Trump Met Zelensky, But Called Putin First
☕ India’s Morning Briefing: Mon, December 29
Hello, and welcome to the brief.
Good morning.
If 2025 has taught us anything, it’s that “unprecedented” is the new “Tuesday.” We are standing on the precipice of a new year, and yesterday, the world decided to squeeze in a few more plot twists before the calendar finally flips. We had the Indian Prime Minister recapping a year, seemingly curating the trailer for his 2026 political blockbuster. Across the pond, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a meeting in Florida that can only be described as “awkwardly high-stakes,” featuring no minerals deal but plenty of tension. Meanwhile, Israel decided to redraw the map of Africa just to keep things spicy.
Grab your chai, your coffee, or your chamomile. Let’s doom-scroll responsibly and dissect the madness.
Welcome to the 195th edition of The India Brief
Deep Dive: The Israel-Somaliland Red Sea Chessboard
Yesterday, Israel did something that diplomats usually only do after five rounds of drinks: it recognised Somaliland as a sovereign state.
To the average observer, this sounds like a trivia question. “Somaliland? Is that a typo?” It isn’t. It’s a breakaway region of Somalia that has functioned as a stable, democratic state for 33 years but has been ghosted by the entire world. Until yesterday.
Why does this matter? It’s not about benevolence; it’s about the Red Sea Chessboard.
Look at a map. Somaliland sits on the Bab-el-Mandeb strait. That tiny choke point controls a massive chunk of the world’s oil and shipping traffic. It’s currently being harassed by Houthi rebels (backed by Iran) in Yemen, right across the water. Israel, needing to secure its southern shipping lanes, just bought itself a loyal ally with prime waterfront property.
The Ripple Effect:
The Ethiopian Connection: Landlocked Ethiopia is desperate for sea access. They have a pending deal to use Somaliland’s Berbera port. Israel’s move gives Ethiopia “diplomatic cover” to follow suit. If Ethiopia recognizes Somaliland, the dam breaks.
The Angry Neighbors: Somalia is furious (obviously). Egypt is furious (because they hate Ethiopia due to the Nile Dam dispute). Turkey is annoyed (they back Somalia).
The Abraham Accords 2.0: Netanyahu framed this as part of the “Trump/Abraham Accords” vision. It’s a strategy of peripheral alliances—befriending the non-Arab or marginalized states to flank hostile powers.
The Bottom Line: Israel just ignited a diplomatic powder keg to secure a strategic insurance policy against Iran/Houthis. The borders of Africa haven’t changed on paper, but the balance of power just shifted violently.
The India Brief: Top Stories
🏛️ CATEGORY: POLITICS & GOVERNANCE
The PM’s Yearbook: Mann Ki Baat 2025
📻 Recap: PM Modi’s final 2025 address highlighted “Operation Sindoor” and the rise of the cheetah population to 30+.
🚀 Space & Sports: He celebrated Shubhanshu Shukla’s ISS mission and India winning the ICC Champions Trophy.
🚩 Culture: Mentions of the Ram Mandir Dhwajarohan and the upcoming Prayagraj Mahakumbh.
Our Take: This wasn't just a radio recap; it was the trailer for the PM’s 2026 political blockbuster. By weaving "Operation Sindoor" (security) with cheetahs and space, he’s curating a "Resurgent Bharat" narrative where we are simultaneously secure, devout, and futuristic—a masterclass in continuity pitching. I think he conveniently missed out on a few on ground realities, but that’s alright; everyone wants us to forget the pain of the everyday people in name of celebrations.
Congress at 140: The Ideology Battle
🎉 Event: Congress celebrated its 140th Foundation Day; Kharge and Rahul Gandhi led the charge.
🗣️ Rhetoric: Kharge declared “Congress is an ideology and ideologies never die,” countering BJP narratives.
🗳️ Strategy: Discussions on strengthening the organisation followed Digvijaya Singh’s anti-RSS comments.
Our Take: At 140 years old, the Grand Old Party is arguing that it’s an immortal “ideology” rather than just an election machine, a comforting thought when the electoral arithmetic is bleak. It’s a necessary defensive posture to position themselves as the moral counterweight to the BJP, even if “morality” doesn’t always win seats.
Mumbai Polls: Why Congress Needs the VBA Alliance
🤝 Alliance: Congress and Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) sealed a deal for the BMC polls.
🔢 Seats: VBA to contest 62 of 227 seats; aimed at consolidating Dalit and minority votes.
🗳️ Context: A move to counter the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) combine in India’s richest civic body.
Our Take: Mumbai politics is now more crowded than a Dadar local at 6 PM, with everyone holding hands to avoid falling out. This alliance is a desperate but calculated bid to consolidate the Dalit vote; without it, the Congress knows the BMC treasury, richer than some small states, will remain firmly out of reach.
Red Fort Victims: The Wait for Compensation Continues
🏛️ Issue: Victims of the historic Red Fort blast are yet to receive government compensation.
⏳ Delay: Bureaucratic hurdles cited; police verification of “victim status” pending.
🔍 Context: Security remains high at Red Fort amid new threats.
Our Take: The wheels of justice turn slowly, but the wheels of compensation bureaucracy apparently don’t turn at all. It’s a systemic failure where victims are celebrated as martyrs in the headlines but abandoned to navigate endless red tape once the cameras and the politicians move on.
