Ankur Desai

Also coming up in this podcast, we hear from the man who disarmed a gunman on Bondi Beach in Sydney after 15 people died when two men opened fire at a Hanukkah gathering at the famous beach location in mid-December.

And football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is still enjoying playing, he says, and he won't stop until he's scored 1,000 career goals.

We begin with our top story and the ongoing efforts to find a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

The US says an agreement is getting a lot closer.

Moscow says negotiations are at a final stage.

And Ukraine's President Zelensky described recent meetings with Donald Trump as great.

So a lot of optimism then, but it doesn't seem to have reached the streets of Kiev just yet.

That's according to these Ukrainians.

Unfortunately, the talks won't have an effect.

They're good for the people to understand what's going on, but I don't think the war will end soon.

And yet we have to wait for the deal to be reached.

Even after a deal, Russia could attack Ukraine.

So just what are the sticking points?

Well, speaking a few hours ago, President Zelensky said the main unresolved issues in the 20-point peace plan were control over Ukraine's eastern Donbass region and the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

He says he wants any plan to end the war with Russia to be signed by Ukraine, Russia, Europe and the United States.

And he said it should be put to a referendum in Ukraine.

Well, our correspondent in Kiev is Abdul Jalil Abdul Rasulov, and he told me more about President Zelensky's comments.

Abdul Jalil Abdul Rasulov reporting from Kiev.

It's a show of strength on a massive scale.

That was footage from Chinese state television showing missiles being fired and military aircraft taking off as the government simulates a blockade of Taiwan.