Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to President Donald Trump as he made it clear that the US military would be an essential component in any effective peacekeeping force. “It can’t be without the United States,” the Ukrainian leader said in an TV interview with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait in Davos. “Even if some European friends think it can be, no it can’t be. Nobody will risk without the United States.” Zelenskiy is also trying to persuade China to use its influence on Moscow to help end the fighting, though he expressed frustration that he hasn’t managed to speak more often to President Xi Jinping. Trump has been pushing for both sides to strike a peace deal, but Ukraine remains worried that Putin could use a ceasefire as an opportunity to rearm unless Kyiv’s allies, and ideally NATO, offer long-term security guarantees. Watch the highlights of the interview. —Kevin Whitelaw

What You Need to Know Today

Trump’s return to the White House will lead to a boom in US technology deals, a top official at Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund said in an interview at Davos. “For now, it’s probably one of the best tech environments that we’ve ever seen in the US,” said Mohammed Al Hardan, the head of technology, media and telecommunications at the $51 billion Qatar Investment Fund. A day earlier, Trump trumpeted a $100 billion artificial intelligence joint venture between SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle. 

The European Union’s sanctions on Russia over its war against Ukraine are at risk of expiring with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban refusing to sign off on a routine six-month extension. He has been lashing out at the sanctions regime, which needs to be renewed by Jan. 31. Orban earlier said he wanted to wait for Trump’s inauguration, but Trump threatened “high levels” of sanctions and taxes on Russia if it doesn’t seek a peace deal. If EU ambassadors can’t solve the sanctions issue on their own, the bloc’s foreign ministers may need to deal with it when they meet on Jan. 27.

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said “the problem in the last government” is that it never moved ahead with major infrastructure projects and planning decisions. “The answer can’t always be no,” she told Bloomberg’s Micklethwait in Davos, the latest sign that the Labour government plans to push ahead with controversial projects in a bid to spur economic growth. She also joked about Elon Musk’s online “trolling” of world leaders. Watch the whole interview.

Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper group proffered a rare “full and unequivocal apology” to Prince Harry in a settlement over allegations that journalists at its tabloids used unlawful techniques to gather information over a 15-year period. It’s the first time the publisher has acknowledged liability for any wrongdoing at The Sun - having previously admitted to extensive phone hacking at the defunct News of the World tabloid. The settlement averts a trial, which was just about to start.

A rival to Tesla sees an opportunity in the backlash to Elon Musk’s increasingly active role in global politics at Trump’s side. “We get a lot of people writing that they don’t like all this,” Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller told us. Polestar could use the help that its CEO hopes to get from Musk asserting himself in Washington, Berlin and Westminster. The maker of premium electric vehicles is coming off another year of disappointing sales.

France derided the EU’s new ESG reporting rules as “hell for companies” as it seeks to limit the scope of the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. That means the EU’s two biggest economies are now publicly pressuring the EU to make cuts to the rules after Germany last month urged the bloc’s executive arm to scale back the directive, which requires firms to report hundreds of ESG data points, ranging from the gender diversity of their boards to the biodiversity risks posed by their operations.

A fugitive banker appears to be at the center of an effort to help Russian lenders and businesses get around sanctions. Ilan Shor (below), a former Moldovan politician accused of masterminding a $1 billion “theft of the century" a decade ago, has established intermediary companies that are positioned to help Russian businesses execute international transactions that are otherwise disrupted due to US restrictions. It’s an illustration of just how far the country’s businesses have to go to access cross-border payments.

What You’ll Need to Know Tomorrow

For Your Commute

Guitarist Jeff Beck created unique sounds with his use of the whammy bar that won him worldwide acclaim and eight Grammy Awards. Two years after this death, fans got an opportunity to own a piece of his guitar legend’s history. Christie’s London was auctioning more than 130 guitars, amps and “tools-of-the-trade” from his personal collection, which he used throughout his almost six-decade-long career. The highest-valued piece in Beck’s collection is the 1954 “Oxblood” Gibson Les Paul, which was featured on the cover of his 1975 solo instrumental album, Blow by Blow.

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