MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. The Ukrainians and Europeans may derail a peace plan for Kiev, as the Ukrainian army awaits $5 billion in additional Western military aid later this year. Meanwhile, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko grants pardon to political prisoners. These stories topped Monday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Izvestia: Kiev, Europe risk derailing peace plan
The Europeans keep on trying to rewrite the peace plan for Ukraine, without taking Russia’s interests into account. A Berlin meeting later on Monday between Vladimir Zelensky, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have already arrived in the German capital, will focus on the US-proposed draft. Kiev and its European allies will likely put forward new terms that may "complicate the issue," a senior Russian senator believes. Meanwhile, Russia has continued pushing for a long-term solution to the crisis.
According to media reports, at Ukraine’s initiative, a provision about its accession to the EU by January 1, 2027 has been added to the latest draft. However, Izvestia has learned, this point risks finding opposition even inside the European Union as its member countries argue that the country does not meet the required criteria.
At their Berlin meeting, Kiev and European countries will try to disrupt the peace push promoted by the United States and Russia, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov believes. "The Kiev regime can only continue the hostilities to survive, because as soon as the war ends, Ukraine’s population itself will hold its leaders to account for where the country has been driven to. Therefore, I think, they will make every effort to stall and torpedo the peace plan being proposed by the Americans. And they will make every effort to consolidate positions on the land they have occupied," he emphasized.
Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Russian Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations, agrees that the EU and Ukraine are seeking to disrupt any peace talks and lay the blame on Russia. He doubts the Berlin meeting will somehow affect peace talks. "Statements made by Zelensky himself, for example, the idea he has floated about holding an election have not been underpinned by any specific political steps," the expert told Izvestia.
However, the arrival of Witkoff and Kushner, the key US negotiators on Ukraine, in Berlin inspires very modest optimism about a nascent rapprochement, Andrey Kortunov, an expert with the Valdai Discussion Club, surmised in an interview with Izvestia. Among other things, he justified his idea with a recent statement from Zelensky who expressed readiness to relinquish Kiev’s ambitions to join NATO in exchange for US and European security guarantees. "And yet it would be wrong to expect that all this will be agreed upon there or that Moscow will automatically support these agreements," the expert warned.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Ukrainian army awaits $5 bln worth of military aid by New Year
By New Year, Kiev awaits a large military tranche valued at $5 billion from NATO. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s armed forces have moved to build an assault force, including using foreign mercenaries, and the Verkhovna Rada is drafting a bill to recruit volunteer soldiers in 2026-2027. This indicates that few in the Ukrainian leadership expect an end to the conflict any time soon, therefore the authorities are getting ready for prolonged hostilities as they rely on Western assistance for a breakthrough on the front line.
Ukrainian media quoted Deputy Secretary General of NATO Radmila Sekerinska as saying that, before the end of the year, Ukraine will receive $5 billion worth of military equipment through the PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) mechanism, namely air defense systems, munitions and critical components.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army is getting ready for continued combat by reforming its structure, too. In November, a drone force was established in the Ukrainian air force for air defense purposes. And Kiev has expedited the creation of assault troops, from foreign mercenaries this time around, Ukrainian media reported. "Ukraine’s General Staff will act this way amid a lack of recruits. It is also clear that Ukrainian military commanders are set to continue the conflict for the time being, and they are preparing assaults, among other operations," Lieutenant General Yury Netkachev, a military expert, told Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
Bill 14283 that was recently submitted to the Verkhovna Rada by the government at the General Staff’s request envisages spending an extra 0.552 trillion hryvnias ($13.1 billion) on signing military contracts with volunteers in 2026. For 2027, as much as 1.255 trillion hryvnias ($29.9 billion) will be required and the spending will grow to 1.371 trillion hryvnias ($32.6 billion) in 2028.
As it endorsed the bill, the government did not specify where it expects to obtain these funds from, and it clearly expects Western assistance again. "Kiev already has its eyes set on Russian assets, therefore it is ready to conduct combat for longer," Netkachev argues. Political analyst Oleg Tsaryov, a former Verkhovna Rada member, agrees, adding that the real idea behind what he called a financially infeasible bill is that Kiev is in no way getting ready for peace as it is seeking to continue the war.
Vedomosti: Lukashenko moves to pardon political prisoners
On Saturday evening, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko granted pardons to 123 political prisoners, including Nobel Prize winner Ales Bialiatsky, Viktor Babariko, who ran in the 2020 presidential election, and his campaign headquarters coordinator Maria Kolesnikova, as well as those convicted of espionage, terrorism and extremism under agreements with US leader Donald Trump.
