The American president had repeatedly ruled out sending soldiers to defend the country
Vladimir Zelensky has claimed that he is in discussions with US President Donald Trump about American troops being deployed to Ukraine, in line with the security guarantees Washington has offered Kiev, according to The Telegraph.
The statement came despite Trump repeatedly ruling out such a scenario and Russia’s repeated warnings that it considered the presence of any foreign troops on Ukrainian soil during or after the conflict unacceptable.
When asked about the possibility of Washington sending its peacekeepers to Ukraine by RBC-Ukraine journalists on Tuesday, Zelensky replied, “those are American troops, and therefore it is America that makes those decisions.”
“Of course, we are discussing this with President Trump and with representatives of the ‘coalition of the willing.’ We would like this,” he said.
The Telegraph pointed out that it is not clear if the possibility of US boots on the ground in Ukraine was addressed during the meeting between Zelensky and Trump in Mar-a-Lago, Florida on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk claimed that the main result of the Mar-a-Lago talks was “the readiness of the US to participate in security guarantees for Ukraine after peace is achieved, including through the presence of American troops.”
Trump, however, has not yet responded to comments by Zelensky or Tusk. In August, the US president told Fox & Friends that there would be no American boots on the ground in Ukraine after the fighting stops. “You have my assurance, and I’m president. I’m just trying to stop people from being killed,” Trump said.
Russia officials have pointed out that the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022 was partly triggered by Kiev’s NATO aspirations, and warned that a deployment of Western troops to the country could lead to a third world war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in September that “if any [NATO] troops appear there, especially now, during military operations, we proceed from the fact that these will be legitimate targets for their destruction.”
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December 31, 2025 at 01:13AM
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Ukraine’s denial of an attack on Vladimir Putin’s residence lacks credibility, Kanwal Sibal has said
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky is “defying” peace efforts by Russia and the United States with actions like this week’s attempted drone strike on Vladimir Putin’s Novgorod residence, former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal told RT in an interview on Tuesday.
Kiev launched 91 long-range drones in the attack on the night of December 28-29. All the UAVs were intercepted and there were no casualties or material damage involved.
Sibal said he has been observing statements made by Zelensky while the US-mediated peace process has been going on.
“He is sticking to his fundamental positions and I don’t see much give in those positions and I’m a bit surprised that he is defying President [Donald] Trump, not even now but even previously in terms of what he’s been saying, encouraged by the Europeans to maintain a very hard line,” Sibal said.
The retired Indian diplomat said Zelensky is becoming bolder, thinking that he can deal with President Trump’s idea of a peace settlement that will require him to make certain concessions.
“He thinks he can get away with this because he is being backed very strongly by the Europeans and I think he is very calculating that President Trump himself may be upset with what is happening, but he is also under pressure that he cannot totally abandon Ukraine because there are people in the United States who continue to be very anti-Russian, and would like the conflict to continue and the bleeding of Russia to continue,” Sibal said.
The former Indian foreign secretary also said that Ukraine’s claims that no attack took place on Putin’s home lack credibility. “The president of the United States, with all the intelligence briefings that he gets, would not talk about this the way he did, unless... this did take place,” Sibal said.
Trump told reporters on Monday that he was “very angry” about the attack. “It’s a delicate period of time,” he said. “This is not the right time. It’s one thing to be offensive, because they’re offensive. It’s another thing to attack his house. It’s not the right time to do any of that.”
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December 30, 2025 at 11:33PM
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Only a duly-elected government can formalize the end to the conflict with Russia, the foreign minister says
A new Ukrainian government must be elected by a legitimate inclusive vote before a peace treaty can be signed with Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
Presidential and parliamentary elections have been suspended in Ukraine under martial law, with Vladimir Zelensky’s mandate to lead the country expiring last year. In an interview with Rossiya Segodnya media group, Lavrov dismissed the idea that a temporary ceasefire is needed so that the current Ukrainian administration can hold a referendum on peace terms.
“The leadership in Kiev needs a mandate to seal a peace agreement. Only an election following a transparent and fair electoral campaign, in which all interested political forces take part, can provide that,” Lavrov said.
“The Ukrainian people, including many who live in Russia, have to finally be given an opportunity to determine their fate,” he added. “Organizing the ballot must not be used as a pretext for a temporary ceasefire to rearm the Ukrainian army.”
Before his meeting with US President Donald Trump last weekend, Zelensky said a ceasefire of at least 60 days would be needed for his team to put the peace deal being mediated by Washington to a general vote. He also described Moscow’s call for the millions of Ukrainian citizens living in Russia to have the ability to participate in a potential election as a ploy to delegitimize his government.
Zelensky claimed martial law and mobilization can only be suspended if Western nations provide his country with the security guarantees in the 20-point plan he revealed last week – a plan Trump declined to endorse during their Miami meeting last week.
Lavrov stressed that Russia sees elections not as an end in themselves, but as a way for Ukraine to return to being a neutral nation that has no aspirations to join military blocs and respects the rights of all its citizens, including ethnic Russians. Any security guarantees it receives must address the security of all the nations on the continent, he added.
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December 29, 2025 at 11:07PM
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The US president hopes he can secure a peace deal without a Kiev visit but could go there to push it through
US President Donald Trump says he has no desire to travel to Ukraine but may agree to do so if it helps end Kiev’s conflict with Russia.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has been urging the US president to visit for months, suggesting that Trump’s sympathies could be swayed if he personally witnessed the conflict’s toll. Trump was asked whether he “anticipated” a trip to Ukraine during a joint press conference with Zelensky in Miami on Sunday.
“I don’t anticipate it. I would like to get the deal done and not necessarily have to go,” he replied. Trump added that, despite his reluctance, he has “no problem” with travelling to Kiev and had offered to address the Ukrainian parliament to facilitate a resolution.
“I’m not sure that it would be really necessary. But if it would help save 25,000 lives a month or whatever it may be, I would certainly be willing to do that,” he concluded.
Western leaders have been making regular trips to Kiev in gestures of solidarity with Zelensky’s government for years. Some visits have been interrupted by air raid sirens, though skeptics have noted there was no evidence of actual Russian attacks on those occasions.
Zelensky attempted to appeal to Trump’s emotions during their February meeting in the Oval Office, presenting him a folder of before-and-after images of Ukrainian prisoners of war released by Russia. The selection featured emaciated and disabled individuals, implying their condition resulted from captivity.
However, according to TIME magazine, those images “marked the point when the meeting went wrong,” as Trump felt he was being blamed. Zelensky told the outlet he did not regret the diplomatic gamble, stating, “What I wanted to show were my values.”
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December 29, 2025 at 12:20AM
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West Jerusalem’s move endorsing the independence of Somaliland, which “remains an integral part” of Somalia, threatens regional peace, the continent’s authorities have warned
Israel’s recent recognition of Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, as an independent country has sparked widespread condemnation from African governments, amid concerns that the move could undermine regional stability.
