🇷🇺 The key statements of the Russian Foreign Ministry:

▪️Russia calls on all responsible governments and relevant international structures to condemn Kiev's crimes;

▪️The criminal regime in Kiev, nurtured and sponsored by the West, will one day turn NATO weapons against the NATO countries themselves;

▪️ Among the victims of the strikes on Donetsk are journalists who were performing their professional duties;

▪️For the Ukrainian neo-Nazis who carried out attacks on Donetsk with the support of the West, there is nothing human;

▪️All those involved in the strikes on Donetsk and other terrorist attacks on the territory of Russia will be punished.

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Fired-up New Year revels in France: 745 cars were burned.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanen thanked the police for their timely intervention. In total, 389 people were detained while dealing with of the riots.

"Compared to last year, ten percent fewer cars were burned,” Darmanen said. “380 arrests were made across the country, this is also ten percent less," he added.

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Scott Ritter, a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector, responding to Zelensky's New Year's address, said that 2024 would be the last year for Zelensky as president.

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Russia is likely to “champion initiatives for strengthening BRICS security architecture, both economic and political,” during its rotating presidency of the bloc in 2024, Professor Fulufhelo Netswera told Sputnik.

“Multipolarity, an equitable UN System, and counter balancing the US-European hegemony is an interest of all members of the Global South. It is for this reason that Russia has chosen for its presidency the theme of ‘strengthening of multilateralism for a fair global development and security’,” said the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences.

Use of the dollar, the Swift international payment system and related monetary instruments against “foes of the US" remains “a sharp thorn in the flesh of poorer, smaller nations and developing nations,” he noted.

“It is only prudent that the Russian BRICS presidency will prioritize practical mechanisms to move completely from the US dollar as a medium of international trade,” Netswera said.

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This attack is pure terrorism, former CIA intelligence analyst Larry Johnson told Sputnik, when asked to comment on the Donetsk attack.

“There was no military target or objective. This is first and foremost a war crime, and it is one that was enabled by the United States and other NATO countries,” Johnson said.

Asked why Ukraine has decided to ramp up its attacks against Russian cities, the observer suggested that it signals growing “desperation” on Kiev’s part as it faces setbacks at the front.

“With the advances that Russian forces are making on the ground, coupled with the effectiveness of the missile strikes [on December 29, ed.], the generals, and the politicians in Kiev, are growing more desperate. The frequency over the holidays is the result of their desperation,” Johnson said.

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Putin 'on the mark' in predicting Russia would overtake Germany's economy - ex-Austrian FM

Ever since Berlin chose to align itself with Washington's policy of sweeping sanctions targeting Moscow, Germany has fallen on hard times. Along with inflation and recession, Germany is facing the stark prospect of widespread de-industrialization.

Ex-Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl lauded President Vladimir Putin’s economic policy forecast in June as spot on. She recalled his words, when he noted that despite Western sanctions over Ukraine, Russia was among the ten largest economic powers, ranking sixth at the time. Putin also suggested that Russia might challenge Germany for fifth place on the list of top economies by purchasing power parity.

That forecast was proven correct just two months later, Kneissl said. By August, Russia had become the fifth-largest economy in the world in defiance of pessimistic projections from the West.

Check out Sputnik's article to find out more

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🇯🇵 Japan records total of 29 earthquakes in 2 hours

A total of 29 earthquakes with a maximum magnitude of 7.6 occurred in the Japanese prefectures of Ishikawa and Niigata in two hours on Monday, according to data analyzed by Sputnik.

The underground tremors started at 4:06 p.m. local time (07:06 GMT).

At least six houses have collapsed following the seismic activity, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

The recent earthquake in the Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa has become the strongest on the Noto peninsula since 1885 when record started, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

👉Follow the link to learn more

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

▪️Almost 22,000 Palestinians have died as a result of Israeli bombing and shelling of the Gaza Strip since the beginning of October, 326 doctors among the victims, the enclave's Ministry of Health said, according to Al Jazeera TV channel;

▪️Israeli aircraft attacked the infrastructure of the Shiite Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, the IDF reported;

▪️The IDF reported that it recorded several launches from Lebanon towards Kibbutz Adamit in the north of the country, as a result of the shelling, five reservists were injured and hospitalized;

▪️The army also reported that it had successfully intercepted a suspicious aerial target flying over from Lebanon. It is added that over the past few hours, Air Force fighter jets have struck several targets in Lebanon, including infrastructure, military facilities and launch sites of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement.

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German lawmakers want to send Ukrainian refugees to trenches as NATO proxy war falters

German opposition lawmakers and media are demanding that Berlin reverse course on its policy of not forcing Ukrainian men taking refuge in the country to return home to fight Russia.

“Germany pays significantly more for the living expenses of Ukrainian conscientious objectors than it does investing in the training and equipping of Ukrainian defenders against Russian 'aggression',” FAZ correspondent Peter Carstens wrote, pointing to a campaign by the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to send Ukrainian men home to be drafted.

German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann announced late last month that Berlin will not force Ukrainians to go home to fight against their will, while CDU lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter has called on the Olaf Scholz government to reconsider its position.

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Ukraine’s air defenses won’t be in a condition to repel Russian drone and missile attacks this winter due to a shortage of interceptor missiles for its NATO-provided air defenses - experts.

Pointing to the expected dearth of US military support for Kiev amid the ongoing battle in Congress over Biden’s proposed $61 billion aid package, analysts warned that Ukraine’s air defenses may have to resort to rationing.

