❗️Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️ Russian troops eliminated up to 60 Ukrainian servicemen, three armored combat vehicles, and two pickup trucks in the Kupyansk direction;

▪️The Russian Army eliminated more than 40 Ukrainian servicemen, four armored combat vehicles, and five cars in the Krasny Liman direction;

▪️Russian troops eliminated up to 50 Ukrainian servicemen, three APCs, and four pickup trucks in the Donetsk direction;

▪️Russian forces eliminated more than 70 Ukrainian servicemen, five armored combat vehicles, and three cars in the South Donetsk direction;

▪️Russian troops destroyed a radar station for a Ukrainian S-300 missile system in the Sumy region;

▪️The Russian Army destroyed two US-made AN/TPQ-50 counter-battery radar stations in the DPR;

▪️Russian forces destroyed two 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers in the DPR;

▪️The Russian Air Force shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter and two Mi-8 helicopters in the DPR;

▪️Russia air defenses intercepted 8 HIMARS and Uragan rockets in the LPR, and shot down 6 UAVs.

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❗️State Secretary of Belarusian Security Council on Ukrainian rocket: It is unlikely that it flew by accident, it seems someone's plan being realized

📌 Kremlin's latest statements:

▪️President Putin congratulates leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Belarus on New Year

▪️President Putin congratulates Prime Minister Modi and Indian President Murmu on New Year, notes especially privileged strategic partnership between the two states

▪️Putin congratulates Hungarian Prime Minister Orban on New Year, says relations between their countries maintain a positive dynamic

▪️Putin congratulates Vucic on upcoming holidays, says Russian-Serbian relations continue to develop on principles of strategic partnership

▪️President Putin congratulates Turkish President Erdogan on New Year, and notes success of joint projects ensuring long-term energy security

▪️Putin congratulates Assad on upcoming holidays, confirms support for sovereignty, unity of Syria

▪️Putin congratulates Venezuelan leader Maduro on New Year, expresses hope for continued constructive dialogue and joint work

▪️Putin congratulates Chinese President Xi on New Year, expressed confidence they can boost cooperation

▪️Putin congratulates Cuban President Díaz-Canel on New Year, says bilateral relations on the rise, voices confidence in implementation of joint projects

▪️Putin will not congratulate leaders of unfriendly countries on New Year, there are virtually no contacts with them

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❗️US House committee releases Trump's tax returns

The matter of Trump's taxes was brought before the Supreme Court in late October as part of an appeal filed by the former president. "No Congress has ever welded its legislative powers to demand a president's tax returns," the appeal read.

Russia has found more than 3,000 killed civilians in Mariupol after taking control over the city, the Russian Investigative Committee told Sputnik.

💬 "In April alone, the bodies of 51 civilians were found at the positions abandoned by the Ukrainian troops, and after the complete liberation and examination of the city, their number amounted to over 3,000," the committee said.

The investigators added that the Ukrainian military "artificially created obstacles for evacuation [of citizens] from the city" after the Russian armed forces had organized humanitarian corridors.

💬 "Unable to leave the city and moving in search of food, civilians became a living target for Ukrainian punishers who killed them with various types of weapons," the committee added.

The Russian investigators proposed the creation of a special DNA database of those killed, citing difficulties in identifying the victims.

🌍 Despite general global turbulence and lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year has been particularly eventful for African nations. Countries on the continent have increased their role in world politics, trade, and economy.

As 2022 comes to an end, Sputnik has created a list of the most prominent feats of African nations in the field of economy, tourism, innovation, and development based on their performance and improvements in global indexes and rankings.

Check out the most prominent achievements and growth of the continent in the international arena over the past year!

READ THE FULL STORY

Russian petroleum products will no longer be considered to be of Russian origin and subject to the price cap once they are transformed in another jurisdiction, the US Treasury announced on Friday.

The Treasury also said it does not consider blending operations, like gasoline or crude blending to be substantial transformation for the purposes of the crude oil determination.

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