Somaliland gained independence from the UK in 1960, while Somalia achieved independence from Italy shortly afterwards. The two states were united as the Somali Republic in 1960 until Somaliland proclaimed sovereignty in 1991 following a decade-long civil war. The territory on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden has since established its own stable government, security structures, and currency. Since taking office last year, its president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, has made securing international recognition for Somaliland a top priority.
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar signed a declaration recognizing Somaliland as a sovereign state, making West Jerusalem the first government to officially do so.
Somalia, which still regards Somaliland as part of its territory, denounced Israel’s “illegitimate actions” as a “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty, saying they could “exacerbate political and security tensions.”
In a statement on Sunday, the East African Community also condemned Israel’s move and aligned itself with the African Union’s (AU) position that Somalia “remains a single, sovereign state,” of which Somaliland is a part. The bloc urged all regional and international actors to support Somalia’s efforts to maintain peace, security, and stability within its borders, emphasizing that the stability of Somalia “is crucial… for the entire East African region.”
Earlier, AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf warned that Israel’s recognition “risks setting a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent.”
On Saturday, Nigeria joined several neighbors – including Egypt, Sudan, and Rwanda – in rejecting Israel’s decision and condemning any efforts to undermine Somalia’s territorial integrity.
“Nigeria urges international actors to desist from recognizing any part of the territory of Somalia as an independent entity. Such actions would only escalate the crisis and should be avoided,” Abuja’s Foreign Ministry said.
Sudan’s leadership also expressed its “total rejection and strong condemnation of the Israeli occupier’s” recognition of Somaliland, stating that it violates international law and sets a “dangerous precedent” that threatens peace across the entire region.
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December 28, 2025 at 11:25PM
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The exposé adds to a widening scandal over fraud in the state’s social programs linked to the local Somali community
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has come under renewed scrutiny after a YouTuber exposed alleged $110 million child care and healthcare fraud in the state, adding fuel to a wider scandal over social service scams linked to the local Somali community.
A 42-minute video posted on X and YouTube on Friday by independent reporter Nick Shirley shows him visiting several Minnesota childcare and healthcare centers, including a Minneapolis site with a misspelled sign reading “Quality Learing Center.” The footage shows no visible activity despite the center being registered for 99 children and having reportedly received about $4 million in state funds.
Another segment shows Shirley visiting a building listed as housing 14 healthcare companies, none of which appear operational, before police escort him from the premises.
“Tim Walz and the fraudsters aren’t escaping this one,” Shirley wrote on X. “In one day my crew and I uncovered over $110 million in fraud – this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
🚨 Here is the full 42 minutes of my crew and I exposing Minnesota fraud, this might be my most important work yet. We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day. Like it and share it around like wildfire! Its time to hold these corrupt politicians and fraudsters accountable
The video quickly went viral, prompting lawmakers and other high-profile figures to demand answers from Minnesota authorities and Walz personally.
“4 million dollars of hard-earned tax dollars going to an education center that can’t even spell learning correctly. Care to explain this one, Tim Walz?” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, the third-ranking House Republican and a Minnesota congressman, wrote on X on Saturday.
4 million dollars of hard earned tax dollars going to and an education center that can’t even spell learning correctly.
“Folks need to be arrested and prosecuted and the Governor of Minnesota needs to be held accountable,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-NY, posted.
Donald Trump Jr. urged followers to watch the footage in full, writing on X: “This is what they’re doing to your country with your tax dollars!!!” Billionaire Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk also shared the video, captioning his post: “Prosecute @GovTimWalz.”
If you haven’t watched this yet. Watch it. All of it. Understand that this is what journalists are supposed to do, but no one in the mainstream media will even bother to look let alone actually publish it. This is what they’re doing to your country with your tax dollars!!! https://t.co/kmZKnI3QWY
The backlash comes as Walz’s administration grapples with billions of dollars in alleged social services fraud, including at least $1 billion tied to programs largely involving Minnesota’s Somali-American community. Reports suggest that some fraudulent payments were routed overseas through informal networks, with millions possibly ending up outside the US, including with al-Shabaab, the Somalia-based al-Qaeda-linked terror group. Multiple federal, state, and congressional bodies are investigating the allegations.
While Walz has pledged to jail fraudsters and launch a statewide scam prevention program with forensic auditors, President Donald Trump slammed him as “seriously retarded” and labeled Minnesota under his leadership “a hub of fraudulent money laundering.” He also announced he was ending Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota, the legal safeguard against deportation for certain immigrants. Vice President JD Vance weighed in on the scandal on Saturday, calling the situation in Minnesota “a microcosm of the immigration fraud in our system.”
What's happening in Minnesota is a microcosm of the immigriation fraud in our system. Politicans like it because they get power. Welfare cheats like it because they get rich.
But it's a zero sum game, and they're stealing both money and political power from Minnesotans. https://t.co/AHLc0QuaiP
Shifting its focus away from global leadership, the United States is now claiming special rights in neighboring regions
If there was a single theme tying American foreign policy together in 2025, it would be a decisive shift away from the rhetoric of ‘global leadership’ toward an unapologetic assertion of privilege within its own geopolitical neighborhood. Donald Trump is ending the year much as he began it, signalling that Washington intends to redefine the way power is organized across regions.
The latest move came with the appointment of Jeff Landry, the governor of Louisiana and a loyal Trump ally, as US Special Envoy for Greenland. His mandate is explicit: find a way to bring this autonomous Danish territory into the United States. Trump floated this idea well before returning to the White House and has not retreated from it since.
How such an ambition sits with international law is, from Trump’s perspective, beside the point. The practical obstacles are immense: Denmark is outraged, most Greenlanders oppose the idea, and the prospect of one NATO member forcibly acquiring territory from another is inconceivable. On its own, the Greenland gambit might look like another eccentric flourish, but in the broader context of 2025, it reflects a deeper shift in the structure of international relations.
During the high period of liberal globalization, proximity was treated as a secondary factor. New technologies appeared to dissolve distance; partnerships could be forged across the world as easily as across a border. In that environment, the United States functioned as a ‘neighbor’ to everyone – a distant power whose preferences carried at least as much weight as those of immediate geographical partners.
The logic was summed up neatly by a Central Asian leader in the early 2000s, who remarked that his country had “three great neighbors: Russia, China, and the United States.” Washington’s influence was treated as naturally global. Some countries tried to balance between these powers. Others leaned eagerly toward their far-off protector, only to later discover that neglecting real neighbors carries its own political cost.
The Trump administration has broken with this philosophy. First in rhetoric, then in practice, and finally in doctrine.