“There will be some systems where they will have to ration their ammunition even more than they are at the moment,” Kiev-based defense analyst Jimmy Rushton said. “It could be a case that they have to just not engage some targets, because they don’t have enough interceptors to go around.”

Concerns are said to be particularly prescient in relation to the Patriot – the $1 billion Raytheon-made air defense system which the US sent to Kiev last spring, but which has had difficulties intercepting Russian projectiles and been targeted itself.

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New stage of Gaza war: Israel plans partial troop withdrawal, targeted operations

In a move marking a new phase in the ongoing conflict with Hamas, Israel has announced plans for a partial withdrawal of its forces from Gaza over the next few months. The IDF will move to more targeted operations in Gaza, reducing reliance on artillery and air strikes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized over the weekend that the war against Hamas is anticipated to persist for several more months.

The decision follows the latest push by Biden’s administration for Israel to de-escalate the offensive in Gaza and take steps to minimize civilian casualties. Despite Israel's control over virtually the entire Gaza Strip, resistance persists in the complex labyrinth of tunnels maintained by Hamas.

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Russian paratroopers received 2,500 units of weaponry in 2023, Russia's Defense Ministry said.

"In 2023, formations and military units of the Airborne Troops received more than 780 new and modern pieces of military and special equipment. Among the newest pieces of heavy weapons received by the troops, it is worth mentioning the most modern tank - the T-90M, as well as proven in the course of the special military operation BMD-4M paratrooper combat vehicles, and BTR-MDM and BTR-82A armored personnel carriers," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

To strengthen combat capabilities, Airborne Troops units will receive Uragan and Grad MLRS, Solntsepek heavy flamethrower systems, T-72 B3M tanks, modernized Nona-S and Vena self-propelled mortar systems, and improved 120 mm Sani heavy mortar systems.

"Paratroopers successfully use the Verba man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile to counter enemy air targets," the Defense Ministry added.

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What problems bother Germans the most after a turbulent 2023?

Under Scholz's leadership, Germany has struggled with major economic and leadership problems.

A recent survey by the opinion research institute Insa has unveiled what Germans see as priorities for Scholz’s ruling coalition in 2024:

◾️Inflation Concerns: 57% of respondents still view combating inflation as a top priority for the federal government in 2024.

◾️Energy Supply: Securing the energy supply has diminished in urgency, now ranking as a top priority for only 50% of respondents — a decline of eleven percentage points from 2022, signaling potential shortcomings in the government's energy strategy.

◾️Funneling Cash Into Ukraine: Support for Ukraine has waned, with only 15% of respondents prioritizing this issue — a decrease of six percentage points, raising questions about the government's foreign policy effectiveness.

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🇰🇷 Key points about attack on South Korea’s main opposition party leader:

▪️Lee Jae-myung, the leader of South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party and nominee for the presidential election in 2022, was attacked in the southeastern city of Busan while speaking to reporters.

▪️The politician was stabbed in the neck after he visited the construction site of a new airport. The attacker was arrested at the scene of the incident.

▪️ Lee Jae-myung was rushed to hospital 20 minutes after the incident.

▪️South Korean President Yoon-Suk-yeol expressed concern over the health of the opposition leader and stressed that he doesn’t tolerate such acts of violence, ordering the police to investigate the incident.

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Russian troops in the special military operation are using the new Yastreb-AV artillery reconnaissance system as part of counter-battery combat, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The 1K148 Yastreb-AV radar complex is capable of automatically tracking the trajectory of shells fired by enemy artillery and determining the exact coordinates of their positions. The system is mounted on a four-axle BAZ-6910-025 chassis. The rear part of the chassis is designed for the installation of an antenna mast with a large-area canvas.

Together with the Zoopark-1M complex, the Yastreb-AV detects Ukrainian artillery firing positions. At the same time, the characteristics of the new complex are superior.

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Lee Jae-myung, the leader of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party of Korea who was attacked in Busan, is said to have a non-life-threatening wound, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The politician was taken by helicopter from Busan to Seoul, where he will undergo surgery.

Israel's top court strikes down judicial overhaul law, threatening to reignite domestic turmoil

Justices voted on Monday to nullify a law passed in July preventing judges from striking down government decisions they deem “unreasonable.”

One of the architects of the overhaul, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, lambasted the move as demonstrating “the opposite of the spirit of unity required these days for the success of our soldiers on the front.”

The opposition applauded the ruling, with Yair Lapid going on X (formerly Twitter) to say that the Supreme Court had “faithfully fulfilled its role in protecting the citizens of Israel.”

The reform, approved by the Israeli parliament in July, limits the power of the court to overturn government decisions. It was approved amid boycott by the opposition and months-long nationwide protests, with critics insisting the changes would weaken the government’s checks and balances system.

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Ukrainian soldiers are massively refusing to carry out combat missions, according to records of intercepted radio surveillance.

"Honestly, thank God I'm okay now. Well, 20% of my lungs are affected. My lungs are recovering, my [spinal] discs were shoved back - they were dislocated in my back... It turned out, in short, everyone refused [to carry out their combat orders]. Even the drivers refused to bring food to the guys, to carry out rotation," said one of the wounded Ukrainian soldiers.

According to the soldier, this refusal to perform combat duties is not an isolated case, but a mass action by five units at once.

Another soldier said that the Ukrainian command returns all who are lightly wounded to their positions very quickly, perhaps even without receiving the necessary treatment.

"He's out of the hospital with his guys already. Those who can walk, stand on their feet, they should all be there. There are guys with broken ribs from the attack, too," the Ukrainian fighter noted.

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