news headlines at san francisco. >> martin, thank you very much. and good evening to you. fast approaching 7:02. the top story tonight. sir keir starmer has told mps that russian president vladimir putin feasts on division and that ukraine�*s division and that ukraine's future is vital to uk national security. he says russia is a menace in british waters and skies. has carried out cyber attacks on the national health service, and even conducted assassination attacks in our streets. the prime minister insists britain will now lead from the front in securing peace for ukraine. after a week of talks with volodymyr zelenskyy, european leaders and us president donald trump. well, dame priti patel spoke to our political editor christopher hope earlier today and she insists it's vital that britain plays a leading role in achieving that peace. >> this matters to us as a country. it matters to our own security here domestically. i cannot emphasise that enough. look at who the aggressor is in this conflict. it's russia. it's the same russia that committed

poisonings in our own country not that long ago. you remember salisbury? we had politicians in that very chamber that i've sat in this afternoon who would not even acknowledge russian influence. >> well, it comes after zelenskyy's heated oval office zelenskyy�*s heated oval office exchange with donald trump and jd vance. and tonight, donald trump has again criticised the ukrainian president, calling his recent comments on the war the worst statement that could have been made. it follows zelenskyy saying the conflict with russia is still very, very far away from ending. in a new statement tonight, zelenskyy says ukraine is counting on american support, though, describing peace as the country's highest priority. he says talks with partners are ongoing, with more steps to come soon. at least two people have died and several others are seriously injured after a car drove into crowds in the german city of mannheim. the vehicle rammed pedestrians in a busy square just after midday today, with police describing it as a life threatening situation. the

driver, a 40 year old man, has been arrested but authorities haven't ruled out the possibility of more suspects being involved. mannheim hospital is now on high alert. eight trauma teams there are treating the injured, and it comes as security was already stepped up across germany for the carnival season amid warnings of possible attacks. the pope has suffered two episodes of acute respiratory failure, as the vatican warns he's not out of danger. the 88 year old's health took a turn this afternoon after being in hospital since mid—february with a lung infection. doctors carried out two procedures to check his airways while he's now back on a ventilator. the vatican says pope francis remains alert and cooperative, but his prognosis is still uncertain. officials won't say if preparations are at this stage being made for him to return home. an inquiry into the deadliest channel crossing in history has heard that despite multiple distress calls, no rescue came for those on board.

at least 27 people died when an inflatable boat capsized in november of 2021, including women and children. the first distress call was made by a 16 year old boy on board, who was told help is on the way, but search crews mistakenly recorded another boat as the vessel in trouble. a cold water expert says most victims likely died over a long period from hypothermia. the investigation will now examine whether lives could have been saved and the could have been saved, and the ceasefire in gaza is on the bnnk ceasefire in gaza is on the brink of collapse, with israel halting humanitarian aid until hamas accepts a new deal. israel says the proposal, backed by the u5, says the proposal, backed by the us, would extend the truce by 50 days, covering ramadan and passover in exchange for the release of half of the remaining hostages. hamas, though, has denounced the move as an attempt to avoid negotiations as pressure is mounting from arab states and the un to resume aid in the region. protests in israel, though, have intensified with growing calls to bring home all hostages, and both sides are now preparing to resume fighting

while weighing their options for peace. those are the latest headlines a full roundup on all the top stories at 8:00. now back to westminster and martin. >> thank you sam. welcome to shiri bibas tonight with me. martin daubney. now the war of words escalates. donald trump has taken aim at zelenskyy after ukrainian leader warns that peace is very, very far away. and the president blasted zelenskyy, calling his statement on truth social a short while ago the worst that could have been made, and warning that america will not put up with it for much longer. now zelenskyy, in a meeting with european leaders, received a reiteration of support, while trump accuses him of stalling peace efforts to keep u.s. support flowing. and just a moment time. donald trump is about to make an announcement in front of the world's media at the white house. what do you think is on the table? could it be a huge announcement about

pulling the plug on ukrainian aid, or could it be something more domestic, announcing a lot of money going into the semiconductor industry in the united states? well, joining me for reaction is republican commentator and columnist lee cohen. lee, welcome to the show. so the war of words is escalating and astonishing. scene on friday evening at the white house when basically zelenskyy left empty handed. the war of words has continued. it�*s just revved up now. trump said this guy does not want peace and we won�*t put up with it for much longer, saying that they cannot do the job without the united states of america. now, there's been a lot of talk for a long time from america about pulling the plug on nato money, pulling the plug on nato money, pulling the plug, perhaps on $500 million thatjoe biden pledged to ukraine in the final days of his presidency. do you think there's going to be a satisfactory solution any time soon where donald trump�*s going to be happy with zelenskyy? he

still seems very, very bruised by that encounter in the white house on friday. >> well, good evening, martin, and it's a pleasure to be with you. thank you. one thing is very clear trump sees the world as it is, rather than as others think it ought to be. he deals in power and money rather than mere words. and it it is clear that he was very disenchanted with what things rolled out, with what things rolled out, with the sequence of events that rolled out in the white house. 50 i'm very eager to hear this so i�*m very eager to hear this statement that's going to unroll, as you say shortly. what could he do? you know, i suspect he indeed could double down on his pledge to roll back support. and i think that that would be completely in character. and i think it would dovetail with

trump's belief in putting his trump�*s belief in putting his own nation first in preserving the taxpayers money and in withholding further aid for clearly a foreign leader who is cocky and who got aggressive with him and who was disrespectful and perhaps even ungrateful. >> lee, can i ask you about the reaction from the american public? we seem stuck in a kind of media bubble in the united kingdom. perhaps aside from gb news, where there seems to be unanimous, almost evangelical support for volodymyr zelenskyy. but is donald trump talking a lot of common sense as far as what the american taxpayer is saying? billions and billions and billions of dollars going to what seems to be for a forever war. and zelenskyy talking tough and walking away empty handed from washington. what are the american people saying about their appetite for continuing

funding the war in ukraine? >> well, i think it depends, martin, on whom you consult. certainly the new york times and company are are with most of europe in berating donald trump and treating him as the bully. but there are a lot of us that don't feel that way. there are a lot of us that that feel that he is living up to his well—known pledge to put nation first. and why shouldn't he put nation first? of course, i believe that britain should put britain first and france should put france first. american's been carrying first. american�*s been carrying too much of this load, and europe is scrambling while europe is scrambling. while trump stands firm on forcing a ceasefire. he's all about peace ceasefire. he�*s all about peace occurring, stopping the bloodshed, but also doing so within the context of what's best for the american people. and i think that's that's the and i think that�*s that's the best possible approach to this. >> okay. lee cowan, thank you

very much for joining us. and just to remind people joining very much for joining us. and just to remind peoplejoining us just to remind people joining us on the show now, donald trump is due to speak imminently from the white house. and that topic could be on pulling the plug on investments in ukraine. it could be about investments going into usa. be about investm