At the start of the year, the White House began openly designating Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal as areas of special strategic concern. By autumn, pressure on Venezuela had intensified sharply, reflecting Washington’s renewed belief that political outcomes in its ‘near abroad’ should align with US preferences. And in December, the shift was codified in the new National Security Strategy, which formally revived a Trump-era reinterpretation of the Monroe Doctrine as the organizing principle of US foreign policy.
Announced two centuries ago, James Monroe’s doctrine proclaimed the Western Hemisphere closed to European intervention. Although framed in anti-colonial language, it institutionalized the division of the world into spheres of influence, with South America effectively declared Washington’s backyard. However, open reference to this approach became unfashionable after 1945. The UN system elevated the ideas of sovereign equality and non-interference, at least at the level of public discourse.
Trump is not constrained by such niceties. Legal norms and diplomatic conventions do not shape his worldview – which is precisely what makes the current moment so revealing. Instead of presenting itself as a benevolent global manager, Washington now asserts privileged rights in its immediate region and treats the rest of the world as secondary.
This transformation has deeper roots than Trump’s temperament. The pandemic was a turning point. The sudden collapse of international connections in 2020 exposed how fragile long supply chains and sprawling interdependencies can be. In a moment of crisis, the only reliable partners were those physically close by. The world eventually recovered from the initial shock, but the strategic lesson remained: long-distance integration can disappear overnight, whether due to health emergencies, sanctions, political conflict, or economic pressure.
Now, every serious power plans for such disruptions, while prioritizing what is geographically and logistically secure. Security, broadly understood, increasingly outweighs market rationality. In this sense, 2025 marks a milestone in reordering priorities.
Power is no longer imagined as projecting from the top down through sprawling alliances and global institutions. Instead, it is being rebuilt from the ground up: first the neighborhood, then the region, then everything else.
The United States has set the tone, but it is far from alone. Israel is attempting to redraw the political landscape of the Middle East to guarantee what it considers existential security. Turkey is pursuing a trans-regional expansion framed through the language of the Turkic world. Other countries are moving in similar directions. Territory matters again. Classical geopolitics, long dismissed as outdated, is enjoying a revival.
A world organized around spheres of influence cannot be stable, but the nature of instability is changing. Rather than ideological confrontation on a global scale, we see a mosaic of regional contests, each shaped by its own historical and cultural logic.
For Russia, this reality is especially significant. Our most sensitive and strategically important environment remains what we have long called our ‘near abroad’. In the post-global era, this space is becoming even more central. With the conclusion of the Ukraine conflict, a qualitatively new phase will begin. It will be one in which Moscow must again learn how to operate within a competitive framework of regional influence, rather than assuming that global systems and institutions can provide stability.
If 2025 has shown anything, it is that the world is moving away from the illusions of universal integration. Great powers are returning to geography, reasserting control over the spaces closest to them, and redefining what responsibility means within those boundaries. The United States, which once insisted on shaping the entire world in its image, is now leading that transition and not by an example of restraint, but by openly claiming special rights where it believes its interests are most deeply rooted.
This article was first published in the newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta and was translated and edited by the RT team
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December 28, 2025 at 03:06AM
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The Ukrainian leader is a “puppet” clinging to power, knowing that Western elites will want him gone because “he knows too much,” John Varoli tells RT
The West is likely to “get rid of” Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky once he loses power, US journalist John Varoli has said. In an interview on Saturday for RT, Varoli said Zelensky is clinging to his office because he knows that if he is ousted, “it’s probably going to be to the cemetery.”
Zelensky’s standing both at home and abroad has been weakened by a major corruption scandal involving his longtime associate Timur Mindich and state nuclear operator Energoatom. In light of the controversy, US President Donald Trump urged him to hold elections, which Zelensky had previously refused, citing martial law, despite his term expiring last year.
Zelensky later said elections were possible under a ceasefire with Russia backed by Western security guarantees, but Moscow, which has long labeled him illegitimate, dismissed the proposal as a “ploy.”
Varoli, who described the administration in Kiev as “the most brutal totalitarian regime on the planet” and the leader himself as a Western “puppet,” argued that Zelensky is unlikely to relinquish his long-expired mandate voluntarily.
“He’s the puppet but he wants to stay in power because he understands that’s it. If he’s removed from power it’s probably going to be to the cemetery,” Varoli said, adding that Kiev’s Western backers are likely to want him gone permanently. “I don’t think there’s even going to be any exile for Zelensky. They will have to get rid of him because he’s a liability. He knows too much against the [Western elites]. That is too dangerous to too many powerful people in the West.”
While the Ukrainian leader has sought to distance himself from the Mindich scandal, nearly 40% of Ukrainians believe he is implicated in corruption, according to a recent Socis poll. Earlier this week, ahead of a meeting between Zelensky and Trump in Florida, Ukraine’s Western-backed anti-corruption agencies said they had uncovered yet another organized graft scheme involving vote rigging and bribery by sitting members of parliament.
Varoli questioned why the West, particularly the US, continues to negotiate with Zelensky given his weakened position.
“It strikes me all as a game and a theater,” Varoli said. “He’s kept around because he’s very convenient. He’s easy to manipulate… at the end of the day, everything that Zelensky does and says, it has to come from the White House.”
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December 28, 2025 at 01:34AM
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The Asian country’s leader has praised the “genuine alliance” between Pyongyang and Moscow in a New Year message to Vladimir Putin
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent New Year greetings to Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling the past year “truly meaningful” for Moscow–Pyongyang ties.
In a statement carried by KCNA on Saturday, Kim said the relationship was further strengthened by “sharing blood” on the Ukraine conflict frontline.
Earlier this year, North Korean troops, acting under the June 2024 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, helped Russian forces repel a large-scale Ukrainian incursion in the Kursk Region. While troop numbers were not disclosed, Russian authorities praised their role and said a monument in Moscow will honor those killed defending the country’s territory.
“The year 2025, filled with immortal scenes that will be etched forever in the history of relations between our two countries, was truly meaningful,” Kim was cited as saying, praising the growing “mutual support and selfless assistance” between the two nations. “Relations have been further solidified as the most genuine alliance, forged by sharing blood and the trials of life and death together on a single front.”
Kim insisted that “no one can break the relations” between Moscow and Pyongyang, which are bound by the “shared will and power to defend the just aspirations of the times and to set history straight.” He added that Russia-North Korea ties are “a precious common asset” that must be preserved “for generations to come.”
Last week, Putin also sent New Year greetings to the North Korean leader, saying the deepening ties between the two nations would “contribute to establishing a just multipolar world order.” He thanked Pyongyang for its military assistance in Kursk, noting that the “heroic entry” of North Korean troops into battle and the work of their combat engineers had “clearly proved the invincible friendship” between the two peoples. He added that cooperation would continue to expand across political, trade, economic, humanitarian, and other fields.
