This week in photos: Putin's bathyscaphe plunge, APC landing and Hong Kong protests

According to the security services, Ukraine has been losing dozens of servicemen in this area every day for the past two weeks

Trump’s electoral rival Kamala Harris got 226 votes

Krasnoarmeysk is a key logistical hub for the Ukrainian group in the Donetsk People’s Republic

Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick Ryder refrained from further comments

"The Commission does not support any discussions on the contract extension nor other solutions to maintain transit flows and has not been involved in any kind of negotiations on this," the statement reads

During a similar survey in September, 39% of respondents supported this opinion

Erdogan told Nehammer that Syrian refugees begin to return to their homeland

It is reported that the Oreshnik system, which has already proven itself well, is very powerful

The decisive moment was when Texas electors awarded him with 40 electoral votes during their meeting on Tuesday.

At the same time, US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller did not speculate on what the US administration will do if al-Sharaa is handed over to the US

Russia is ready to deal a new blow to terrorists if they again try to break peace in Syria, the president said

Russian exports grew by 11.3%, while imports declined by 22.2%

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

As Anton Siluanov reported, the session discussed a number of measures to create "long money" in the economy

According to Waldemar Skrzypczak, "it is clear that the Russians have the potential to break through the Ukrainian defenses in several areas simultaneously"

Vladimir Rogov noted that Igor Kirillov’s assassination was "another case of Kiev's state terrorism, which spans the entirety of Russia"

The permanent representative added that Russia would respond to actions taken by the Ukrainian authorities appropriately

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

Aleksandar Vucic earlier stated that the US decision to impose sanctions on NIS starting January 1, 2025, would not alter Belgrade's refusal to join the anti-Russian sanctions

The research "is financed by the state as part of the governmental order," Mikhail Murashko said

According to the minister, Ukrainian losses exceeded 560,000 servicemen killed and wounded in 2024

LNG imports from Russia in value terms were the highest since November 2023

Russian tactical and army aircraft and artillery forces struck enemy troops and equipment in the Kursk and Sumy regions

The sanctions target Dubai-based companies 2Rivers DMCC and 2Rivers PTE, which specialize in energy trading

Stephane Dujarric made the statement in response to a request to comment on a recent statement by Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto

According to Maxim Grigoriev, all Ukrainian units participated in the shooting of civilians in Selidovo

The IDF emphasized that Israeli troops are operating in accordance with the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon

Work is underway to establish all those involved in the crime

The animals escaped their cage into the zoo's courtyard

Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said earlier in the day that Russia will raise this issue at a UN Security Council meeting on Western weapons supplies to Ukraine on December 20

The head of state recalled that Russia’s newest powerful weapon "was successfully used in November in response to the strikes on our country’s territory"

Items of interest to the investigation were seized from the car

Artur Plombirus was conscripted from prison, where he was serving a sentence under Article 186 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code (robbery)

According to the newspaper’s sources, the United States has been creating a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons at Lakenheath

The source said the move is an attempt to safeguard the supply of armaments to Ukraine from a potential shift in sentiment in Washington under incoming President Donald Trump

Bomb experts and detector dog handlers have inspected the surrounding area

Omer Celik noted that Turkey has opposed bloodshed in the neighboring country from the start and called for a political settlement

"We are constantly holding consultations with the Turkish side as one of our active counteragents, so to say," Russia’s consul general in Istanbul Andrey Buravov told

"Those responsible for this crime must be duly punished and be unequivocally condemned by international community," Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky stressed

The German chancellor has repeatedly refused to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine, saying that this move would trigger serious escalation risks

Colonel General Sergey Karakayev, the commander of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces also announced that missile launches at maximum range are planned as part of state flight tests of advanced missile systems

According to the minister, Israel over the past 14 months regularly carried out strikes at Syria’s defense infrastructure in order to weaken the Syrian government

"There was a clear understanding that the combat personnel he had trained and the combat efforts by his troops were a powerful weapon," Sergey Sitnikov said

The Russian defense ministry reported earlier on Tuesday that units of Russia’s Battlegroup South had liberated the settlement of Annovka in the DPR

Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov announced on Monday that 99.3% of the LPR territory had been liberated

Top stories from the Russian press on Tuesday, December 17th

The Russian government approved the list of unfriendly countries in March 2022

The document was supported by 119 countries, 53 were against

According to Mikhail Galuzin, this policy from the West is marked by "attempts to get Central Asian nations join sanctions and isolate Russia once and for all," and "restore their military and intelligence presence in the region"

The politician condemned the attack by what he called the collapsing Kiev regime

Israeli Prime Minister made the statement at a meeting with the country's military leadership at the top of the mountain

Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick Ryder said that US was not aware of this operation in advance

"On-duty air defenses shot down four Ukrainian UAVs: two over the Belgorod Region, one over the Bryansk Region and one over the Kursk Region," the ministry said

