Duma deputy speaker advises Russians to take money back from Western banks

Russian Foreign Minister emphasized that Washington has started to understand what needs to be done to achieve a lasting and long-term settlement of the conflict

The diplomat noted that in 2022, following referendums, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Lugansk People’s Republic, as well as Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, were formally incorporated into Russia

Sergey Ryabkov noted that "Russia's special military operation was inevitable because things were developing in a very wrong direction"

"Moscow strongly condemns the barbaric extremist attack, as a result of which 15 innocent civilians, including a ten-year-old girl, were killed and dozens were injured," Maria Zakharova stated

The Ukrainian army lost roughly 1,520 troops in battles with Russian forces in all the frontline areas over the past 24 hours

Turkey issue a clear warning to both sides concerning this matter, the Turkish president said

According to the news agency, the US leader requested at least $5 billion in damages

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said that Moscow will encourage the resumption of Iran-IAEA cooperation

Russia is open-minded in terms of what decisions might be made, Sergey Ryabkov noted

Viktor Orban noted that the EU can agree to establish a joint borrowing fund to finance Ukraine, considered to be a "wonder weapon", and this decision would not even require a unanimous consensus of the member countries

Top stories from the Russian press on Tuesday, December 16th

Russian Foreign Minister also noted that the situation around Russia’s frozen assets made it clear that "stealing is in the Europeans’ blood"

The agenda includes a wide range of political issues and economic projects, Kazem Jalali said

Alexander Lukashenko emphasized that he had raised the Venezuela issue at a recent meeting in Minsk with US Special Envoy for Belarus John Cole

The Hungarian government has repeatedly stated that it will not allow Ukraine's fast-tracked accession to the EU, as it would ruin the European economy and spark a direct armed conflict with Russia

The Ukrainian army lost roughly 1,480 troops in battles with Russian forces in all the frontline areas over the past 24 hours

Support for the EU among Europeans has reached a record high in polls, the newspaper noted

Friedrich Merz stressed, however, that the parties would need to discuss the details

This is also to cover up mass immigration, child abuse gangs, rising crime rates and economic decline, Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev said

The paper’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief and correspondent Paul Ronzheimer noted that the official statements differ significantly from behind-the-scenes conversations

In recent days, Vladimir Zelensky and leaders of several European countries, namely France, Germany and the UK, held talks on a Ukrainian settlement in London and Berlin

Bild reported that Kiev is allegedly also ready to "freeze" the current line of engagement but refuses to withdraw its troops from the entire Donbass territory

Sergey Lavrov also noted that Russia has smooth, stable relations with the new authorities

At the same time, Karol Nawrocki himself stated that he still dreams of being at the same negotiating table for peace in Ukraine with the leaders of Russia, the United States and representatives of Kiev

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, December 15th

The first round of talks between the US and Ukrainian delegations took place in Berlin on December 14

The European Union intends now to sanction tankers without waiting for approval of huge sanction packages, the EU top diplomat noted

Sergey Ryabkov stressed that "everyone on both sides is guided exclusively by national interests, national security interests, national economic interests"

The US delegation includes special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and the American leader's son-in-law, entrepreneur Jared Kushner

During the liberation of the settlement, servicemen of the 36th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 29th Army of Battlegroup East destroyed more than two platoons of Ukrainian army personnel from the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade

The spat started with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s post, which stated that the EU leaders’ decision to seize Russian assets without consulting Hungary violates numerous laws and is "a declaration of war"

According to Sergey Lavrov, Brussel pushes EU countries toward "disregarding the interests of own people"

The ban was effective until the end of 2025

Earlier, Xtellus had offered to organize a swap of Lukoil securities held by U.S. investors in a cashless deal to return them to Lukoil in exchange for the Russian company's global assets

According to the source, the US delegation "is taking Russia’s position" on this issue

"Freezing such assets is illegal under both European and international law," Adrian Severin noted

According to US officials, Washington expects that "Russia would accept such an arrangement in a final deal, as well as permit Ukraine to join the European Union"

The incident caused no casualties

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Moscow has tried to work with the Europeans to persuade Washington to return to compliance

Seventeen individuals and four legal entities were added to the list in total

The NTI Fund specified that, unlike other domestic solutions and foreign analogues, the technology offers precise positioning of up to 15-20 cm

"The West is turning a deaf ear to everything related to real facts Russia has repeatedly pointed to within the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and at meeting with ambassadors to Moscow," Sergey Lavrov said

Kaja Kallas emphasized the need for tangible security guarantees

According to the report, Belgium, Hungary, and Slovakia initially opposed the plan, and they have now been joined by Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, and the Czech Republic

The US leader did not give any details

Dmitry Peskov noted that Moscow has only seen media reports about the joint statement by EU leaders on security guarantees for Kiev

According to the Hungarian foreign minister, EU leaders want to raise over 200 billion euros for Ukraine

The Drone Force company previously announced the development of a reconnaissance version of the 15-inch Force drone with proprietary software and shifted control frequencies