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December 27, 2025 at 04:29AM
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Alexander Dyukov says an IOC youth ruling could lead to most Western sanctions on Russian athletes being lifted
Russia expects decisions to be made in 2026 that will allow its athletes and teams to return to official international sports competitions, the head of the Russian Football Union (RFS), Alexander Dyukov, has said.
Since the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022, Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from most international competitions, including the Olympics. The IOC later allowed some to compete individually under neutral flags, including at the 2024 Paris Games and the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, but national teams remain barred.
In early December, however, the IOC cleared youth athletes from both countries to compete under their national flags and anthems.
Dyukov said the ruling could prompt most sports bodies to gradually lift restrictions on all Russian competitors.
“At year’s end, we saw significant progress toward returning all Russian sports to official international competitions,” Dyukov said in an interview with Sport Express on Friday, noting that positive evaluations by FIFA and UEFA of the IOC’s clearance give reason to expect further easing next year. “Following the IOC’s lead, international football regulators are expected to make decisions allowing our teams to compete. These decisions ensure movement in one direction – toward lifting restrictions and bans for all Russian sports.”
Dyukov noted that no decisions have yet been made on admitting Russian teams by FIFA or UEFA but blamed it on their busy schedules and the late IOC announcement, which left little time for “substantive” discussions before the holidays. He said the RFS plans to attend FIFA and UEFA congresses in 2026 “to discuss our return.”
Moscow has accused Western nations of pressuring federations to bar its athletes for political reasons and has repeatedly criticized international sports bodies, particularly the IOC, for “politicizing” sports. Earlier this year, President Vladimir Putin said athletes should have equal access based on merit, emphasizing that “politics has no place in sport.”
Despite ongoing restrictions, Russian athletes have continued to excel under neutral status. Last month, they claimed nine gold medals on the opening day of the 2025 World Sambo Championships. Figure skaters Adeliia Petrosian and Petr Gumennik also qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy after strong performances in qualifiers.
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December 27, 2025 at 03:19AM
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Arseny Konovalov has been sentenced to 12 years in a high-security penal colony
A Russian court has convicted former Foreign Ministry employee Arseny Konovalov of treason for passing secrets to US intelligence, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has announced.
In a statement on Friday, the agency said Moscow City Court had sentenced Konovalov to 12 years in a high-security penal colony and a fine of 100,000 rubles ($1,260).
Konovalov reportedly served as Second Secretary at the Russian Consulate General in Houston from 2014 to 2017. In the video of the 38-year-old’s arrest in March 2024, on suspicion of collaborating with foreign intelligence services, an officer can be heard asking, “Do you know what happened?” To which Konovalov answers, “yes.”
According to the FSB, Konovalov “voluntarily” transferred classified information obtained in the course of his duties as a Foreign Ministry employee in the US to the host-country’s spies, for which he was paid.
The FSB said the criminal case was investigated under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code (high treason) but did not release details on the information Konovalov is accused of sharing with US intelligence.
Russian courts have recently handed down treason convictions in other cases, largely, linked to Ukrainian intelligence. Earlier this week, a 38-year-old Kaluga resident was sentenced to 13 years for passing information about the deployment of Russian air defense units in the region to Kiev.
In early December, Artem Khoroshilov, a former employee of the General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was sentenced to 21 years in a maximum-security penal colony for treason. He was accused of funding Ukrainian entities, including the Ministry of Digital Development, hacking critical computer systems, and plotting sabotage on a railway section in Russia.
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December 26, 2025 at 11:13PM
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The value of exports to the country exceeded the value of imports by €1.5 billion between July and September, data shows
The EU recorded a positive trade balance with Russia of €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) in the third quarter of 2025, marking the second time this has happened in a row, according to Eurostat data released on Thursday.
The development follows a sharp contraction in bilateral trade since 2022, after the EU imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Russia due to the Ukraine conflict. These restrictions primarily targeted energy exports but also included iron, steel, and coal, among other goods.
It is the first time the bloc has posted consecutive quarterly trade surpluses with Russia since Eurostat began compiling records in 2002. Data shows that EU exports to the country have fallen 61% and imports from Russia have plummeted 89% during this period. Total trade for the first nine months of 2025 decreased 12.9% year-on-year to €43.9 billion ($47.3 billion), with imports from Russia valued at €21.7 billion ($23.4 billion) and EU exports at €22.2 billion ($23.9 billion).
A breakdown of goods categories indicates that Russia’s share of EU imports continued to decline across many sectors in the third quarter. In terms of the bloc’s natural gas purchases, the country’s share fell to 15.1%, down from 39% four years ago.
Despite this decrease, Russia remained the EU’s second-largest gas supplier.
Since 2022, most EU countries have halted direct imports of Russian oil and gas, with the bloc planning to phase out Russian energy imports by the end of 2027, substituting much of its cheaper gas with more expensive American fuel.
The US share of EU gas imports surged to 56% from 24% in four years. In July, Brussels struck a deal with Washington pledging that the EU would replace Russian oil and gas with US energy.
The shift has come at a steep cost, leading to soaring energy prices and slowing economic growth. Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin criticized the move, likening US liquefied natural gas prices to “Chanel perfume” and adding that the EU is “destroying its own economy.”
Moscow’s Foreign Ministry noted that the EU had lost around 3.8% of its combined GDP by 2024 due to its pivot away from Russian energy.
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December 26, 2025 at 01:35AM
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The development comes after large-scale flight disruptions left thousands stranded across the country earlier this month
India has approved three new airlines to start operations, weeks after widespread flight cancelations left thousands stranded in airports across the country.
On Tuesday, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu said in a social media post that the new airlines will encourage more competition in the domestic market.
“Over the last one week, pleased to have met teams from new airlines aspiring to take wings in Indian skies – Shankh Air, Al Hind Air, and FlyExpress,” Naidu said in the post.
“While Shankh Air has already got the NOC [no objection certificate] from Ministry, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress have received their NOCs in this week,” he said.
Over the last one week, pleased to have met teams from new airlines aspiring to take wings in Indian skies—Shankh Air, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress.
While Shankh Air has already got the NOC from Ministry, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress have received their NOCs in this week.
Earlier this month, flight disruptions left thousands of passengers stranded in the country’s airports after India’s largest airline, IndiGo, failed to cope with Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) that came into effect on November 1.
Speaking at the time, Naidu told the Indian parliament that the disruption at IndiGo was the result of “internal lapses” at the airline, mainly due to crew-rostering failures and poor planning. “We are not taking this situation lightly. We will take strict action… We will set an example for every airline,” he stated.
India’s civil aviation regulator has also warned the airline of strict action.
IndiGo has a 60% domestic market share and operates more than 2,000 flights a day.
The disruptions also triggered a steep hike in airfares across India.
Air travel peaks in December in India during the wedding season and as school holidays begin.
Of the 174.1 million air passengers in India in 2024, more than 136.1 million flew domestically, data released in June by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) revealed. The market share of domestic traffic has risen from around 72.9% a decade ago to almost 78.2%, reflecting the substantial network expansion, the IATA said.
