❗️At least six people, including a child, were killed in Russia's Rylsk in the Kursk region as a result of a missile strike by Ukrainian militants, acting Governor Alexander Khinshtein said.

Ten people, including a 13-year-old child, were taken to hospital with injuries, Khinshtein added.

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❗️Russia to raise issue of Ukrainian strikes on Rylsk on Friday at UN Security Council meeting, Russian FM spokeswoman Maria Zakharova tells Sputnik.

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Deceased Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley's widow, Lyudmila, said that she is pleased that the trial of those accused of his murder is focused on finding out the truth.

She spoke to journalists after a closed court session in Donetsk, a Sputnik correspondent reports.

Earlier, on November 25, at the first court session, the judge ruled to carry out the trial in a closed-off format. At the session on December 5, the court rejected the defense's motion to open sessions to the press.

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Erdogan warns West to halt Israeli operations in Syria and signals potential Turkish invasion

Turkish President Recep Erdogan has suggested that Turkiye may intervene in northern Syria to eliminate what Ankara considers to be threats from Kurdish groups, according to the Times of Israel. He has also urged the West, particularly the US, to halt Israel’s military actions in Syria.

While Turkiye controls parts of northern Syria, the Israeli Defense Forces entered a buffer zone in the Golan Heights, claiming its presence is temporary until a new regime ensures compliance with the 1974 disengagement agreement.

Erdogan's comments follow clashes between Turkish-backed fighters and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Turkish president vowed to neutralize "terrorist organizations" in Syria and prevent recruitment to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is coined a terrorist organization in Turkiye.

Erdogan also welcomed improved relations with Syria’s new leadership and announced plans for Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to visit Syria soon.

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Macron's empire crumbling: Why France fails to solve Mayotte's crisis

French President Emmanuel Macron extended his stay in Mayotte, France's poorest overseas department in the Indian Ocean, following the devastating impact of Cyclone Chido on December 20.

Anger in Mayotte

▪️The French president's arrival on December 19 was met with anger from the local population due to what they perceive to be authorities' inability to deal with the consequences of last week's natural disaster in a timely manner.

▪️The disaster has claimed the lives of at least 31 people and left over 2,000 injured, with local officials fearing the actual death toll may be much higher. Around 100,000 of the island's 320,000 inhabitants have been left homeless.

Why was the island unprepared for the disaster?

▪️Media attributes the problem to the exceptional poverty of Mayotte. An estimated 77% of the population live below the poverty line, with many residing in shantytowns.

▪️Mayotte was colonized by France in 1843 and remained a French territory following a popular referendum in 1974, while the nearby Comoros gained independence.

▪️While being administered by France, Mayotte suffers from poverty, illegal migration, gang crime, water shortages, a housing crisis, and youth protests.

▪️In July, the island experienced weeks-long protests and blockades over crippling social issues.

Why can't France solve Mayotte's problems?

▪️British conservative magazine The Spectator stated in May that "Macron’s empire is falling apart," referring to the social and economic disasters affecting Mayotte, New Caledonia, and France's other overseas territories.

▪️The magazine suggests that France cannot afford to manage its overseas possessions as it struggles with growing budgetary deficits. Meanwhile, other former French colonies are pushing it's troops out.

Why is France still clinging to Mayotte?

▪️Mayotte is strategically located in the Indian Ocean, a major sea route of the global economy, handling 30% of global trade and 40% of France’s exports outside the EU, according to The S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS).

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Oreshnik vs Western missile defenses: who would win?

None of the currently-available Western missile defense systems are capable of intercepting Russia’s Oreshnik, military analyst Alexey Leonkov tells Sputnik.

▪️The vaunted US THAAD and the Israeli Arrow 3 missile defense systems, which probably could take on first-generation Russian hypersonic missile such as Kinzhal and Zircon, have a snowball’s chance in hell to intercept Oreshnik, a second-generation hypersonic weapon, he says.

▪️Air defenses such as the German IRIS-T, French SAMP-T or the US-Norwegian NASAMS would be powerless against Oreshnik as well, even if they were to fire their entire payload at it, Leonkov adds.

▪️As for the famous Patriot, Leonkov recalls how one such air defense system in Kiev ended up firing all of its 32 interceptors at an incoming hypersonic Kinzhal missile and failing to hit it before being destroyed by that same Kinzhal.

▪️While Western air defenses can guide their interceptors towards targets flying at a speed of about Mach 2.5, Oreshnik dives at its target at Mach 12. These weapons could thus ‘see’ Oreshnik but still be powerless to do anything about it.

▪️The fact that Oreshnik constantly maneuvers at hypersonic speed while approaching the target makes predicting its trajectory virtually impossible for enemy air defenses, Leonkov explains.

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US welcomes "promising messages" from Syria's interim authorities, but looking for actions, according to Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf following her visit to the country.

Leaf said the US will now drop the bounty on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's (HTS) leader's capture.

HTS' leader promised the US that terrorist groups won't pose a threat inside Syria or externally.

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Could European Peacekeepers Really be Deployed to Ukraine?

Few European countries would risk sending their soldiers to Ukraine as part of some kind of a peacekeeping force, former Swedish military officer and politician Mikael Valtersson told Sputnik.

He outlined two potential scenarios of peacekeeper deployment in the Ukrainian conflict zone, with the basis for both being “a ceasefire along the current front lines and no Ukrainian NATO membership in the foreseeable future.”

The first scenario involves an international peacekeeping force comprised of troops from countries or regions unaffiliated with the participants of the Ukrainian conflict, such as “Turkiye, India, Latin America, Africa, ASEAN and maybe European countries like Hungary and Slovakia.”