Alexander Lukashenko also said that "drug trafficking cannot be defeated with missiles"

The German government also plans to build a sort of alliance with its European partners to jointly purchase weapons for Ukraine

Among those who voted against the resolution were Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan

A total of eight men were killed during these actions

Emergency personnel are working at the site where debris came down

The AmCham President also informed about the poll on the issue of the impact of Western sanctions on the US business

"This will escalate the conflict to a degree that we cannot foresee, and will put Hungary and its people into a serious danger," Peter Szijjarto stressed

One child was killed and a security guard was injured in the attack, the Russian Investigative Committee’s press service reported

The main critics of the deal are European farmers, particularly beef, poultry, and dairy producers

The official noted that the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard was one of the first Russian shipbuilding companies to implement a comprehensive digitalization project

In particular, gas reserves in UGS facilities in the Netherlands have fallen below 60%

Two civilians were reported injured

According to Sergey Ryabkov, the sides were inches away from what he called a complete conclusion of the efforts in 2022

Peter Szijjarto noted that Budapest intends to "stay away from this"

Aleksandar Vulin said that freedom reigns supreme in Serbia, but that’s not the case in the EU

The owner is willing to surrender Kuzya if professional care is ensured

Donald Tusk said that it won’t come to any fundamental decisions at the European Council meeting

Keir Starmer stated that the prior question is whether a just and lasting peace can be achieved

The Turkish Ministry of Defense did not specify where exactly the drone came from

The reports say that a student stabbed a security guard, used pepper spray, and then stabbed a 10-year-old schoolboy who died of his injuries

Rustem Umerov was appointed to lead Ukraine’s delegation to the talks with the US side on November 29 in place of Vladimir Zelensky’s office head Andrey Yermak

Our efforts were collaborative, involving other international partners, primarily Iran and Turkey, noted Lavrov

The EU leaders "appreciated the strong convergence between the United States, Ukraine and Europe"

The White House views the December 14-15 talks in Berlin as positive

Both parties - Israel and Hamas - say that its provisions are being violated, Russian Foreign Minister said

"The Iranian nuclear program was dismantled, despite the fact that it was endorsed by the UN Security Council resolution," Sergey Lavrov pointed out

The EU Council claims that John Mark Dougan holds American and Russian citizenship

Russian Foreign Minister recalled that all other Caspian littoral states have ratified the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea

Sergey Lavrov noted that Russia wants to cooperate with Iran and with its other neighbors, including within the Collective Security Treaty Organization

Brussels claims that it will be "investment into Europe’s security," but, from Hungary believes "there's no logic in this"

The two countries’ two leading news agencies, TASS and Xinhua, co-organized the event

"Europe is using the Ukrainian crisis to assert themselves, to put a spoke in the United States wheel in its quest to seek a just settlement," the Russian foreign minister said

The US business invested about $100 bln during 25 years in Russia, the AmCham President said

According tp the report, Battlegroup West forces are firmly rebuffing all the Ukrainian army’s attacks on communities near Kupyansk, keeping them under control

Lavrov said that one should not forget that besides trade between the two countries, there is also investment cooperation

Armando Mema emphasized that the EU is not doing "one thing right" and the bloc "should respect Belgium’s sovereignty" and its decision to refuse to transfer the assets to Ukraine

The Ukrainian mass media are disseminating reports alleging that the Ukrainian army has taken control of the settlements of Kondrashovka, Radkovka, and Moskovka northwest and southwest of Kupyansk

Some European leaders, the head of the European Commission and the NATO secretary general, are expected in the German capital in the evening

According to Moscow Deputy Mayor Natalia Sergunina, the total amount of transactions made with the support of the city was over $12.6 mln

Italian deputy prime minister and minister of transport and infrastructure Matteo Salvini emphasized that sanctions brought European economies to their knees, leading to more expensive energy for Italians

According to Politico, Kiev must agree to these terms immediately; otherwise, the next US proposal would be less favorable

Sergey Ryabkov reiterated that Russia "stands firm" on the understandings reached during the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Anchorage

Nicolas Maduro added that Caracas would host a meeting of the Venezuela-Russia High-level Intergovernmental Commission in the first quarter of 2026

"Berlin has chosen the path of destroying the unique bilateral interaction formats built by generations of predecessors," Sergey Nechayev noted

The first round of negotiations between the US and Ukrainian delegations took place in Berlin on December 14 and lasted about five hours

Donald Trump also added that the US is working with Europe on the security guarantee

Slop is defined as "digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence"

Petteri Orpo said he does not want to think about that

According to the report, US President Donald Trump, during a recent conversation, told Benjamin Netanyahu that he needs to be a "better partner" regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip

According to the newspaper, the government also "encrypted" certain obstacles to approving a form of "reparation loan" to Kiev at the expense of frozen Russian assets

The UK is urging the European Commission to justify the theft of Russian assets by exploiting legal gaps in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and by referring to "exceptional circumstances"