Bank of Russia lowers dollar exchange rate to 79.43 rubles for December 17

Ameican leader said that US defense contractors "are currently issuing massive Dividends to their Shareholders and massive Stock Buybacks, at the expense and detriment of investing in Plants and Equipment"

According to the top Hungarian diplomat, this is in line with the current EU leaders’ policy toward unleashing an armed conflict with Moscow

In the area of responsibility of Russia’s Battlegroup North, Ukraine’s losses amounted to up to 160 servicemen and 17 vehicles

According to the US President, "there is something that happened fairly nearby," but it had nothing to do with the attack on the Russian leader's official residence

War Secretary Pete Hegseth stressed that not a single American soldier was killed

According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the US leader is going to "enforce our policy that’s best for the United States of America"

"We are just controlling the marketing and the flow of funds in Venezuela so those funds can be used to better the conditions of the Venezuelan people and reduce the risks to the American people," Chris Wright said

Washington does not want Venezuela "descending into chaos," Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted

Describing the incident as "an act of domestic terrorism," the US Department of Homeland Security said the woman was trying to run over ICE officers with her vehicle, and the officers acted in self-defense

The president added that he would not permit dividends or stock buybacks for defense companies until such time as these problems slow production and servicing of US weapons and military equipment are rectified

This was done in response to unlawful anti-Russian entry restrictions earlier announced by Ottawa

In January 2025, Touadera, along with a delegation of several ministers, paid a visit to Russia, where he held talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin

"China opposes and fights all forms of hacking in accordance with the law," Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the US, stressed

The Russian foreign minister added that the UK, the European Commission’s leadership, and the majority of NATO and EU member states took "a completely destructive position" on the Ukraine issue

"Nicolas Maduro also violates international law. In particular, it is a violation of Venezuela's sovereignty, as well as a violation of Maduro's personal immunity," the Swiss foreign ministry said

It also said that US troops were also involved in the operation

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was captured by fighters of the elite Delta force unit of the US army оn January 3, 2026

Mao Ning emphasized that such actions seriously violate international law and the rights of the Venezuelan people

The journalist recalled that the collective West has described Russia’s decision as an unprovoked and unjustified

Earlier, Rubio stated that Venezuela can no longer serve as a strategic base for opponents of the US

"The EU rushed to condemn Russia’s special military operation in February 2022, without taking into account the fact that Ukraine" have failed to comply with the Minsk 1 and 2 agreements and "ignored the genocide of the Russian-speaking people of Donbass" and at the same time, they stopped short of condemning the US actions in Venezuela, Fabrice Sorlin said

According to the report, SDF units attacked a group of servicemen who escorted civilians evacuating from the Kurdish districts of Ashrafiya and Sheikh Maqsoud in the northern part of Aleppo city

"The principle of innocent passage of merchant ships is key to all maritime shipping," Karin Kneissl said

According to him, "the whole illusion has shattered in the past four days"

"There is no argument for continuing a proxy war, which is what it is, United States versus Russia," the journalist stressed

Russian Foreign Minister emphasized that the key task of domestic diplomacy today is to support the efforts of fighters in the special military operation

All six units, in theory, should be sufficient to cover the consumption needs of the new regions and Crimea

Deborah Haynes stressed that European countries, including the UK, are heavily dependent on the US for defense

"When the US Navy seizes oil tankers on the high seas, including one tied to Russia, and reroutes their cargo under the banner of ‘law enforcement,’ that isn’t diplomacy or peacekeeping," John Mark Dougan said

The authorities in Venezuela derived their mandate from an electoral process that failed to respect the will of the people for democratic change

Russia opposes the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine

According to Sachs, Washington’s actions represent "a particularly egregious case"

"These purchases will include, among other things, American Agricultural Products, and American Made Medicines, Medical Devices, and Equipment to improve Venezuela’s Electric Grid and Energy Facilities," the ptresident said

According to the prime minister, a "legal instrument’ will be needed to send troops to Ukraine

In his opinion, such incidents are happening is because radical left activists are resisting and targeting US law enforcement officers on a daily basis

"We have a lot of leverage to move on the stabilization front," US Secretary of State said

This year, Russian President Putin attended an overnight Orthodox Christmas service at the Church of the Great Martyr George the Victorious in the Moscow Region

According to the ministry, the assistance was provided "in full compliance with international law"

"I have received authorization from the State Department for four members from the Russian Duma to come meet with members of Congress regarding peace talks," said Anna Paulina Luna

The White House "now treats control over the Western Hemisphere as a core strategic priority - not merely as foreign policy, but as regime preservation," Jozef Schutzman said

The ministry noted that specialists from the unmanned systems troops have reduced the reconnaissance-to-strike cycle to a minimum

The Pentagon said earlier that the Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera had been detained in the North Atlantic

Police have not yet arrested the suspect

According to Japanese Prime Minister Minoru Kihara, Japanese-Russian relations are currently in a difficult situation

Electricity and water supplies, central heating, mobile communications and internet services are currently not available to its residents

Top stories from the Russian press on Tuesday, December 30th

Sergey Chemezov said the Su-35S engages targets at distances of hundreds of kilometers

