🇷🇸 The conflict in Ukraine will be long, because no one in the world has made a peace proposal that will be acceptable for all sides, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told Sputnik.

“If you look at the situation in Ukraine, it is clear that Russia cannot be defeated in the war. I think this is already clear to everyone. I'm talking about facts, and not about biases, rooting for one side or the other. Since this is the case, a solution must be found. But no one knows how to find a solution. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin doesn't know how, the Americans don't know how," Vucic said.

The sides of the conflict are trying to find a way how to stop it, according to the Serbian president.

💬 “But now this is impossible, because stakes have been raised to such a level that the slightest concession will look like a betrayal and surrender of national interests, whether we are talking about Ukrainians or Russians," Vucic said.

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🇷🇺 Putin 'Most Visible Figure in World Politics for Many Years': Experts on Russian Leader's Speech

Russian President Putin's speech at this Thursday's "Results of the Year with Vladimir Putin" Q&A session and presser aroused interest in the media around the world. The leader elaborated on numerous key issues of international relations, including dedollarization, BRICS' and Russia's role in the world arena, the Ukrainian crisis, and others.

"I think Vladimir Putin is the most visible, most famous and acclaimed figure in world politics for many years, because the world has suffered a lot. I am talking primarily about the Third World countries, Africa, the Arab-Muslim world and Latin America," Riadh Sidaoui, a Swiss writer and political scientist of Tunisian origin, told Sputnik Africa.

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Israel's flooding of Palestinian armed group Hamas's underground tunnels in the Gaza Strip with seawater may have long-term humanitarian consequences, UN Human Rights Council spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told Sputnik, adding that any military operation must be conducted in accordance with international law.

The spokesperson also said that any military attack "must be justified in terms of military necessity, precaution and proportionality" and should not cause excessive damage and harm to civilians or civilian objects.

"Neither may an attack render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, nor be used where widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment may be expected to be caused," Laurence added.

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🇺🇸 The US Senate is postponing its Christmas recess, which was supposed to begin tomorrow. 

According to Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the upper house of Congress will return to work on Monday to continue discussing additional budget allocations, including assistance to Ukraine.   

Earlier, Republicans blocked the Senate from considering the White House's request for funds for Ukraine and Israel.  The House of Representatives is also in no hurry to approve the project. Both chambers of Congress must approve the request.

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❗️ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has vetoed 50 billion euros ($54.95 billion) in the European Union's macro-financial aid for Ukraine.

🇭🇺 Viktor Orban sums up the nightshift on X:

Veto for extra money to Ukraine and veto for this year’s MFF review.

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At least 70 more votes requiring unanimous approval would be needed for Ukraine's accession to the EU in the coming years, Balazs Orban, the political director of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said.

Orban earlier said Ukraine is not ready to start EU membership talks, describing this decision as "completely meaningless, irrational and inappropriate."

🇷🇺 Putin sums up the year, and Western media sums up his speech:

The New York Times
A confident Putin suggested he has a winning hand in Ukraine. He appeared as a leader in complete control of the course of the military operation and his nation.

Financial Times
Putin's remarks mean he intends to continue the fight until Kiev capitulates. Ukrainians' optimism has faded recently, and the West's resolve to support them has begun to weaken.

The Guardian
Calling for Ukraine's denazification, demilitarization, and neutral status, Putin took a hardline stance demanding unconditional surrender after Kiev's half-hearted counteroffensive this summer and delays in US military aid.

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🇺🇸 Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder has expressed doubt about support for Ukraine according to its needs on the battlefield, as the US needs to make decisions about its own readiness

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💰 Other countries’ debt to Russia has grown to the highest level since 1999, according to Sputnik's analysis of World Bank data. Last year, Russia’s loans to other countries increased to $28.86 billion; the debt grew most strongly in Bangladesh and Egypt, while Belarus remains the biggest debtor. In 1999, other countries' debt to Russia stood at $32.8 billion.

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🇭🇺 Hungary will have the opportunity to prevent Ukraine from joining the EU 75 more times, and the final decision will be made by parliaments, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said

❗️"A year ago Zelensky was a hero in the USA, now Republican Senators openly treat him with contempt."

There was a time when the Ukrainians had so much power in Washington that they could fire high-ranking White House officials. Not anymore.

📹 WATCH: Full breakdown of Putin’s big press conference with Simeon Boikov (@AussieCossack) and Sputnik’s Dimitri Simes junior.

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Latest updates on Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

▪️ The United States is discussing with Israel a reduction in the intensity of hostilities in the Gaza Strip and a transition to more targeted operations, a source in the White House said.

▪️ Representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization are ready to immediately hold a meeting with Hamas members in Cairo, a member of the executive committee said.

▪️ Mahmoud Abbas has instructed previously interrupted contacts with Hamas to be reestablished, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization said.

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🇻🇪🇬🇾 Venezuela and Guyana have agreed not to threaten or use force in any circumstances to settle the dispute over the Essequibo territory and resolve any controversies within international law, including the 1966 Geneva Agreement, the countries' joint statement, published by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro showed.

The sides also agreed to meet in Brazil within the next three months to "consider any matter with implications for the territory in dispute" and immediately establish a joint commission on the level of foreign minister and technical persons to address the dispute.

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📹 Russian paratroopers destroyed Ukrainian infantry using drones

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A unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, abandoned during the counteroffensive near the village of Rabotino in Zaporozhye, suffered 43 out of 48 soldiers killed in one day, Ukrainian POW Ivan Matvienko, who was trained at a NATO base in the UK, told Sputnik.

He added that they had undergone a month’s training before the attack, and were thrown into battle without reconnaissance.

"We were sent to the attack on October 28 - two groups, there were only 40 of our company left by the time, maybe less," the POW said.

He added that during the three months of fighting between August and October, no more than 10 of the 200 men in his company, which had been trained in Britain, were left alive.

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