Dollar breaks past 59-ruble Christmas benchmark on Moscow Exchange

The Hungarian prime minister reiterated that his proposal for a Christmas ceasefire and prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia remains on the table

All emergency response services are working at the site of the strike

"But he will be taken care of by those people whose interests he is serving now," the Russian leader said

"Russia’s position is well known, it was voiced by Putin back in St. Petersburg," Dmitry Peskov stressed

"These are certainly not the questions to be addressed during a Q&A session or press conference," the head of state said, commenting on several remarks by a reporter

According to Alexander Grushko, NATO's general course poses a danger both to Russia and to the entire architecture of global and regional security

Ukrainian forces have been shifting significant reserves to this settlement, including fresh recruits with little to no training, to retain Kupyansk

The number of those injured in the missile attack was revised up to 12 from 10

According to Alexander Khinshtein, repair teams are working at the site

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicted more than 3,610 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed six enemy ammunition depots in its area of responsibility over the week

"The sufficiency of information about the crime and Kurbonov’s involvement is confirmed by testimony from the affected persons and eyewitnesses, crime scene examination, study of material evidence and documents, and other evidence as a whole," according to case files

The German Chancellor claimed he intended to "make clear" to the Russian leader the need for his contribution to ending the conflict and withdrawing troops

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, December 20th

Andrey Marochko noted that Russian forces had "slightly advanced" in the northern and southern parts of Chasov Yar

According to the Justice Ministry, the Ukrainian businessman belongs to the group which "is based on ideological and property interests clearly aimed against Russia"

According to the head of state, tax revenues have seen a consistent increase in absolute figures

According to head of state, the groups that fought against Syrian government forces have gone through major internal changes

According to the law enforcement agencies, a total of 205 people suffered injuries, with 41 being in critical condition

The president noted that Russia had become much stronger over the past two or three years as it became a truly sovereign country

Germany is scheduled to hold a parliamentary election on February 23, 2025

During a "Direct Line" Q&A session combined with his annual press conference on Thursday, Putin clarified that he had not yet met with Assad after his arrival in Moscow but plans to speak with him

"Let them choose a target, say, in Kiev, and amass their air and missile defense systems there, while we will launch an Oreshnik missile at the target," the Russian leader said

According to Bogdan Nikitchenko, the command sends "anyone available" to the Kursk Region

According to Andrey Kelin, the UK’s official reaction to the launch of the Oreshnik missile was rather vague

The US company Gameto said that the technology allows for minimal hormonal intervention in a woman’s body during the in-vitro fertilization procedure, reducing side effects

Vasily Nebenzya recalled that Igor Kirillov had repeatedly presented evidence of the military activity of US laboratories in Ukraine

According to the Russian president, there are a lot of "our men" in Ukraine who want to liberate their country from neo-Nazism and Russia is maintaining ties with them

Robert Fico emphasized that by blocking the continuation of gas transit, the Kiev authorities are damaging Slovakia's national economic interests and could negatively impact the European bloc as a whole

"We are increasing production of everything necessary for our army and navy," the Russian leader said

Vladimir Rogov also noted that the liberation of Zelenovka and Novy Komar hastens the process of liberating major logistics hubs

Nandan Unnikrishnan pointed out that Russian President Vladimir Putin "has more than once spoken about Russia’s readiness to discuss an end to the conflict"

Anatoly Viktorov expressed his wholehearted support to the family of Yelena Trufanova whose son Alexander is still being held hostage in the Palestinian enclave

The Russian president made the announcement at a meeting of the State Council

The Russian leader also agreed with Sergey Mironov, head of the "A Just Russia - For Truth" faction in the Duma, who said that "the birth rate is insufficient, because the matter concerns extinction"

According to Alexander Stepanov, strikes are systematic efforts to gradually wipe out the military capabilities of Ukraine

According to John Mearsheimer, Russia has become much stronger over the past two to three years because it has managed to become "a truly sovereign country"

The range of the Oreshnik system is up to 5,500 kilometers

The sources also told the Financial Times that Donald Trump intends to continue the military aid to Ukraine despite the statements he made during his presidential campaign

The regulator said earlier following its board meeting that the cooling of credit activity has already encompassed all segments of the credit market

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the comment following a statement on the subject by Vladimir Putin

It is planned to launch it in general circulation in early 2025

Vasily Nebenzya warned as he denounced the attack as yet another unambiguous step by the Kiev regime toward escalation

According to Russia's Defence Ministry, attempts to conduct attacks against facilities on Russian soil were thwarted

The Russian president recalled that no Russian land troops had been deployed to Syria, with Russia having only an airbase and a naval base

According to the Turkish newspaper, the former Syrian president did it to ensure his own safety

TASS has compiled the key facts behind the deadly attack

According to Jacques Sapir, the decision not to extend transit contracts was no surprise given the political landscape

The ministry clarified that Ukraine launched a missile strike against the Kamensky Integrated Plant in the Rostov Region using six US-made ATACMS missiles and four Storm Shadow cruise missiles

According to international law, the ship can be seized if wages are not paid

According to Vladimir Saldo, Ukrainian authorities are stopping the provision of humanitarian aid to people

