Brief Frontline Report – December 24th, 2025
Summary by Marat Khairullin and Mikhail Popov.
Message from the Russian Ministry of Defense: "Assault units of the 36th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade of the 29th Guards Combined Arms Army of the 'East' Group, while expanding the bridgehead on the western bank of the Gaichur River, have taken control of the settlement of Zarechnoe in Zaporozhye Oblast.
Personnel from the Far East have cleared an area of the enemy's defenses at the junction of Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk Oblast in the Gaichur River area, spanning nine square kilometers.
Furthermore, units of the 'East' Group have taken control of a section of the road connecting the settlements of Bratskoe and Ternovatoe."
The Russian Armed Forces are expanding the bridgehead on the left bank of the Gaichur River along the Gerasimovka-Peschanoe-Zarechnoe line. On December 24, the settlement of Zarechnoe (47°51′14″ N, 36°11′05″ E, approximately 15 residents) was liberated. It was once a large village in the Novonikolaevsky district of Zaporozhye Oblast but is now in decline, with no more than 5 permanent residents. The river in this area is winding, forming inlets, oxbow lakes, and marshy lakes.
After Russian units reached the Gerasimovka-Peschanoe-Zarechnoe line, they gained control over the outlets of the Krinichevataya, Shirokaya, and Ternovataya ravines. These ravines originate on the watershed of the Gaichur and Verkhnyaya Tersa rivers. Along the ridge of this watershed runs the Pokrovskoe-Ternovatoe railway line, allowing for the envelopment of the Ternovatoe transport hub from the north.
Operating from the Gerasimovka-Zarechnoe bridgehead, Russian units gain operational freedom to execute envelopments of Ukrainian Armed Forces groupings on the southern face of the Pokrovskoe sector or the northern face of the Gulyaipole sector, depending on the tactical situation.
Read this report and many others on Marat Khairullin's Substack! That's where I post the high-definition maps, and frankly, the formatting on Substack makes the reports easier to follow.
🌒 @EastCalling
Summary by Marat Khairullin and Mikhail Popov.
Message from the Russian Ministry of Defense: "Assault units of the 36th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade of the 29th Guards Combined Arms Army of the 'East' Group, while expanding the bridgehead on the western bank of the Gaichur River, have taken control of the settlement of Zarechnoe in Zaporozhye Oblast.
Personnel from the Far East have cleared an area of the enemy's defenses at the junction of Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk Oblast in the Gaichur River area, spanning nine square kilometers.
Furthermore, units of the 'East' Group have taken control of a section of the road connecting the settlements of Bratskoe and Ternovatoe."
The Russian Armed Forces are expanding the bridgehead on the left bank of the Gaichur River along the Gerasimovka-Peschanoe-Zarechnoe line. On December 24, the settlement of Zarechnoe (47°51′14″ N, 36°11′05″ E, approximately 15 residents) was liberated. It was once a large village in the Novonikolaevsky district of Zaporozhye Oblast but is now in decline, with no more than 5 permanent residents. The river in this area is winding, forming inlets, oxbow lakes, and marshy lakes.
After Russian units reached the Gerasimovka-Peschanoe-Zarechnoe line, they gained control over the outlets of the Krinichevataya, Shirokaya, and Ternovataya ravines. These ravines originate on the watershed of the Gaichur and Verkhnyaya Tersa rivers. Along the ridge of this watershed runs the Pokrovskoe-Ternovatoe railway line, allowing for the envelopment of the Ternovatoe transport hub from the north.
Operating from the Gerasimovka-Zarechnoe bridgehead, Russian units gain operational freedom to execute envelopments of Ukrainian Armed Forces groupings on the southern face of the Pokrovskoe sector or the northern face of the Gulyaipole sector, depending on the tactical situation.
Read this report and many others on Marat Khairullin's Substack! That's where I post the high-definition maps, and frankly, the formatting on Substack makes the reports easier to follow.