The second scenario, where EU troops would be sent as peacekeepers, would likely result in Russia perceiving it as a breach of any ceasefire and would restart the fighting “long before the Western forces reached the front lines.”

As a result, Europe would be left with a conflict “involving several European countries, but without the backing of NATO or the US,” so it is small wonder that, as Valtersson put it, “it would be impossible to get unity within Europe about such a mission.”

“Instead, the fighting probably will continue during 2025, without US support, until Ukraine realises that they must accept the situation on the ground. But then the conditions might be even more severe for Ukraine,” Valtersson mused. “They lost a great opportunity to get a good deal during the Istanbul negotiations and risk gambling away even more now.”

“A much more plausible scenario for European military involvement on the ground in Ukraine is that some of the more hawkish nations send support units and 'instructors' to Ukraine,” Valtersson warned. These European troops would become prime targets for Russia, he added, without actually having “much impact” on the outcome of the conflict.

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Pepe Escobar on Putin's art of compromise and Oreshnik duel

"President Putin’s end of the year Q&A contains enough substance to be unpacked for weeks, if not months," writes Pepe Escobar, a geopolitical analyst and veteran journalist, in his Sputnik column.

According to Escobar, the US-driven "forever wars" in West Asia and Ukraine have now been united in "an omni-war", which fails time and again to render Russia defeated.

"Putin brushed aside the notion that Russia has been weakened by Assad’s downfall in Syria," Escobar notes. "Instead, he practically proposed that the Russian bases could provide humanitarian aid [to Syrians]."

The Russian president "reminded everyone that politics is the art of compromise," Escobar stresses.

At the same time, "Putin increased the tone on Tel Aviv..., directly condemned Israeli invasion and annexation of sovereign Syrian territory; and confessed he does not know what 'ultimate goals' Israel is pursuing in Gaza," the journalist continues.

When it comes to Ukraine, "Putin is adamant that Russia is always ready to negotiate with Kiev" the analyst highlights, adding that Moscow has already articulated its conditions for that.

Putin also busted Western speculations about BRICS, stressing that “BRICS is not a tool for countering the West" but a group aimed at propping up development and generating "more economic growth."

According to Escobar, "the whole Forever Wars riddle directly links with BRICS, because this is a hegemon war against BRICS... inscribed in the big picture of Eurasia v. NATOstan war."

"Arguably the prime cliffhanger of the Q&A was Putin proposing to test the hypersonic Oreshnik [missile] against NATO’s Aegis Ashore [air defenses]," the journalist notes, adding that it wouldn't happen since "collective West cowards" would "flee from being totally humiliated."

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🚒🔥Large fire at former Virginia Intermont College campus in the US

Firefighters were called to Moore Street in Virginia state's Bristol early on December 20 to fight a blaze at the former Virginia Intermont College campus, local media reported.

Thick smoke can be seen in the area, according to footage circulating on social media.

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😫 Someone was left without a New Year's gift...

Zelensky has repeatedly demanded that the US give Ukraine the technology and license to produce Patriot air defense systems, but still can't get a yes or no answer.

"And nobody seems to mind. Nobody has ever said to me, ‘No, we're not going to give you one.’ But so far, we haven't received anything," he complained.

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A sudden surge of energy or...?

Outgoing US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have both suddenly interrupted their planned Christmas holidays - Biden returned from Delaware and Harris cancelled her trip to California at the last minute, according to reports.

Neither of them has made a public statement explaining the reason for such a rapid comeback, leaving many to wonder whether the bustle over the government funding is the real cause, newspaper suggest.

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🇦🇷🌪 An Argentinian captured a video of a powerful dust storm on their phone

As soon as the car entered the storm, darkness fell instantly (1:20)

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📉 British car industry experiences worst month since 1980

Production in November fell by 30% compared to 2023 to 64,216 units, which is the ninth consecutive month of decline and the worst figure for the month of November in the last 44 years, according to a report by the British Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Overall, in the year to December 2023, UK car production fell 12.9% to 734,562 units, down 108,787 on the same period in 2023 and almost half a million fewer than in 2019, the document said, noting that this comes amid weak demand both at home and in Europe.

"These figures offer little Christmas cheer for the sector," warned SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes.

*the picture is AI-generated

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Europe and the United States have spent a total of 310 billion euros ($322.2 billion) on Ukraine, a "dreadful" amount, that could have been invested in European economy, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban said.

"During talks with the Americans, I received data from it that Europe and the United States have spent a total of 310 billion euros on Ukraine so far. This is a huge amount, just a dreadful amount," Orban told Hungary’s Kossuth radio.

These funds could "do wonders" if they were invested in the European economy, Orban said, adding that they could have been used to reduce energy prices, accelerate economic growth in Europe, reduce the flow of illegal migrants from the Sahel, or develop the European defense industry.

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What is known about Magdeburg terror attack so far?

🔺A vehicle drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, resulting in two fatalities and 68 injuries, according to the official information.

🔺Among the injured, 15 people sustained severe injuries, while 37 suffered moderate injuries, the local media specifies.

🔺The government of Saxony-Anhalt has labeled the incident a terrorist attack.

🔺The suspect was 1974-born individual from Saudi Arabia who worked as mental health care professional. Media reports indicate that he was previously unknown to law enforcement agencies and was not considered a proponent of radical Islam.

🔺According to several reports, the suspect gained refugee status in 2016.

🔺The market area has been cordoned off, and police are inspecting it for explosives.

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The chances of reaching a peace agreement on the Ukrainian conflict under Trump will be "greater than ever", Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told RIA Novosti.

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