Earlier, Ukrainian media reported about explosions in the capital, and local authorities informed about the work of air defenses

According to the head of state, the situation in the special military operation zone is "changing significantly"

Vladimir Zelensky responded negatively when asked whether Kiev could temporarily abandon its claims to Crimea or Donbass

According to Wu Yihong, Russia will seek to retain its two military facilities in Syria

The new positions will enable Russian troops to advance further in that frontline area and deliver more effective strikes on the enemy, Andrey Marochko specified

As many as 85 senators backed the bill, while 11 voted against it

According to the Polish Liquid Gas Association, Poland purchased about $500 mln worth of liquefied petroleum gas from Russia during the first ten months of 2024

Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reported the fires in Solomensky and Shevchenkovsky districts

The SBU brings charges against Russian political, military, cultural and public figures in absentia on a regular basis

In general, "quite active hostilities" are taking place near Dvurechnaya and Lozovaya in the Kupyansk sector of the line of engagement, Andrey Marochko noted

The politician emphasized that "the president of a major country should be extremely polite and amiable"

The Russian president still noted that "today, especially in today’s Russia, we must not do anything that could divide the country"

TASS has gathered the main information about the incident

Meanwhile, Scholz will visit Magdeburg to assess the situation later on Saturday

"All international mechanisms need to be effectively employed in order to prevent Israel from exploiting the situation in Syria," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said

A Russian airborne crew hit the target by firing a 120-mm mortar gun on a Ukrainian temporary position

"The enemy lost up to 285 troops, two armored combat vehicles, two motor vehicles, a D-30 122 mm howitzer, a US-made M119 105 mm howitzers and five field ammunition depots," the ministry added

"It is very important to talk about these statements by the president in the context of the question he was asked," Dmitry Peskov pointed out

According to the Russian president, people do it "because of their impotence"

According to the latest data, a total of nine people sought medical assistance after the attack

It does not mean there will be no such risks in the future but it is very important in this regard for the financial stable to remain stable, Elvira Nabiullina said

Acting Kursk Region Governor Alexander Khinshtein said earlier that the town of Rylsk, located some 120 kilometers west of Kursk, had come under Ukrainian fire

Acting Governor Alexander Khinshtein added that he was currently in Moscow for a State Council meeting but planned to travel to Rylsk as soon as possible

Admiral Alexander Moiseyev noted that the construction of nuclear submarines is Sevmash’s main purpose, which is performs successfully

On December 16, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz asked President Steinmeier to dissolve the Bundestag after the failure of the vote of confidence

According to Maxim Grigoryev, videos of interviews with witnesses and preliminary forensic examination of the bodies indicate that most of the victims are elderly women

Over the course of his career, del Monaco has directed more than 100 operas in major theaters around the world

The restart of transit via the Ukrainian gas transportation system is possible at a request of the European Commission if this is not Russian gas, Denis Shmygal said

The interim governor called the shelling of Rylsk a huge tragedy and expressed condolences to the loved ones of the victims

According to the trade union, there are 16 people on board: one Egyptian citizen and 15 Syrians

The inauguration of the president-elect is scheduled for January 20, 2025

The Bank of Russia has taken a pause in raising the key rate, though a long period of tough monetary policy will be required to bring inflation back to the target

The Foreign Ministry noted that the facts of discrimination and persecution of Russians are often ignored by the official leadership of countries and international human rights agencies, leading many victims to remain silent

This figure is indicated in an internal report prepared by the company, which assesses prospects of gas pipeline use in the future

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, on Friday, fighters of Ukrainian armed formations used long-range weapons to carry out a missile strike on the town of Rylsk in the Kursk Region

The Artyom plant is known for producing air-to-air missiles, as well as equipment for aircraft

According to the news agency, Kiev expects a "bitter settlement," which implies giving up territorial claims and NATO membership in exchange for security guarantees

The head of state pointed out that ex-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had said at some point that Ukraine "needs to keep fighting until the last Ukrainian"

Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban proposed a ceasefire and a major exchange of POWs between Russia and Ukraine during Christmas in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin

The upper chamber of the parliament wrapped up its autumn session

Vasily Nebenzya referred to data from the SIPRI which put last year’s revenues from sales of arms by the world’s top 100 largest businesses in the industry at $632 billion

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized that the rhetoric about "inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia" is firmly rooted in the mentality of the NATO regimes not at all as hypothetical assumptions

According to Sergey Ryabkov, this issue lies "on the periphery" for Moscow, and Russia views it "detachedly"

According to a source, "Russians would target any kind of Western assistance inside Ukraine"

"One hundred percent of the stated amount is consolidated in accordance with this agreement," the document reads

"The buildings of the House of Culture, physical fitness center, teachers’ training college, school, firefighting depot and private households were damaged," Alexander Khinshtein said

Hungary will now be in a relatively safe position for several months, the prime minister said

"The Russian side stressed the inadmissibility of NATO’s eastwards expansion, which was among the key reasons of the current situation, which made the special military operation unavoidable," the statement reads

"Israel must return to the full compliance with the well-known 1974 agreement with Syria," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stressed

The situation is similar at several other sections of the frontline in the DPR