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December 26, 2025 at 12:44AM
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Berlin is using EU sanctions as a pretext to harass Russians, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said
The Russian Foreign Ministry has advised the country’s citizens to refrain from traveling to Germany, warning that they could face persecution on national grounds there.
During a briefing on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova drew attention to repeated incidents in which Russians were subjected to “unjustified harassment” by Berlin under the pretext of EU sanctions imposed over the Ukraine conflict.
The restrictions extend even to goods purchased for personal use within the bloc, leading German customs officials to seize items from Russian citizens as they leave the country, she said. Purchases worth more than $300 (€353) are affected. As a result, people are not only being “robbed in broad daylight,” but are also missing their flights due to bureaucratic delays and are forced to buy new tickets, Zakharova added.
Moscow addressed the German authorities over the incidents but received no reply, the spokeswoman noted.
Public figures such as the head coach of Zenit St. Petersburg football club, Sergey Semak, have also been mistreated, Zakharova said.
Earlier this month, the wife of the former PSG player, Anna Semak, complained on social media that she and her huband had to pay a hefty fine for a pair of shoes, glasses, and a scarf they purchased in Germany at a Munich airport, while the items were taken from them.
“We strongly urge citizens of our country to refrain from traveling to Germany unless absolutely necessary,” Zakharova said.
According to the spokeswoman, Germany has been “de facto transformed into a ‘lawless territory’ for people of a certain nationality – in this case, people from Russia... The German law enforcement officers have become punishers, pursuing Russians with maniacal persistence. They bully them and do not even hide this fact.”
Germany has been Ukraine’s main backer in the EU since the escalation of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022, providing the country with almost €44 billion ($52 billion) in aid. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has repeatedly called Moscow a threat to Berlin and the whole bloc.
The Russian authorities reject claims of harboring any aggressive plans against the EU, saying they are only being made by Western politicians to distract the public from domestic problems and justify increased military spending.
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December 25, 2025 at 11:39PM
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The municipal vote in Mogadishu is being seen as a big step toward the country’s first nationwide direct elections since 1969
Citizens of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, cast their ballots on Thursday in municipal elections designed to lay the groundwork for the country’s first direct national elections in more than half a century.
The East African country has not held direct elections since 1969, shortly before former military ruler Mohamed Siad Barre seized power in a coup.
Following Barre’s ouster in 1991 and years of civil war, Somalia introduced an indirect electoral system in 2004. That model was intended to foster consensus among rival sides amid an ongoing Islamist insurgency.
The vote in Mogadishu, home to roughly three million people, is being viewed as the first big step towards nationwide elections. While security in the capital has improved in recent years, the country continues to face attacks by terrorist groups.
Al-Qaeda-linked insurgent groups, particularly Al-Shabaab, have been carrying out regular attacks in several African countries, including those in the Sahel region. The terrorist group continues to carry out raids, bombings, and targeted assassinations in an effort to destabilize the Somali government and regional security structures.
In August, the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) said more than 50 Al-Shabaab militants had been killed in joint operations with Somali forces in Bariire, 73km southwest of the capital.
Over 1,600 candidates are contesting 390 local council seats; nearly 400,000 registered voters have been called upon to participate, according to the Somali Electoral Commission.
Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmed Jama described direct elections as “a constitutional right of every Somali citizen.”
“This morning I joined the hundreds of thousands of people living in the capital who cast their votes freely and fairly … we have regained our constitutional rights after more than half a century,” he highlighted on X.
A member of the National Electoral Commission, Abdishakur Abib Hayir, told Reuters that the vote demonstrated Somalia’s progress and resilience. “After the local election, elections can and will take place in the entire country,” he said.
The Somali parliament approved the introduction of universal direct suffrage and a transition to a presidential form of government in 2024. Presidential elections are scheduled for 2026.
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December 25, 2025 at 12:19AM
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Lawmakers in the African state have unanimously approved legislation demanding an apology and reparations from France for historical abuses
Algeria’s parliament has passed a landmark law declaring France’s 132 years of colonial rule in the North African nation a crime against humanity amid deteriorating relations between the two countries over their troubled history.
On Wednesday, lawmakers in the People’s National Assembly, Algeria’s lower house, unanimously passed the bill, which was formally introduced at a parliamentary session on Saturday. The law states that France bears “legal responsibility for its colonial past… and the tragedies it caused,” adding that “full and fair compensation for all material and moral damages caused by French colonization is an inalienable right of the Algerian state and people.”
The vote will send “a clear message, both internally and externally, that Algeria’s national memory is neither erasable nor negotiable,” parliament speaker Ibrahim Boughali said, according to the state news agency APS.
France colonized Algeria from 1830 until the African state won independence in 1962 after a bloody war and years of systematic violence, torture, and massacres carried out by French forces.
The passage of the law comes after decades of calls from Algiers and civil society for France to accept full responsibility for its colonial actions, including the Algerian War of Independence, which killed hundreds of thousands of locals. The government has also repeatedly expressed concern over the lasting consequences of nuclear tests, including the detonation of the plutonium-filled Blue Jerboa bomb and 16 other nuclear explosions conducted by France in Algeria’s Sahara desert regions between 1960 and 1966.
While some progress has been made in recent years, such as French President Emmanuel Macron’s recognition of specific atrocities, Paris has yet to issue a full, official apology for the broader history of abuse.
The new legislation demands that French authorities offer an apology and reparations for the atrocities such as nuclear tests, extrajudicial killings, physical and psychological torture, and the systematic plundering of resources.
Already fraught relations between Paris and Algiers have deteriorated further since July 2024, when France reversed its long-standing position and endorsed Morocco’s claim of sovereignty over Western Sahara. Algeria, a staunch supporter of the Sahrawi independence movement, condemned the shift, triggering a diplomatic row marked by reciprocal measures, including the withdrawal of privileges for diplomatic staff in both countries.
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December 24, 2025 at 11:32PM
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The clip had circulated online for five years with its creator acknowledging that it was produced using 3D graphics
A fake video purporting to show Jeffrey Epstein attempting suicide in his prison cell has made it into the latest batch of records on the convicted sex offender released by the US Department of Justice.
Last week, the DOJ uploaded thousands of documents online under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, legislation signed by US President Donald Trump in November, compelling the agency to publish data tied to federal criminal investigations into the disgraced financier and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Among the recordings, there was a 12-second clip showing a gray-haired male in an orange prison jumpsuit sitting on the floor of a prison cell and apparently trying to choke himself.
The time-stamp in the video claimed that it was made at 4:29am on August 10, 2019. At 6:30am that same day, a prison guard found Epstein dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.
The clip was widely shared on social media on Monday, but turned out to be a fake which had been circulating online for at least five years.