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From the channel for the 105th regiment of the NM DPR:
🇺🇦🏴☠️Seversk has come under Russian control: the Ukrainian Armed Forces command is constantly lying, - Deep State
▪️DeepState analysts working for the GUR accused the Ukrainian command of lying about the situation around Seversk.
▪️"The day has come when the city ended up in the red zone (under the control of the Russian Armed Forces), as we warned earlier. However, when the first reports appeared about the enemy entrenching in the settlement and the situation was becoming increasingly critical, the top command, represented by spokespersons, claimed that the city was completely under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
▪️In particular, we heard from the spokesperson of the Ukrainian General Staff, Kovalev, that he has friends in Seversk who are holding the city, and we are spreading fakes and enemy propaganda," the analysts complain.
😐 "Now everything has fallen into place - the city has been captured by the enemy, and the brigades are not getting enough people," they add.
🌒 @EastCalling
🇺🇦🏴☠️Seversk has come under Russian control: the Ukrainian Armed Forces command is constantly lying, - Deep State
▪️DeepState analysts working for the GUR accused the Ukrainian command of lying about the situation around Seversk.
▪️"The day has come when the city ended up in the red zone (under the control of the Russian Armed Forces), as we warned earlier. However, when the first reports appeared about the enemy entrenching in the settlement and the situation was becoming increasingly critical, the top command, represented by spokespersons, claimed that the city was completely under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
▪️In particular, we heard from the spokesperson of the Ukrainian General Staff, Kovalev, that he has friends in Seversk who are holding the city, and we are spreading fakes and enemy propaganda," the analysts complain.
😐 "Now everything has fallen into place - the city has been captured by the enemy, and the brigades are not getting enough people," they add.
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According to UK legislation, anyone who develops end-to-end encryption (Telegram, WhatsApp*) is now considered a "hostile entity". It is not allowed to hinder the work of special services.
*belongs to Meta, which has been recognized as extremist and banned in Russia.
Source: Банкста
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🌒 @EastCalling
*belongs to Meta, which has been recognized as extremist and banned in Russia.
Source: Банкста
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🙏 A memorial complex will be erected in Belgorod in memory of the civilians who became victims of terrorist attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The monument will be installed near the "Mayak" department store, at the site of the tragic events that occurred on December 30, 2023.
On that very day, the lives of 25 innocent Belgorod residents, including children, were cut short. More than a hundred people were injured of varying severity.
The monument will take the form of a five-meter bronze sculpture of an angel, gently holding a child in his arms. Symbolically, the angel's wings form the shape of a heart, riddled with wounds.
The sketch of the future monument was presented and approved by the public in March 2025.
The discussion was attended by relatives and friends of the victims, representatives of the public, and ordinary residents of the city. A unanimous decision was made to dedicate the memorial to all victims of terrorist attacks committed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The creation of the monument took approximately four months.
The author of the project is Belgorod sculptor Andrey Korobtsov.
Source: Белогородчина
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🌒 @EastCalling
The monument will be installed near the "Mayak" department store, at the site of the tragic events that occurred on December 30, 2023.
On that very day, the lives of 25 innocent Belgorod residents, including children, were cut short. More than a hundred people were injured of varying severity.
The monument will take the form of a five-meter bronze sculpture of an angel, gently holding a child in his arms. Symbolically, the angel's wings form the shape of a heart, riddled with wounds.
The sketch of the future monument was presented and approved by the public in March 2025.
The discussion was attended by relatives and friends of the victims, representatives of the public, and ordinary residents of the city. A unanimous decision was made to dedicate the memorial to all victims of terrorist attacks committed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The creation of the monument took approximately four months.
The author of the project is Belgorod sculptor Andrey Korobtsov.
Source: Белогородчина
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🎄🇮🇷Christmas in Iran looks different than you think!
▶️ The Christian holiday is visible across Iranian churches and public squares, where communities come together in celebration.
Source: PressTV
🌒 @EastCalling
▶️ The Christian holiday is visible across Iranian churches and public squares, where communities come together in celebration.
Source: PressTV
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Life is sunshine, rain and pain, but in the end, life is beautiful.