🛡️ CATEGORY: CRIME, SECURITY & SOCIETY
Bareilly’s Party Raid: How Cake Became a Crime
🎂 Incident: Bajrang Dal stormed a student’s birthday party in a cafe, alleging “Love Jihad.”
👊 Assault: Friends were assaulted; the host (a nursing student) said most guests were Hindu.
👮 Action: Police found no “Love Jihad” but booked two Muslim guests for “breach of peace.”
Our Take: Nothing says “protecting culture” like beating up students eating cake, where apparently inter-faith friendship now requires a permit. The police booking the victims of the intrusion sets a chilling precedent, effectively institutionalising moral policing and criminalising socialising in public spaces.
Assam Lynching: When ‘Suspicion’ Becomes a Death Sentence
⚰️ Crime: A 35-year-old man was beaten to death at a resort in Sonapur, Assam.
🤔 Reason: Resort staff “mistook him for a thief” based on his appearance.
⚖️ Arrests: Police arrested 7 people, including the resort director, for mob murder.
Our Take: “Shoot first, ask later” has devolved into “beat to death first, check ID later.” This isn’t just a crime; it’s a societal failure where citizens feel entitled to execute justice based on mere appearance, signaling a dangerous breakdown in the trust of the rule of law.
📈 CATEGORY: ECONOMY, TECH & SPORTS
The Camellias Con: Selling a Fake ₹12 Cr Apartment
🏢 Scam: Delhi Police busted a ₹200 crore racket selling fake DLF Camellias flats.
💸 Loss: One victim lost ₹12 crore paying for a non-existent bank auction property.
🔗 Arrests: 5 arrested; syndicate used forged bank documents.
Our Take: Paying ₹12 crore for a flat you’ve never seen is the ultimate “Delhi rich” move; money can buy luxury, but it clearly can’t buy due diligence. It highlights how the FOMO for trophy assets makes even the wealthy incredibly vulnerable to sophisticated, high-stakes grifters.
Sigachi Blast: Why the CEO Was Finally Arrested
🏭 Arrest: Sigachi Industries MD & CEO Amit Raj Sinha arrested for the June reactor blast.
💀 Toll: The explosion in Sangareddy killed 54 people (one of the worst industrial accidents).
⚖️ Charge: Culpable homicide; HC called it the “biggest industrial mishap” in the state.
Our Take: Seeing a CEO in handcuffs for an industrial accident is as rare as a unicorn in Hyderabad. This arrest pierces the corporate veil, sending a stark message to India Inc. that “negligence” can no longer be outsourced to plant managers when safety budgets are cut in the boardroom.
Pad Number 3: Why ISRO Needs More Ral Estate
🏗️ Plan: ISRO is building a Third Launch Pad (TLP) at Sriharikota.
🎯 Goal:To support the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) and crewed missions.
⏳ Timeline:Commissioning expected within 4 years; vendors being identified.
Our Take: Three launch pads, because when you have a traffic jam in space, you can’t exactly honk. This infrastructure build-out is the foundation for the “Bharatiya Antariksha Station” and proves India is moving from “exploration” mode to “industrial exploitation” of space.
World Watch: Top Global
Kyiv Swarm: Why Russia Fired 500 Drones Before Talks
💥 Attack: Russia launched 500+ drones/missiles at Kyiv just before the Trump-Zelenskyy meet.
💡 Damage: Energy infrastructure hit; 4,000 buildings lost heat; 500,000 without power.
🚑 Toll: At least 2 dead, 32 injured.
Our Take: Putin sending “fireworks” before the peace talks was subtle as a sledgehammer. By freezing Kyiv right before the Mar-a-Lago summit, he’s negotiating with high explosives, forcing Zelenskyy to the table not as a commander seeking victory, but as a leader desperate for heat.
Mar-a-Lago Meet: Why Trump Called Putin First
🇺🇸 Meeting: Trump met Zelenskyy; talks were “productive” but tense.
❌ Result: No minerals deal signed; Trump said Zelenskyy “doesn’t have anything until I approve it.”
📞 The Call: Trump called Putin before meeting Zelenskyy, calling it “very productive.”
Our Take:Zelenskyy went for a deal and got a lecture; Trump is treating geopolitics like a season finale of The Apprentice. By speaking to Putin first and withholding the minerals deal, Trump is stripping Zelenskyy of leverage to force a transactional peace.
Somaliland Recognition: Israel’s Strategic Red Sea Play
🌍 Historic: Israel became the first UN state to formally recognize Somaliland.
🤝 Context: Netanyahu called it “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords.”
😡 Backlash: Somalia called it “aggression”; Egypt and Djibouti condemned it.
Our Take: Israel just casually recognized a country that doesn’t exist on most maps—your move, Google Earth. This is a masterstroke of peripheral strategy to secure the Red Sea chokepoint against Houthi influence, even if it sets the African Union’s diplomatic hair on fire.
Sign-Off
Question of the Day: If you paid ₹12 crore for a flat you’ve never seen, would you admit it to the police, or just quietly move to the Himalayas out of shame?
Sleep tight. Don’t buy invisible flats.
- Aditya S.