Various media outlets traced it to footage uploaded to YouTube in October 2020. In the caption, the clip’s creator acknowledged that it was made using 3D graphics and said he was “not that great with this stuff.”
The documents published by the DOJ also included an email with the link to the clip sent by a man from Florida to federal investigators in March 2021, asking if it was authentic or not.
The US Department of Justice has since deleted the fake video from its website.
The Bureau of Prisons said in its report in 2023 that no video recording from inside Epstein’s cell on the day of his death exists due to a technical malfunction.
The convicted sex offender apparently hanged himself with his bedsheets, but skeptics continue to insist that he was murdered to cover up for the powerful individuals supposedly implicated in the case.
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December 24, 2025 at 12:13AM
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According to Niger’s transitional president, AES countries have put an end to all “predatory contracts” that he blamed for poverty and insecurity
Imperialist powers, including former colonizer France, are trying to “provoke chaos” within the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), Niger’s interim president, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, has said. He warned that no foreign actor, international organization, or lobby will be allowed to dictate terms to the group.
Speaking at a summit of the AES in Mali’s capital, Bamako, on Tuesday, Tchiani framed the alliance as a sovereignty project born out of frustration with years of foreign military involvement and political pressure in the Sahel.
“Decisions concerning our peoples are taken in Ouagadougou, in Bamako, in Niamey, on confederal territory, by the authorities of the confederation … and nowhere else,” he noted.
The Nigerien leader said the Sahel’s poverty and insecurity had been driven by unequal partnerships and external influence, arguing that “there is no progress… without true independence.”
The AES was formed in September 2023 by the three former French colonies after coups in each country and amid a jihadist insurgency linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) that has killed thousands and displaced millions across the region over the past decade. The alliance was upgraded to a confederation in July 2024, and Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger later quit the West African regional bloc ECOWAS after disputes over post-coup sanctions and accusations that the organization served external powers.
The AES leaders have repeatedly blamed France for failed counterinsurgency efforts and have accused it of interference and “aggression.” They have also accused Ukraine of backing terrorist groups operating in the Sahel, allegations Kiev denies.
On Tuesday, Tchiani said the group has “put an end to all predatory contracts and biased commitments that only serve interests contrary to those of our states and our populations.”
He described security as “a strategic priority choice, against any other foreign political diktat incompatible” with the socio-cultural values of the AES, labeling the crisis “an existential threat.”
During the summit, the second since the AES was inaugurated, the group launched the Confederal Investment and Development Bank (BCID-AES), capitalized at 500 billion CFA francs (about $820 million), and unveiled AES Television, intended to counter what officials describe as hostile foreign media narratives.
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December 23, 2025 at 11:31PM
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Cooperation with Moscow could help unlock the country’s mineral potential and improve its infrastructure, Phenyo Butale has noted
Botswana is determined to strengthen ties with Russia across strategic sectors including mining, infrastructure, renewable energy, and education, Botswanan Foreign Minister Phenyo Butale has said.
Speaking to RT on the sidelines of the second Russia-Africa ministerial conference in Cairo, Butale noted that only 30% of Botswana’s territory has been geologically explored.
“We have capacity in rare earth minerals which are needed for industries such as manufacturing,” Butale noted. “We want to embark on an aggressive industrialization drive, and that will require partnerships with countries like Russia.”
He added that Russian technology could help unlock the country’s untapped mineral potential.
“We are looking to collaborate with Russia in the mineral sector,” Butale said. “Botswana is the best place for investment, looking at political and economic stability,” he emphasized.
The minister said infrastructure development and renewable energy were among the key areas discussed with Russia as Botswana seeks to support industrialization and long-term economic growth.
“We looked at sectors such as mining, renewable energy and infrastructure development,” Butale said. “One of the things that we want to do as a government is engage in massive infrastructure upgrades.”
Russia has long provided scholarships to Botswana, and both governments are now exploring ways to expand uptake, the minister added.
Butale confirmed that the landlocked country in Southern Africa will soon open a diplomatic mission in Russia, a “long-overdue” step.
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with his Botswanan counterpart in Cairo.
According to Russia’s Foreign Ministry, the meeting focused on expanding cooperation between Moscow and Gaborone in areas ranging from trade and investment to education and healthcare.
Despite external pressure on African states over relations with Moscow, Butale said Botswana continues to pursue sovereign cooperation based on national interests. He also praised Russia for supporting his country’s bid to host the Kimberley Process headquarters and reiterated its call for the reform of the UN Security Council to ensure Africa’s representation.
The American president earlier appointed the Louisiana governor as a special envoy to the island, who said he will work to make it “part of the US”
The US needs Greenland for its “national security,” President Donald Trump has said, after naming a special envoy to the Arctic island, which is under Danish sovereignty.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has revived his long-standing interest in acquiring Greenland from Denmark, pointing to its strategic location and mineral resources. He has not ruled out annexing the island.
“We need Greenland for national security,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “You look up and down the coast, you have Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need it for national security. We have to have it,” he added.
Trump’s remarks followed his appointment of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as the US special envoy to Greenland, saying he chose Landry because “he’s a deal-maker-type guy.”
Announcing the appointment, Trump praised Landry for understanding “how essential Greenland is to our national security.”
Landry later wrote on X that it was “an honor to serve” in the volunteer role “to make Greenland a part of the US,” saying it would not affect his duties as governor.
Denmark, which has pushed back against Trump’s drive to take the island, summoned the US ambassador after Landry’s appointment.
“Out of nowhere, there is now a special US presidential representative, who, according to himself, is tasked with taking over Greenland,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told the TV 2 channel, calling the development “completely unacceptable.”
Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory of about 57,000 people, has managed most domestic affairs since 1979, while defense and foreign policy remain under Copenhagen’s control.
The US has maintained a military presence on the island since World War II. Vice President J.D. Vance visited a US Space Force base on Greenland’s northwest coast in March, saying Washington was unlikely to use force to take the territory but remained open to Greenlanders exercising self-determination and breaking away from Denmark.
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December 22, 2025 at 11:22PM
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Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry says will work “to make Greenland a part of the US” in his new role
US President Donald Trump has appointed Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as his special envoy to Greenland, an island under Danish sovereignty that the American leader previously suggested should become part of the United States.
Landry, who assumed his current role last year, “understands how essential Greenland is to our National Security,” Trump wrote in his announcement on Truth Social on Sunday. The Republican official stated that his new volunteer position will not affect his gubernatorial duties. He will work “to make Greenland a part of the US,” Landry added on X.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the development came “out of nowhere” and was “completely unacceptable,” according to remarks cited by TV 2 channel. His department will summon the US ambassador in Copenhagen to demand explanations, he added.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the US move “doesn't change anything for us at home” and the island still belongs to its people.
Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland from Denmark dates back to his first term but has also featured in his international rhetoric since returning to the White House in January. He has not ruled out annexing the island.