Russian diplomats have already met "with the local authorities to clarify the circumstances of the case"

In his opinion, the core reason behind the conflict needs to be addressed in order to resolve it

Discussions on the issue have been intensified amid concerns that US President-elect Donald Trump could reduce or stop support to Ukraine after taking office

The talks with the head of the Russian gas producer were held in the remote mode

Deputy General Director of the Russian truck producer Mikhail Matasov noted that the decline in sales can be caused by a decrease in demand for cargo transportation

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicted roughly 425 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed six enemy artillery guns in its area of responsibility over the past day, the Defense Ministry reported

Andrey Belousov thanked all medical workers who were saving soldiers’ lives on the frontline and in district and central military-medical and civilian hospitals

Around 700 people and 60 vehicles are involved in the effort, which is hampered by strong winds and precipitation

The Ukrainian president said he hopes for direct communication with the US after Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025

"While it's uncertain whether or not the President-elect will directly address this incident, he has been clear in his recent comments on ATACMS strikes inside Russia that he opposes actions that may lead to a heightening of tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the run-up to potential peace talks," the analyst said

Matthew Miller said that he don’t have any assessment

Alexander Stubb urged to approach the issue of a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine with caution without rushing into it

According to Alexander Stepanov, this is a "planned operation" and evidence that an all-out hybrid war of annihilation is being waged on Russia

Senior officials from the Russian Interior Ministry’s Moscow department have arrived, along with investigators, medical personnel, and emergency services

Thomas Fazi said that, according to the former German chancellor, Russian President Vladimir Putin was committed to peace

The International Feature Film category lists 15 films

The bill will become law on September 1, 2025

According to Svetlana Petrenko, the Committee’s Moscow department has launched a criminal probe into the attack

Bashar Assad insists that he remained in Damascus until the early hours of December 8 and did not leave the country until late on that day

The fixed-wing drone with protected communication channels and high jam-resistance confirmed effectiveness in Syria and Ukraine

Ilya Polikarpov had been involved in humanitarian activities with TASS and the Russian Heritage Foundation

State Secretary of the Union State of Russia and Belarus Dmitry Mezentsev described the move as "logical and justified" in an interview with the Zvezda TV channel

Andrey Buravov said that sanctions against Gazprombank negatively influences the development of Russia-Turkey trade and economic cooperation

Donald Tusk announced that in January, Ukraine would receive a 46th aid package, without specifying what kind of weapons it would include

Over the period of fighting in the Kursk frontline area, the Ukrainian army has lost over 41,400 troops, 242 tanks, 182 infantry fighting vehicles, 126 armored personnel carriers and 1,276 armored combat vehicles

Discussions around a potential invitation to NATO has invigorated in Ukraine in recent time

According to Francis Fukuyama, Trump "has little regard for [Ukraine’s Vladimir] Zelensky and even seems to have contempt for most democratically elected European leaders"

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed that "general Igor Kirillov and his aide were killed in a planned manner"

Pyotr Poroshenko specified that Ukrainian troops stationed in the Krasnoarmeisk and Kupyansk areas "are desperately calling out" about the lack of drones

Andrey Marochko noted that if the Ukrainian command "does not react to these risks in time," up to a battalion of Ukrainian soldiers will be pushed against the Lozovaya River, cut off from any routes of retreat

According to Esmail Kosari, the Syrian people will soon oust both the United States and Israel and "the resistance front will continue its work more resolutely"

He became a true mentor for many young specialists, inspiring their research, the Russian Defense Ministry said in an obituary

"Turkey is the only country and ally that defeated both of these terrorist organizations," the Turkish leader stressed

The US President-elect said that nobody asked him to weigh in on the decision

He added that the two nations need to "create maritime transport routes

In addition, according to the security forces, the Ukrainian military is also transferring equipment and weapons to this section of the line of engagement

Tatiana Moskalkova noted that, earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that "military justice must document the evidence of war crimes and take all possible measures to bring the perpetrators to court"

The movement’s activists helped to eliminate 38 Ukrainian army vehicles and three mortars

In his words, situation in the south of the country was also "tense"

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

The flight was terminated "after judging that the achievement of its mission would be difficult"

Donald Tusk also warned against offering Kiev security guarantees that may ultimately prove to be unenforceable

Vasily Nebenzya underlined that such actions infringe on the Arab republic’s sovereignty and territorial integrity

Ukrainian expert on defense technologies Sergey Zgurets explained that, according to his information, work in this field in Ukraine has remained at the level of scientific research

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also noted a lack of reaction from the West to the crime

According to Sergey Ryabkov, the group also needs clearing mechanisms and transaction insurance systems, including insurance for the movement of goods and cargoes

The Russian president stressed that the military and political situation in the world remains "uneasy and unstable"