BIG NEWS: Russia offers shelter to California residents whose houses were destroyed by LA fires
 
The authorities of the Kherson region are ready to accept Californian citizens who lost their homes in the fires if they had not participated in financing the Ukrainian forces and supporting the current Kiev regime, Governor Vladimir Saldo told Russian media.
 

"Despite the openly anti-Russian policy of the United States so far, we are well aware that the elements do not divide anyone according to their actions, and as a result of the fires in California, many ordinary residents lost their homes," said Saldo.

 
Americans who have arrived in the Kherson region from California will be provided with temporary accommodation. Foreigners will also be aided in obtaining Russian citizenship in a simplified manner.

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'There were cases when soldiers got drunk and just didn't wake up' - Ukrainian militant
 
Drug use and intoxication are rampant among the military of the Ukrainian armed forces against the backdrop of extreme fatigue and poor morale; captured Ukrainian border guards reported such cases.

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Biden named future nuclear aircraft carriers of the Gerald R. Ford type of the US Navy in honor of former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush
 
Biden added that he had personally informed the former presidents about this, who, according to him, "were deeply touched" by this decision.
 
The aircraft carriers will begin to be built in the coming years. At the same time, the type of ship itself is also named after another US president: Republican Gerald Ford headed the White House from 1974 to 1977.

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Weary Ukrainian soldiers pay thousands of dollars to flee abroad - captured border guard
 
Ruslan Zadorozhniy, a Ukrainian State Border Guard officer who surrendered to Russia, said that his fellow villager, along with other Ukrainian servicemen, had been sent to fight against Russian troops with no respite in sight, which left them completely demoralized.
 

"We didn't get much rest, and we weren't allowed to take any leave," he said.

 
Zadorozhniy said that his acquaintance was eventually "fed up" with the military service and paid $3,000 for an opportunity to "escape" to Poland.

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Two can play that game: China drastically cuts drone exports to US 8-fold year-on-year in November
 
The dynamic was also negative as compared to October 2024, when China's drone exports to the US fell twice, namely to $2.9 million in November, according to Sputnik's calculation based on data from the US Customs Service. The figures marked the lowest November purchase volume since 2022, when the US began buying drones from China.
 
The total volume of drone shipments in the first 11 months of 2024 also dropped 2.4 times year-on-year, from $205 million in January-November 2023 to $84.2 million last year, according to the statistics.
 
By the end of November, China was the second-largest supplier of drones to the US, behind Vietnam, with $10.8 million worth of drone exports, followed by South Korea ($1.9 million), Malaysia ($1.6 million), and Switzerland ($1.2 million).

The increase in purchases from Vietnam (by $8.2 million), South Korea (by $1.8 million), and other states was not enough to close the gap, so total imports in November 2024 fell 3.4 times from the previous year, according to the statistics.

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‘Lowest point in US history’: Trump lashes out at Biden for worst foreign policy on record

US President-elect Donald Trump slammed Biden's foreign policy, maintaining it had plummeted to an unprecedented low during his four years in office. He asserted that the state of American foreign relations has never been worse in the nation's history.

“When you look at what happened during this last 4-year period, I think it was the lowest point in the history of our country. It's been so bad,” Trump stated.

Trump also claimed that if he had been President instead of Biden, the world would not be facing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

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'Heartfelt best wishes to all those attending on the occasions of the New Year and Christmas' — Russia's FM congratulated everyone on the holidays

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📹 Russian FM Sergey Lavrov's big press conference

👉 Watch the livestream here or follow the link to Sputnik's website

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The West can no longer overcome the inertia of the end of history, even by trying to block the way for competitors everywhere — Russia's FM

Any sensible politician should understand that times have changed dramatically over the past 30-35 years, and opposition to the West has been restored - not in the face of the USSR, but of multipolarity, Sergey Lavrov said.
 
He also added that the United States announced new sanctions on microchips, banning their export even to EU and NATO countries. This means that the United States does not want any competitor anywhere.

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❗️US wants to cripple TurkStream pipeline - Russian FM

The United States has authorized terrorist attacks aimed at sabotaging the EU’s energy security.

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Lavrov: Western countries are "sliding down a slippery slope" because they don’t want to compete fairly

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❗️India, Brazil, and African countries have long earned "permanent residence" in the UN Security Council, but Germany and Japan will not be able to enter it — Lavrov
 
Russia's foreign minister emphasized that all countries should fully comply with the UN Charter and not choose certain provisions from it according to their preferences.
 
The principles of the UN charter need no amendments, he noted.

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📹Russia's special military operation was a response to the West's aggression, aimed at suppressing a resurgent Russia - Lavrov

The main goal was to weaken Russia's geopolitical power, Russian Foreign Minister stressed.

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❗️The US and the EU are twisting Serbia's arm, demanding it betray Moscow by joining the anti-Russian sanctions crusade in exchange for EU membership - Lavrov

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Lavrov: If Trump succeeds in making America even greater upon assuming the presidency, we will need to examine closely the methods by which his stated goals will be achieved

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🗣'Look at Romania. It's a shame' — Russia's FM said, referring to the presidential elections scandal in the country
 
In December 2024, the Constitutional Court of Romania annulled the results of the first round of the presidential election. The decision was made after an independent candidate, Calin Georgescu, who is known for his support of cooperation with Russia, won the majority of votes. The results of the presidential election were canceled just two days before the second round of national voting.

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🇷🇺🤝🇨🇳Lavrov praises Russia-China cooperation as key stabilizing factor regarding the international situation

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The Biden administration, using new sanctions against Russia's energy sector, wants to "pull a dirty trick" on both Serbia and the Trump administration, stated Lavrov.

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💬Lavrov: In California, the damage is estimated at $250 billion - that is about as much as they pumped into Ukraine

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Lavrov: The UN's principles represent the entire population inhabiting its territory, which is not the case with the current regime in Kiev, that seized power through a coup d'état 11 years ago

The Russian top diplomat pointed out that the Yalta-Potsdam system was initially conceived during the drafting of the UN Charter, when responding to a question from a Sputnik correspondent.

He emphasized that this system has not disappeared; rather, it contains key fundamental principles of the post-war world order that were agreed upon by the nations that fought against Nazism.

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