer the peace negotiations because they say their own security is at stake.
Trump said Wednesday that he and European leaders discussed proposals by phone in “pretty strong terms,” adding that Zelenskyy “has to be realistic” about his country’s position on a peace plan that would cede Ukrainian territory to Russia. He didn't elaborate.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday that he, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron suggested to Trump that they finalize the peace proposals together with U.S. officials over the weekend. There may also be talks in Berlin early next week, with or without American officials, he said.
The main issue to be resolved is “what territories and concessions Ukraine is prepared to make,” Merz added.
“The work we are doing together remains extremely difficult. There is a very simple reason for this. President Putin is relentlessly continuing his brutal war against the Ukrainian civilian population, and at the same time he is clearly playing for time in the negotiations,” Merz said.
There are signs that the negotiations are coming to a crossroads. The talks are at “a critical moment,” European leaders said in a statement Wednesday.
Next week, Ukraine will coordinate with European countries on a bilateral level, Zelenskyy said late Wednesday, and European Union countries are due to hold a regular summit in Brussels at the end of next week.
Trump’s latest effort to broker a settlement is taking longer than he wanted. He initially set a hard deadline for Kyiv to accept his peace plan before Thanksgiving. Previous Washington deadlines for reaching a peace deal have also passed without making a breakthrough.
Russia is also keen to show Trump it is engaging with his peace efforts, hoping to avoid any further U.S. sanctions. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday that Russia has relayed to Washington “additional proposals … concerning collective security guarantees” that Ukraine and Europe say are needed to deter future aggression.
“We understand that when discussing security guarantees, we cannot limit ourselves to Ukraine alone,” Lavrov said. He didn’t offer details of the Kremlin's proposals.
Putin has framed Europe as an obstacle to a peace settlement, and Lavrov again accused Europe of seeking to prolong the war.
He charged that Western Europe “is only thinking about a ceasefire, catching its breath, and once again preparing Zelenskyy” for war.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian long-range drones hit a Russian oil rig in the Caspian Sea for the first time, according to an official in the Security Service of Ukraine who was not authorized to speak publicly about the attack and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The oil rig is located in the northern part of the Caspian Sea, about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Ukraine, and belongs to Russia’s second biggest oil company, Lukoil, the official told The Associated Press. The rig took four hits, halting the extraction of oil and gas from over 20 wells, he said.
Also, Ukraine launched one of its biggest drone attacks of the nearly four-year war overnight, forcing flights in and out of all four Moscow airports to be halted for seven hours. Airports in eight other cities across Russia also faced restrictions, Russian civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said Thursday.
The Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses intercepted 287 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions.
The display of Ukraine’s military capability to strike deep inside Russia appeared as a counter to the Kremlin’s argument that its invasion is overwhelming for its smaller neighbor.
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to portray himself as negotiating from a position of strength, analysts say. But since launching the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia has captured only around 20% of Ukraine.
Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
A worker walks in front of a production hall after a recent Russian missile attack at DTEK's power plant in Ukraine, on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers shed the “Yuccaneers” label decades ago.
They went from 0-26 to two-time Super Bowl champions and currently are four-time defending NFC South champs. They’re tied for first place entering a game against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night when they’ll be wearing their original creamsicle uniforms.
Long before Tom Brady turned the city into Tompa Bay and led the franchise to its second NFL title, the team traded Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young, let eventual Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams walk away and was spurned by Bo Jackson and Bill Parcells twice.
Those moments are among many of the franchise-altering decisions that are detailed in “Raise The Flags,” a new 10-part series that chronicles 50 years of Buccaneers football. The docuseries, which debuts on Amazon Prime Video on Thursday, gives viewers a thorough, behind-the-scenes look at the organization’s journey from expansion afterthought to championship contender.
It celebrates the good times and digs into some of the biggest lows, highlighting the triumphs and the missteps over five decades and two ownership groups.
“Raise The Flags” was commissioned and produced by Buccaneers co-owner Ed Glazer and directed by eight-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Trent Cooper, who is a lifelong Bucs fan.
“We tried to be as honest as we could,” Glazer told the AP. “A lot of people don’t always hear my family speak, so I think that’s going to be a first for a lot of people. But I think we try to take a real honest look at things that we’ve done well and mistakes that we’ve made as owners. You’re going to hear us talk about doing this for the first time ourselves going back 25 years ago. So we’re learning along the way, and there are mistakes that we made that things that we wouldn’t do again today, some bold moves we made that may not have worked out well that we may not make today.
“You get a little cautious as you get older. And there’s some bold moves we made that maybe we would regret making along the away also, right? I think one of them is letting some players go over the years that we would never let go today. Thinking that we could easily replace Hall of Fame players, and you can’t.”
The series features footage of Hugh Culverhouse, who paid $16 million for the expansion team. After his death, the family sold the team to Malcolm Glazer for a then-record $192 million in 1995.
One episode spotlights the first draft under the Glazers — before the sale of the team was even official — when general manager Rich McKay selected future Hall of Famers Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks in the first two rounds.
Another episode is devoted to the hiring of Tony Dungy, a pivotal moment in 1996 that reshaped the franchise’s culture and future, and eventually the difficult decision to fire him after the 2001 season.
“Tony was probably the most significant person ever in Buccaneer history,” Ed Glazer said. “When he came in ’95, obviously the first 20 years were not very successful. And Tony just brought stability to the team and it really almost carries to today. His leadership, his mentorship, the importance of the community, I mean all the things that he brought in that were so important to him still carry with us today. The players may be gone, but we’re still there and I think we learned a lot for Tony also of the importance of giving back and really mentoring young players. I think his legacy still carries on very strongly in Tampa.”
After Dungy’s dismissal, the Bucs pursued Parcells for a second time. A decade earlier, Culverhouse scheduled a press conference to announce Parcells was being hired only to say he changed his mind.
The Glazers had a contract with Parcells but he didn’t sign it. They considered Nick Saban but he wanted too much money. They had everyone thinking they were hiring Steve Mariucci while they worked out a megadeal to acquire Jon Gruden from the Raiders for two first-round picks, two second-rounders and $8 million.
Gruden led the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl title in his first season after replacing Dungy. They wouldn’t win another one until Brady arrived in 2020.
And, they’re still winning with Baker Mayfield, though they’re still seeking that third ring.
“This series is loaded with stories lifelong fans have never heard,” Cooper said. “The things Steve Young went through as our quarterback in the mid-80s made me laugh out loud. The Keyshawn (Johnson) vs. Gruden falling out made me a bit uncomfortable. Listening to both of them so unfiltered was fantastic. How the Bucs actually landed Tom Brady, just fascinating.”
Brady, Dungy, Gruden, Sapp, Brooks, McKay, Bruce Arians, Mike Alstott and Ronde Barber are among 100 current and former players, coaches, executives, staff, and media personalities interviewed for the docuseries.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans cheer on their team during the second half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
A Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader performs in the second half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) passes against the New Orleans Saints in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum (27) reacts after intercepting a pass against the New Orleans Saints in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