The US has maintained a military presence on the strategically important island since World War II. Vice President J.D. Vance visited the US Space Force base on the northwest coast of Greenland in March. He noted that while the US was not likely to use military force to seize the territory, it remained open to locals exercising their right to self-determination and breaking away from Denmark.
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December 22, 2025 at 12:17AM
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The children, abducted from a Catholic boarding school on November 21, were released following a military intelligence operation, the presidency has said
The remaining 130 schoolchildren abducted in one of the largest mass kidnappings in Nigeria this year have been freed, the West African nation’s authorities announced on Sunday.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said the children, kidnapped on November 21 from St. Mary’s Catholic boarding school in Papiri, Niger state, were released following a military intelligence operation.
“They are expected to arrive in Minna on Monday and rejoin their parents for the Christmas celebration,” Onanuga wrote on X.
Gunmen seized more than 300 students and 12 staff in the pre-dawn attack on the north-central school, part of a surge in school abductions that has alarmed communities and drawn criticism of Nigeria’s security strategy. Fifty students escaped soon after the assault, and authorities secured the release of 100 others on December 8.
No group has publicly claimed responsibility for the Papiri abduction, the largest mass school kidnapping since Boko Haram seized 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014.
The government has referred to all the victims as “released,” but has not clarified how their freedom was negotiated nor provided details on any arrests, sparking allegations that ransoms might have been paid in violation of Nigerian laws. In April 2022, lawmakers in Africa’s most populous country amended the Terrorism (Prevention) Act to criminalize ransom payments, making anyone who pays a kidnapper liable to a prison term of at least 15 years.
The remaining 130 schoolchildren abducted by terrorists at St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, on November 21, have now been released. They are expected to arrive in Minna on Monday and rejoin their parents for the Christmas celebration.
In mid-November, 25 girls were seized from a boarding school in Kebbi state, in an attack in which the vice principal was killed. The girls were later released. According to estimates published by Amnesty International, the government has shut at least 20,468 schools across seven states in response to the incidents.
Late last month, President Tinubu declared a nationwide security emergency and ordered the deployment of thousands of military and police personnel, intensifying operations amid pressure to improve protection for schools and communities targeted by organized criminal and militant groups
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December 21, 2025 at 11:22PM
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Changes to the US draft deal will not improve the prospects for a settlement, Yury Ushakov has said
European and Ukrainian efforts to revise US-backed peace proposals on the Ukraine conflict are undermining, rather than advancing, the prospects of a lasting settlement, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, said on Sunday.
Ushakov made the remarks as US and Russian officials met in Miami, after separate talks this month between US negotiators and their Ukrainian and EU counterparts.
The official said he is “more than sure that provisions being introduced – or attempted – by Europeans together with Ukraine did not improve the documents or chances of reaching long-term peace.” He added that he has not seen the texts and is relying on “signals in the media.”
He also denied that three-way talks involving Russia, Ukraine, and the US are being discussed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said European participation in the Ukraine talks “does not bode well” for a settlement.
Meanwhile, senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev, who has traveled to Miami for talks with US officials, called the dialogue “constructive,” adding that they will continue on December 21.
On Friday, US officials also met in Miami with national security advisers from Germany, France, and Britain, as well as Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council secretary, Rustem Umerov, Axios journalist Barak Ravid reported, citing sources. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani also took part.
The US-drafted peace plan leaked last month reportedly requires Ukraine to relinquish parts of Russia’s Donbass region that it still controls, agree to stay out of NATO, and limit the size of its armed forces in exchange for Western security guarantees. Both Ukraine and its backers in the EU have ruled out any territorial concessions.
Moscow maintains that a lasting settlement must include Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, denazification, and recognition of the reality on the ground.
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December 21, 2025 at 03:41AM
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Kiev wants Western aid for financing and maintaining its military to be included in post-conflict security guarantees
Ukraine will not be able to afford maintaining an 800,000-strong army after the end of the conflict with Russia, Vladimir Zelensky has admitted, saying he wants Western aid to help finance the military as part of post-conflict security guarantees.
In January 2025, Zelensky said the Ukrainian army numbered 880,000 troops. However, leaked versions of a US peace roadmap floated last month reportedly call for the force to be capped at 600,000 after the conflict ends. Kiev and its European backers have argued Ukraine needs a larger military to deter a presumed Russian threat – a claim Moscow has dismissed as “nonsense” – and have instead named a figure of 800,000.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Zelensky was asked whether Kiev would be able to support 800,000 active servicemen once the conflict is settled.
“Will Ukraine be able to independently finance such an army if there’s a ceasefire? No, it won’t. We don’t have the financial resources,” Zelensky said. “That’s why I’m holding talks with [Western] leaders, because I view partial funding of our army by our partners as a security guarantee.”
Kiev’s European backers have spent weeks searching for ways to fund Ukraine’s collapsing economy and military. This week, they failed to approve a ‘reparations loan’ backed by about $210 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets to cover Ukraine’s huge budget gap. Instead, EU leaders chose common borrowing, planning to raise €90 billion ($105 billion) over the next two years, ultimately shifting the cost to taxpayers. Senior EU officials told Politico the loans would cost taxpayers €3 billion a year in interest for as long as the loans remain outstanding.
Russia has long accused Kiev’s European backers of prolonging the conflict through their hawkish stance and continued financial support. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this week the EU appeared “obsessed with finding money to continue the war.”
Moscow has said any lasting settlement must address the conflict’s root causes, including Ukraine’s NATO ambitions, and recognize the new territorial reality. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, is in Miami for talks with senior US officials and described the first day as “constructive,” with discussions set to continue on Sunday.
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December 21, 2025 at 02:54AM
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The top EU diplomat apparently thinks she can succeed against Russia where the Nazi leader failed, the Hungarian prime minister has said
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has mocked EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, suggesting that she believes she can do better against Russia than Napoleon and Adolf Hitler did.
Speaking at a conference in the southern Hungarian city of Szeged, Orban argued that many European countries view the Ukraine conflict as a chance to weaken Russia, driven by “the belief that sooner or later, Russia will threaten them.” Moscow has dismissed speculation that it plans to attack the EU and NATO as “nonsense.”
“Then there are the old European traditions... well, Russia has already been attacked before, right? Even Napoleon and Hitler didn’t succeed – now Kaja Kallas will, obviously,” he said, referring to the EU foreign policy chief’s hardline stance against Russia.
French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Russia in 1812, and despite capturing Moscow, the campaign soon became one of the worst disasters in military history as his army collapsed under supply breakdowns and winter attrition. Nazi Germany’s 1941 invasion advanced deep into Soviet territory, but was ultimately stopped at the gates of Moscow due to fierce resistance and winter conditions.