Merry Christmas everyone, we made it another year.
"Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature & complete, not lacking anything" James 1: 2-4 ☀️🌧️
Source: TheKiffness
🌒 @EastCalling
Merry Christmas everyone, we made it another year.
"Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature & complete, not lacking anything" James 1: 2-4 ☀️🌧️
Source: TheKiffness
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For our Western partners, please play the Christmas song "Jingle Bells" performed by the choir of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
(the video is old)
Thanks to our frineds ПЯТНИЦА for sharing this.
🌒 @EastCalling
(the video is old)
Thanks to our frineds ПЯТНИЦА for sharing this.
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She gained worldwide fame thanks to her lead role in the film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears", which won an Oscar in the category "Best Foreign Language Film".
Source: Zvezda
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Via ОБОРОНКА,
Unsuccessful day for German tanks:
In the area of the village of Nikolaypole in the DPR, a Leopard 1A5 was burned.
In the area of the village of Miropole in the Sumy region, a Leopard 2A4 was burned.
🌒 @EastCalling
Unsuccessful day for German tanks:
In the area of the village of Nikolaypole in the DPR, a Leopard 1A5 was burned.
In the area of the village of Miropole in the Sumy region, a Leopard 2A4 was burned.
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Via Marat Khairullin:
🇷🇺 Units of the "South" Group, as a result of decisive actions, liberated the populated area of Svyato-Pokrovskoe in the Donetsk People's Republic - Russian Defense Ministry.
🌒 @EastCalling
🇷🇺 Units of the "South" Group, as a result of decisive actions, liberated the populated area of Svyato-Pokrovskoe in the Donetsk People's Republic - Russian Defense Ministry.
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Zelensky himself seems like an inadequate person, whom one would like to ask if he is capable of making adequate decisions, added the Kremlin representative.
Earlier, Zelensky published a Christmas video greeting on his social media. In particular, in his speech, he called Russians "godless people" who have nothing to do with Christianity.
Source: Zvezda
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The main statements of Dmitry Peskov on December 25th, 2025:
🔜 The peace plan handed over by Dmitriev after the meeting in Miami is being analyzed, and further steps will depend on Putin's decisions, Peskov said.
🔜 Putin has already congratulated Trump on Christmas with a telegram, Peskov reported.
🔜 Peskov confirmed contacts between Russia and France regarding the case of journalist Vinatier, who was included in the register of foreign agents.
He refused to disclose details of the contacts between Moscow and Paris regarding the pardon of Vinatier, who was accused of espionage.
🔜 As of now, a phone call between Putin and Trump is not planned;
🔜 There were no unexpected questions at Putin's meeting with business representatives, the conversation was substantive and applied in nature;
🔜 During the meeting with business representatives, Putin himself commented on issues of concern to entrepreneurs and asked the heads of the economic bloc of the Cabinet of Ministers to speak up.
Source: TASS
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🌒 @EastCalling
He refused to disclose details of the contacts between Moscow and Paris regarding the pardon of Vinatier, who was accused of espionage.
Source: TASS
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▪️AI is a much more groundbreaking technology than even space exploration;
▪️AI will replace entry-level workers, including creative and intellectual ones;
▪️The President instructed to create conditions for affordable retraining of workers in the situation of rapid AI development;
▪️Schoolchildren need to be taught to critically evaluate the results of AI work, while preserving the fundamental principles of education;
▪️AI will replace people in wholesale trade, finance, and public administration;
▪️The head of state proposed to create a rating of the 100 worst educational organizations in order to provide assistance to such institutions.
▪️There is a shortage of labor in the labor market - for every registered unemployed person with a working profession, there are almost 28 vacancies.
▪️The next 10-15 years will be a time of colossal technological transformation and AI development.
▪️Today, a person's competitive advantage is the ability to work in a team.