The board will be chaired by US pesident and "include around 15 world leaders," according to Axios

This means that "the power will vest in the executive and not the legislative branch, Congress will inevitably wither, the journalist predicted

Friedrich Merz added that the decision on Germany's contribution to providing security guarantees for Ukraine would be made by the German government and the Bundestag

A commission investigating circumstances of the incident is working and required measures are being taken to exclude such tragedies in the future

Moscow will address the activities of US Internet giants in relation to the spreading of fake news about unsanctioned rallies in Russia, the spokeswoman pledged

Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, December 24th

Lindsey Graham believes that the bill, if adopted, will give the US president "tremendous leverage" against Russian trade partners like China, India and Brazil to incentivize them to stop buying Russian oil

According to the US-based television broadcaster, Washington put forward several demands to the acting President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez

In the statements of the leaders and foreign ministries of several countries, Washington's action is characterized as aggression and an attempt to change power in the country

They were included in the database over an alleged attempt to undermine Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and "a deliberate violation of the state border"

The authorities have opened humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians

"This vessel was operating in international waters and conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said

The discovery dates back to the period between years 700,000 and 773,000 BC

According to the US leader, under his pressure, NATO countries have agreed to increase their defense spending up to 5% of the GDP, although "everyone said that couldn’t be done"

According to the ministry, Russian intelligence officers examining the navigation system of one of the Ukrainian drones shot down during the attack managed to extract the file containing flight plan data

This declaration, in his words, "means that there will be no peace and the conflict will never end"

The Russian PM commented on media reports citing the commander of the US Air Forces in Europe on Pentagon's plans to ‘crack’ the air defenses in the Kaliningrad Region in case of Russia's aggression

Anatoly Viktorov noted that the embassy is monitoring the development of the situation

At the same time, key facilities and checkpoints in Aden remain under the control of the Al-Amalika Brigades, the channel's sources said

According to Ivan Pavlov, there is still silence on television

Lindsey Graham said the US will not own it "forever"

Survey conducted by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology

The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court

"We obviously have maximum leverage over the interim authorities in Venezuela right now," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said

"It's too premature and too early to dictate a timetable for elections in Venezuela," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said

Earlier, Touadera noted that drones or even establishing their production are necessary to protect CAR from existing threats

Donald Tusk’s remarks followed the recent US strike on Venezuela, as well as statements by US President Donald Trump about Washington’s territorial claims on Greenland, which is part of Denmark

According to Kan, Israeli prime minister told the country’s government members that US President Donald Trump had greenlighted such an operation that would be geared to disarm Hezbollah units

Earlier in the day, EUCOM confirmed the detention of the Russian Marinera oil tanker in the Atlantic

The Russian Defense Ministry also said that the Pentagon had reasons to be concerned that the delivery of the Russian-made S-400 systems to Turkey might tarnish the image of the F-35 stealth aircraft

In addition, Russian FPV strike drone crews hit two Kvertus and Bukovel electronic warfare stations

Alexey Pushkov opined that by attacking Venezuela and capturing its president, the US violated all norms, "once again stirring up the whole world, returning it to the savage imperialism of the 19th century"

The updated US National Security Strategy expresses concern that Europe will be unrecognizable and on the verge of destruction as a civilization in 20 years

According to Fox News, five service members already have returned to duty and two are still recovering from the operation

Kadyrov’s words are taken out of context, the Kremlin spokesman stressed

In their annual addresses, US presidents outline their vision of the situation in the country and determine domestic and foreign policy priorities

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was surprised that Biden, who was an enthusiastic proponent of bombing Yugoslavia in 1999, voiced such assertions against Putin

The Russian foreign minister said that in Istanbul in 2022 Russia and Ukraine "initialed the settlement principles proposed by the Ukrainian delegation"

Miroshnik specified that compared with November, both the number of wounded and those killed increased

According to Chernichuk, the Ukranian attacks pose a serious threat to nuclear safety

Marcon was answering a question from the channel's journalist, who recalled the French president’s recent statement that it would be useful to talk with Putin and inquired about any progress in this regard

The prominent writer and historian, who was exiled to GULAG camp, was born on December 11, 1918

British Prime Minister would put that matter to the House for a vote

"Stateless or sanctioned because the oil blockade, the quarantine of oil out of sanctioned or stateless vessels continues," Pete Hegseth said

According to Vulin, the West fully controls what is happening, and the opinion of the Ukrainians themselves does not interest anyone

The ship’s crew members undertook "frantic efforts to avoid apprehension" of the tanker, which reportedly was "responsible for transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran," Pam Bondi said

"The entire missile defense infrastructure is partially dependent on Greenland," JD Vance said

Every step in the Persian Gulf should be legally justified, says Russian diplomat

Last October, Perincek already proposed the idea of creating an international alliance against the United States, describing this move as a historic need

The President called on all Russian nationals who wish to leave Israel and Palestine promptly to contact the Russian embassy

According to the top Hungarian diplomat, this is in line with the current EU leaders’ policy toward unleashing an armed conflict with Moscow

Zelensky is leading in the runoff stage of the election with 73.01% of the vote

Therefore, military neutrality remains Serbia's constant political choice. For this to change, a lot must change, he noted