Orban also warned against provoking Russia, arguing that the EU underestimates the nation’s historical memory of past conflicts. He noted that museums in Moscow and St. Petersburg display works of art taken from across Europe, including Hungary, during earlier wars – a reminder of the cost of confronting Russia.
Kallas has been among the most vocal EU leaders taking a hardline stance on the Ukraine conflict, and on using frozen Russian assets to aid Kiev’s war effort – which has made her a target for critics such as Orban.
This month, EU leaders failed to agree on tapping frozen Russian assets directly due to internal divisions. Instead, they opted to provide a €90 billion ($105 billion) loan to Ukraine to help cover the budget deficit in 2026-27. Hungary is one of the EU members that opted out of the plan to finance Kiev.
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December 21, 2025 at 01:12AM
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Andrey Yermak, often described as a grey cardinal or even Ukraine’s true ruler, resigned as chief of staff after anti-graft agencies raided his properties last month
Andrey Yermak, who resigned as Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff following a major corruption scandal, “has not gone anywhere” and continues to advise the Ukrainian leader, ZN.ua reported on Saturday.
Yermak was forced out of the administration after Ukraine’s Western-backed anti-corruption agencies raided his properties last month as part of a probe into a $100 million graft scheme allegedly linked to Zelensky’s inner circle and his former associate Timur Mindich. Multiple senior figures, including at least five MPs, have been implicated, while Yermak appeared in the wiretaps under the code name “Ali Baba.”
According to ZN.ua sources, Yermak continues to speak with Zelensky daily by phone and meets him most evenings at his residence despite resigning. Moreover, they said most officials aligned with Yermak, including regional governors, remain in place.
Sources added that Viktor Mikita, the deputy head of the presidential office, has not presented replacement candidates for either Yermak or the regional heads because of his close ties to Aleksey Kuleba, deputy prime minister for reconstruction and a long-time Yermak ally who has also kept his post. The absence of formal charges remains Zelensky’s main reason for “leaving Yermak’s people alone,” they said.
“Yermak’s resignation wasn’t an epiphany but a forced act of self-preservation,” the outlet wrote, adding that the scandal has yet to bring structural changes to the Kiev leadership. “Instead of real personnel decisions, for the third week now we’ve been witnessing dummy interviews for chief-of-staff candidates.”
Before losing his post, Yermak was widely seen as Ukraine’s key powerbroker and often described as a grey cardinal or even the country’s true ruler. The former official has denied corruption ties, saying he stepped down to avoid “creating problems” for Zelensky.
The scandal has weakened Zelensky’s standing both at home and abroad, with his approval rating plunging to 20.3%, according to a recent Info Sapiens poll. Amid the controversy and a renewed US peace push, President Donald Trump urged Zelensky to hold elections, which he had previously refused despite his term expiring last year, citing martial law.
Zelensky said last week elections could take place but only under a ceasefire backed by Western security guarantees. Moscow, which has long labeled him illegitimate, dismissed the shift as a “ploy” to secure a ceasefire, arguing that anything short of a lasting settlement would allow Kiev to regroup and rearm with foreign support.
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December 20, 2025 at 11:52PM
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Bloc members plan to raise €90 billion for Kiev through common debt after failing to agree on using frozen Russian assets as collateral
EU taxpayers will have to pay €3 billion a year in borrowing costs to finance Kiev’s collapsing economy and military under a newly approved loan scheme, Politico reported on Friday, citing senior bloc officials.
Kiev’s European backers this week failed to approve a ‘reparations loan’ that would have used about $210 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets as collateral to cover Ukraine’s huge budget shortfall. Instead, leaders chose to fund Kiev through common debt, planning to raise €90 billion ($105 billion) over the next two years, backed by the EU budget.
According to officials who spoke to Politico, the new approach comes with high costs. Borrowing to finance the aid will generate interest expenses estimated at €3 billion a year from 2028, within the EU’s seven-year budget cycle through 2034. With no independent revenue stream, the bloc will have to cover the debt through national budgets and EU contributions, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill for as long as the loan remains outstanding. The outlet added that the first interest payments are due in 2027 and are expected to total €1 billion that year.
The joint borrowing scheme faced opposition from the outset, with critics warning that many EU countries, including France and Italy, already carry high debt and large budget deficits, and that further common borrowing would deepen fiscal strain and shift risks onto taxpayers.
Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic secured exemptions from the deal, meaning they will not be participating in the new borrowing plan. Commenting on the decision, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a long-time critic of aid to Kiev, said Ukraine “won’t ever be able to repay” the loan, leaving its interest and principal to be covered by those who provided it.
“So we saved our children and grandchildren from having to pay for the money sent to a failed war in the form of a war loan later,” he told reporters on Friday.
Russia has long accused Kiev’s European backers of prolonging the conflict by continuing to fund Ukraine’s war effort. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov this week accused the EU of being “obsessed with finding money to continue the war.”
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December 20, 2025 at 01:20AM
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The US top diplomat pointed out that his briefing took place on the same day as the Russian leader’s Q&A session
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio joked on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to overshadow him after learning that his briefing was staged almost simultaneously with the latter’s end-of-year press conference.
During the annual Direct Line Q&A session in Moscow, the Russian president answered questions from citizens and journalists for almost four-and-a-half-hours.
At a briefing at the US State Department later in the day, a journalist addressed Rubio without giving his name, saying: “Vladimir Putin today...”
“Oh, I thought you were introducing yourself,” the secretary of state laughed. “‘Hey, I am Vladimir Putin’… What are you doing here?”
After being told by the journalist, who was actually Nick Schifrin from PBS NewsHour, that Putin had ended his press conference not long ago, Rubio replied by saying: “Wow, he’s trying to step on my message,” causing laughs in the audience.
However, Rubio assured those present that his briefing would not be as extensive as the Russian leader’s Q&A session. “Oh, well, don’t worry about that,” he said.
RUBIO: Yes, sir
REPORTER: Vladimir Putin today--
RUBIO: Oh, I thought you were introducing yourself as Vladimir Putin. What are you doing here?
REPORTER: Definitely not. He had his end of the year press conference today
Speaking in a more serious tone about Washington’s attempts to end the Ukraine conflict, Rubio explained that US officials “try to understand what the Russian position – how much can they give and what do they have to have. We understand the Ukrainian position. And we try to find whether those two things can overlap.”
Putin said during his press conference that he believed that the US diplomatic efforts are “serious and sincere.” He reiterated that Russia is ready to settle the Ukraine conflict based on the principles he had laid out in his address to the Russian Foreign Ministry in June 2024.
Back then, the president said that Moscow would stop the fighting and engage in talks if Kiev withdraws its forces from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, abandons its aspirations to join NATO, and if sanctions against Russia are lifted.
“The ball is entirely in the court of our Western opponents – above all the leaders of the Kiev regime and their European sponsors,” Putin stressed.
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December 20, 2025 at 12:02AM
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