Summary by: Раньше всех ну почти
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The Space Forces conducted a successful launch of the "Soyuz-2.1a" launch vehicle from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome
on December 25 at 17:11 MSK
from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region. The launch of the medium-class "Soyuz-2.1a" launch vehicle with a spacecraft on board was successfully carried out by a combat unit of the Space Forces of the Aerospace Forces.
Source: Роскосмос
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🌒 @EastCalling
on December 25 at 17:11 MSK
from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region. The launch of the medium-class "Soyuz-2.1a" launch vehicle with a spacecraft on board was successfully carried out by a combat unit of the Space Forces of the Aerospace Forces.
Source: Роскосмос
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Кримсон Дайджест comments:
🈁 A moment of "So that's why Macron was going to call Putin"
I came across a wonderful piece in its genre by Bloomberg, a video essay with elements of documentary. It's called Can France Solve Its Debt Crisis?
I recommend watching these 11 minutes of unadulterated beauty, for the filming of which Bloomberg involved a senior economist at financial giant ING, Charlotte de Montpellier, and two of its own columnists specializing in European finance.
In brief:
1. France is in a debt crisis.
2. To pay for the generous French social system, money is needed, but there's no money.
3. There's also no economic growth, which means there's no money either.
4. The French aren't reproducing, and if there are no taxpayers to fund the generous social system (see point 2), then the debt has to be "paid off in credit", which leads to a debt crisis (note from Crimson: the question of why the imported French monkeys haven't produced new taxpayers is left unanswered, but that's Bloomberg, they won't talk about such things).
5. Already now, just the interest on the debts devours more money than is spent on France's entire military budget.
6. It will get worse.
7. None of the politicians want to make difficult decisions: cut social spending or something like that. Macron's ultra-right and ultra-left opponents are just waiting to increase the debts and hand out money to voters in exchange for votes.
8. Macron is a good guy, he's made some business-friendly reforms, but that's not even close to solving point 2.
9. The markets are already nervous.
10. If France explodes (and there's a chance of that), the European Union will be in very bad shape, really very bad.
Your humble servant watched this story with great professional interest, purely as a propagandist. I was interested to understand how Bloomberg's producers would end the story, because by the laws of the genre, the audience needs to be given OPTIMISM and a reason to buy French bonds (if they're investors) or not vote for Le Pen (if they're French) at the end. And the task of making a positive ending with such a plot is not trivial. The solution found made me laugh out loud: at the end of the story, the viewers are shown touching footage of the restoration of the burned Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral (with Macron, of course), with the implied message:
“Well, in just five years, Macron, thanks to violating building codes and attracting money from the super-rich French, fulfilled his promise to restore the entire burned cathedral. So surely, with the support of the united French people, he will definitely cope with the debt crisis in France!”
If this is the best argument in favor of France being able to "solve its debt crisis", then everything is really very sad. It's not on the level of "posing for a photo against the backdrop of a city stele", but it's close. It's a situation of "well, that's it, there's really no more ideas". No wonder Macron "stabbed Merkel in the back", as American and European media complain, still dissatisfied with the failure of the plan for the final plunder of Russian assets in Euroclear. Perhaps the sudden desire to restore dialogue with Moscow has the same genesis. I can see it:
— Hello, Vladimir Vladimirovich, we want... Well, we want diplomacy on Ukraine.
— Emmanuel, what made you call? Humanitarian considerations? Have you realized the root causes of the crisis in Ukraine?
— No, I just ran out of money.
➖ ➖ ➖
🌒 @EastCalling
I came across a wonderful piece in its genre by Bloomberg, a video essay with elements of documentary. It's called Can France Solve Its Debt Crisis?
I recommend watching these 11 minutes of unadulterated beauty, for the filming of which Bloomberg involved a senior economist at financial giant ING, Charlotte de Montpellier, and two of its own columnists specializing in European finance.
In brief:
1. France is in a debt crisis.
2. To pay for the generous French social system, money is needed, but there's no money.
3. There's also no economic growth, which means there's no money either.
4. The French aren't reproducing, and if there are no taxpayers to fund the generous social system (see point 2), then the debt has to be "paid off in credit", which leads to a debt crisis (note from Crimson: the question of why the imported French monkeys haven't produced new taxpayers is left unanswered, but that's Bloomberg, they won't talk about such things).
