Ursula von der Leyen arrives in Kiev

A protest broke out during the chancellor's and minister's visit, with demonstrators whistling and shouting "Get out!"

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicts 480 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

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

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

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

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

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

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"

The married couple, Artyom Dultsev and Anna Dultseva, returned home as a result of an exchange

According to Mauro Vieira, during Brazil's BRICS chairmanship in 2025, the country's leadership plans to organize several important high-level meetings and events, including negotiations between foreign ministers and heads of state

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov also stressed that the recent developments had shown that the US policy of establishing a system of increasingly layered missile defenses was wrong

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

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 Russian president will not congratulate leaders of unfriendly countries, but he will congratulate some individuals and people of several ones, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said

The SANA news agency said al-Shibani previously headed the political department of the National Salvation Government

According to US Central Command, the incident occurred during airstrikes on Houthi facilities

Ahmed аl-Sharaa expressed hope for building strategic relations with Lebanon

Alexander Stepanov emphasized that both Kiev and its Western allies are closely scrutinizing the consequences of the strike on the plant

According to the Financial Times, the idea was promoted by the US and UK but resisted by Germany, France and Italy

TASS has gathered the main information about the incident

Earlier, an air raid alert was declared in the Kiev, Sumy and Chernigov Regions

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

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

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

Eight motor vehicles and two electronic warfare stations were also destroyed? the ministy added

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

No injuries or damage were reported

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

Currently, the Oryol Region is yet again under a massive enemy UAV attack

"We will not only restore the damage that some attempt to cause to us but will also move forward even at a faster pace as we are doing now," Russian President said

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

The heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov has been under repairs at the Sevmash Shipyard since 1999; real work on the warship has been carried out since 2013

The Ukrainian military also admitted the Russian army’s supremacy in terms of military equipment and the size of personnel

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

According to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin has several closed-door meetings slated for December 22

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

According to Al Jazeera, Israeli forces shelled a residential building in Deir al-Balah and a downtown Khan Yunis

According to Al Watan newspaper, Abu Qasra was the commander of the military wing of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham movement

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

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

Test launches of the Tsirkon missiles from the Project 885 Sverodvinsk submarine were conducted in the White Sea on October 4, 2022

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin thus meant that the Oreshnik missile is a generation ahead of all existing weapons, while not being a nuclear weapon itself

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

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"

"However, since he is a very prominent and experienced diplomat, I think the host country should have no doubt that he will show a high level of professionalism and his efforts will aim to at least slightly improve bilateral relations," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov noted

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

The Tatarstan head Rustam Minnikhanov also noted that all operational services worked well when dealing with the aftermath of the drone attack

The lawmaker believes that the bribe money wasn’t meant to come from Russia’s frozen funds but Zelensky "could have brought it in a suitcase"

Project 885M nuclear-powered submarines carry Oniks and Kalibr-PL cruise missiles as their basic strike weapons

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

Three of them are not subject to restoration, Alexander Khinshtein said

Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov praised the new mechanisms for accelerating the introduction of advanced weapons and equipment developed by the civilian defense industrial complex in the interests of the Russian army

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said earlier that the Slovak prime minister intended to hold talks with Putin on December 23 amid Vladimir Zelensky's refusal to extend gas transit through Ukraine

Russia’s international reserves are highly liquid foreign assets available with the Bank of Russia and the Russian government

Israel’s Ynet media outlet reports that at least 30 people suffered injuries after a missile fired from Yemen fell in central Israel

The US Senate and House of Representatives approved the bill a day before

The motive for committing the crime could have been dissatisfaction with the treatment of Saudi refugees in Germany, Dr. Horst Nopens, Head of the Magdeburg Public Prosecutor’s office, said

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

The previous generation of Russian politicians chose the course towards the country’s destruction for the sake of joining the so-called civilized world but this was what the West wanted, President Vladimir Putin

The Russian Defense Ministry has also purchased more than 100,000 units from small design bureaus and civilian manufacturers, the statement said

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

As preliminary data suggest, the ISS orbit was raised by 2.3 km to 416.43 km above the Earth’s surface

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

Everything depends on its content and the approach of the team of US President-elect Donald Trump are important, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said

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 new special envoy will be in charge of trade and investment issues, as well as the cultural exchange between the two countries

According to Putin’s press secretary, the meeting is being held one-on-one

Russian leader stressed that, thanks to their dedication, 'the industry is becoming more and more high-tech with every new year'

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

All foreign personnel of international humanitarian organizations have also left, the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang said

According to the press service of the regional Emergencies Ministry, all three people onboard the plane survived the emergency landing

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

Viktor Obran added, however, that only a couple of EU countries shared Hungary’s position

CENTCOM forces also shot down several Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea

"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

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

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

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

Russian President also said that he had handed down direct instructions to produce and test-fire the Oreshnik hypersonic missile

Reporters are ramping up Russophobia, distorting the facts while writing on this matter, the Russian Embassy in Portugal said

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

Both freight trains loaded with coal collided at the Bushulei-Zhireken railway section

According to the Houthi spokesman, the strike on US vessels was delivered with the use of "eight cruise missiles and 17 drones"

Ahmed al-Sharaa, the militant leader of the main group driving the Syrian armed opposition, met with the leaders of the armed groups and discussed with them the new format of the Syrian army

The Arkhangelsk submarine was rolled out from the slipway of the Sevmash Shipyard on November 29, 2023 for completing its construction afloat

"Robert Fico will travel to visit Putin as a European countries leader," Aleksandar Vucic said

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

Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, December 18th

The upper chamber of the parliament wrapped up its autumn session

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

Reuters reported earlier that oil supplies to Belarus and EU countries via Druzhba had been suspended on December 19 due to technical problems

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

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also emphasized that Moscow is outraged by the hypocritical silence of the West and its media on the terrorist attacks in Russia

The emblem is based on the kapok tree growing in the Amazon, painted in the colors of the national flags of the community's states

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

According to the Al Hadath TV channel, at least three strikes hit Ansar Allah military facilities located in Sanaa, including rebel locations

Putin also took part in the ceremony of opening international airports in Magadan, Cheboksary, and Stavropol

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

According to the TV channel Al Jazeera, the refugees were housed at a school in the Al-Daraj neighborhood