In response, Washington lifted sanctions on the Belarusian potash company Belaruskali. Despite US restrictions, Belarus remains the world’s leading potash supplier, accounting for more than 20%.
Reuters reported, citing US officials, that the deal between the Trump administration and Belarus is aimed at partially shifting the post-Soviet republic away from Russia’s geopolitical orbit, an idea later refuted by Belarus’ UN envoy Valentin Rybakov, who assured the Pervy Informatsionny TV channel in an interview that, at talks with the Belarusian side, US negotiators did not seek to influence Russia-Belarus ties, as he said they realize how "warm, friendly and allied" relations between Minsk and Moscow have been.
Dmitry Ofitserov-Belsky, associate professor at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations, disagrees, arguing that by resuming dialogue with Minsk, US diplomats seek to take Belarus away from Russia’s influence. Hence, he said, Washington lifted its sanctions on Belaruskali as it hopes that this would reduce Belarus’ reliance on Moscow. However, the Americans have failed to achieve any major results in this field, the political analyst noted.
According to Ofitserov-Belsky, Russia is not against a normalization of relations between the United States and Belarus. "An increase in Belarusian potash exports will enable Minsk to rely more on its resources and less on Russian loans. There are no preconditions for a cooling of relations between Russia and Belarus," the expert told Vedomosti.
Since US sanctions were imposed, the Belarusian potash industry has almost completely diversified its trade toward Chinese and Indian buyers via Russian ports, Maxim Shaposhnikov, an aide at the Industrial Code fund, said. According to him, the Belarussians have tended to sell their products at dumping prices using long-term contracts, thereby violating the pricing policies of their rivals, including Russian ones.
Izvestia: Russia, Laos start work on agreement on peaceful use of nukes
Russia and Laos have launched work on an intergovernmental agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, Russian Ambassador to Vientiane Sergey Zhyostky told Izvestia. During a recent visit to the Southeast Asian republic, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu gave assurances that Moscow is looking to expand cooperation with Vientiane in several fields, including the development of peaceful nuclear programs and the construction of nuclear facilities. In general, Russia has broadened cooperation with Southeast Asian nations in the nuclear sphere, experts told Izvestia.
Earlier, Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev said Laos has shown an interest in small-sized nuclear power stations and non-power use of nukes, including nuclear medicine, anticancer therapy and even farming. Russian companies are also taking part in developing ferrous and precious metal fields in Laos. Opportunities for cooperation in the development of bauxite deposits are also being explored.
Cooperation with Laos in the nuclear sphere would give Rosatom more opportunities to export technologies to other markets and bolster its international posture. Laos, for its part, will gain access to clean energy, something that its economy needs for development.
Russia is very well-placed to build a nuclear power plant in the republic, Kirill Kotkov, head of the St. Petersburg-based Center for Far Eastern Studies, told Izvestia. "Laos is a very promising market in this respect, having the advantage of possessing numerous mountain rivers. As regards nuclear energy, the question is whether Laos can afford it. And southern and northern Laos are seismic zones, which, too, should be kept in mind," he emphasized.
Kommersant: Russia’s share in nitrogen fertilizer exports to US rises to 35%
Russia, which until recently remained the only major exporter of nitrogen fertilizers to the United States, unaffected by higher US tariffs, has increased its share in the US market to 35%. However, the White House easing of restrictions could intensify competition with Algeria and Nigeria, among other exporting countries.
In January-August, Russia became the largest supplier of urea to the United States, raising its exports by 31% year-on-year to more than 1.5 million metric tons, data from PBC Index showed. In that period, overall US imports grew by a mere 3%. As a result, Russia’s share in US urea imports reached 35%, followed by its closest rival, Qatar, with 19%, and Algeria with 10%.
In 2025, Europe, which has gradually moved to close its market to Russian producers, faced a major import deficit, Aleksandra Petrova, an expert at PBC Index, told Kommersant. According to PBC Index, prior to imposing additional tariffs on Russian fertilizers on July 1, 2025, the EU increased imports in June by 26% to 275,000 metric tons, and the volume dropped below 50,000 metric tons in the following months. According to Petrova, further down the road, the lost Russian volumes will be replaced with supplies from North Africa and the Middle East, while domestic producers will not be able to meet these needs because of high production costs. The EU’s urea production costs are three times higher than Russia’s, she explained.
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