5. Already now, just the interest on the debts devours more money than is spent on France's entire military budget.
6. It will get worse.
7. None of the politicians want to make difficult decisions: cut social spending or something like that. Macron's ultra-right and ultra-left opponents are just waiting to increase the debts and hand out money to voters in exchange for votes.
8. Macron is a good guy, he's made some business-friendly reforms, but that's not even close to solving point 2.
9. The markets are already nervous.
10. If France explodes (and there's a chance of that), the European Union will be in very bad shape, really very bad.
Your humble servant watched this story with great professional interest, purely as a propagandist. I was interested to understand how Bloomberg's producers would end the story, because by the laws of the genre, the audience needs to be given OPTIMISM and a reason to buy French bonds (if they're investors) or not vote for Le Pen (if they're French) at the end. And the task of making a positive ending with such a plot is not trivial. The solution found made me laugh out loud: at the end of the story, the viewers are shown touching footage of the restoration of the burned Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral (with Macron, of course), with the implied message:
“Well, in just five years, Macron, thanks to violating building codes and attracting money from the super-rich French, fulfilled his promise to restore the entire burned cathedral. So surely, with the support of the united French people, he will definitely cope with the debt crisis in France!”
If this is the best argument in favor of France being able to "solve its debt crisis", then everything is really very sad. It's not on the level of "posing for a photo against the backdrop of a city stele", but it's close. It's a situation of "well, that's it, there's really no more ideas". No wonder Macron "stabbed Merkel in the back", as American and European media complain, still dissatisfied with the failure of the plan for the final plunder of Russian assets in Euroclear. Perhaps the sudden desire to restore dialogue with Moscow has the same genesis. I can see it:
— Hello, Vladimir Vladimirovich, we want... Well, we want diplomacy on Ukraine.
— Emmanuel, what made you call? Humanitarian considerations? Have you realized the root causes of the crisis in Ukraine?
— No, I just ran out of money.
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Diamonds in the shape of a Christmas tree ball and a puppy have been mined near Arkhangelsk, the "Alrosa" company reported.
The weight of the first crystal is just over 17 carats. The second diamond, weighing 2.7 carats, resembles a puppy in its shape.
Photo: "Alrosa"
Source: TASS
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Puppy looks more like a star to me. But ok..
🌒 @EastCalling
The weight of the first crystal is just over 17 carats. The second diamond, weighing 2.7 carats, resembles a puppy in its shape.
Photo: "Alrosa"
Source: TASS
Puppy looks more like a star to me. But ok..
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The former German Minister of Culture, Julian Nida-Rümelin, on the inevitable emergence of a new global system in which the West will lose its significance:
We really need to prepare for a new global system. It's unavoidable. Just look at the economic facts. Consider the growth rates over the past ten years: China, Russia, and India are among the leaders. The US is roughly in the middle, and Europe is even further behind. The balance of power has shifted significantly. The BRICS countries together already have a larger GDP than the G7 countries - the seven largest Western industrial states combined.
This alone shows that, whether we like it or not, we are moving towards a multipolar world order with major players like China and India, and possibly new ones - for example, Brazil, and in the longer term, some African states such as Nigeria. So we will have to give up the idea that we can determine the rules of this world order.
Source
🌒 @EastCalling
We really need to prepare for a new global system. It's unavoidable. Just look at the economic facts. Consider the growth rates over the past ten years: China, Russia, and India are among the leaders. The US is roughly in the middle, and Europe is even further behind. The balance of power has shifted significantly. The BRICS countries together already have a larger GDP than the G7 countries - the seven largest Western industrial states combined.
This alone shows that, whether we like it or not, we are moving towards a multipolar world order with major players like China and India, and possibly new ones - for example, Brazil, and in the longer term, some African states such as Nigeria. So we will have to give up the idea that we can determine the rules of this world order.
Source
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