📹LIVE NOW: Lavrov holds talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani

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🔥🇷🇺 Russia to build top-notch lunar power station

Roscosmos sealed the major deal to provide reliable, long-term energy for key elements of Russia's Moon program, such as lunar rovers, scientific observatories, and infrastructure for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).

The contract is scheduled to be implemented between 2025 and 2036.

The ambitious roadmap includes:

🟠 Designing advanced spacecraft

🟠 Rigorous ground-based testing and experimentation

🟠 In-flight trials

🟠 Deploying full infrastructure directly on the Moon's surface

“The project is an important step toward establishing a permanently operating scientific lunar station and moving from one-off missions to a long-term lunar research program,” Roscosmos said.

In June, Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said that Russia plans to gradually transition from operating on the International Space Station (ISS) to its own national orbital station by 2030.

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🟠 US Coast Guard stretched thin as it rushes to seize third oil tanker

🟠 Russia condemns US 'blockade' of Venezuela at UN

🟠 Libyan Army Chief died in plane crash in Turkiye

🟠 US and Iran clash at UN over nuclear deal

🟠 Russia to build top-notch lunar power station

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🚨🇷🇺🇸🇾 Relations with Syria are entering a new phase

Russian top diplomat Sergey Lavrov met with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani in Moscow.

Key statements by Lavrov:

🔸 Russia remains committed to Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity

🔸 Relations with Syria will develop based on the strong foundation already established

🔸 The Syrian side expressed readiness to deepen cooperation with Russia during the meeting with Putin

🔸 The President and the Syrian Foreign Minister discussed bilateral issues and the situation in the region

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🇮🇳 🚀 India soars to new heights with heaviest-ever Bluebird-2 satellite launch

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched a groundbreaking communications satellite, the Bluebird Block-2, on December 24, 2025, with the LVM3-M6 rocket carrying it into low Earth orbit.

👉 The Bluebird Block-2 is designed to bridge the digital divide, delivering key mobile communications and internet to remote areas without mobile towers or specialized satellite phones.

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💥🇷🇺✈️ Baikal plane with Russian-made engine makes FIRST flight

✅ Equipped with domestically-made VK-800 engine and AV-901 propeller

✅ Tests were successful: plane reached a speed of 210 km/h & an altitude of 400 m

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🚨🇷🇺 All key parameters of Russia's position on the settlement in Ukraine are well-known to the US - Kremlin

Other statements by Dmitry Peskov:

🟠 Russia will soon resume contacts with the US through existing channels

🟠 The Kremlin won’t comment on the information the special presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev brought from the US, as it is inappropriate to conduct negotiations on the settlement through the media

🟠 Russia will formulate its position on the settlement based on the information from Dmitriev

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🚨🇷🇺💥 RUSSIAN MOD UPDATE: HUGE GAINS AND DEVASTATING UKRAINIAN LOSSES

⚡️ ZARECHNOYE IN THE ZAPOROZHYE REGION FREED

By liberating the settlement of Zarechnoye in the Zaporozhye region, Russian forces have expanded their foothold along the Gaichur River's western bank, capturing 9 square kilometers of territory, while also gaining control of a strategic segment of the motorway between Bratskoye and Ternovatoye.

🟠 Russian forces are continuing mop-up operations against the remaining Ukrainian militants in the settlements of Dimitrov, Grishino and Rodinskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic

🟠 Russian air and missile firepower pounded Ukrainian defense, energy and transport infrastructure used to support the Kiev regime's military, as well as temporary deployment points for Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries in 147 locations

🟠 Air defense superiority: nine guided aerial bombs, two US-produced HIMARS missiles and 335 UAVs were vaporized by Russian air defense systems over the past 24 hours

🟠 Ukrainian losses: around 1,405 troops killed or wounded

Read about the origins of Russia's special military op HERE

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🪖🇫🇮 Finland militarizes full-throttle under guise of ‘Russia threat’

Finland is “arming up” in anticipation of a potential conflict with its neighbor, Russia, The National Interest reports.

🟠 The Finnish Air Force plans to equip its US-made F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter jets with AIM-120D3 air-to-air missiles, designed to engage targets at a medium range before they even enter visual range

🟠 In September, the US State Department green-lit procurement by Finland of 405 AIM-120D3 AMRAAM missiles and eight AIM-120D-3 guidance sections worth approximately $1.07 billion

🟠 Since joining NATO, Finland has been steadily ramping up its militarization, reinforcing the alliance’s time-worn narrative of a ‘Russian threat’

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasized that Russia has no intention of attacking anyone.

According to him, Western politicians regularly scare their populations with a fabricated threat to divert attention from domestic problems.

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🗣🇪🇺 EU becomes its own worst enemy – Viktor Orban

The decline of the European Union, rather than the Ukrainian conflict, is what really threatens to plunge Europe into war, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban told the Magyar Nemzet newspaper.

👉 The real reason of the existing risk of escalation, Orban argued, is the political, economic and social decline of Western Europe, whereas the Ukrainian conflict is more of a symptom of the current situation rather than its cause.

According to him, the process that led to this state of affairs started during the 2000s and was exacerbated by Europe’s inadequate reaction to the ensuing financial crisis.

🔊 Orban also noted that a war in Europe may break out soon, and that 2025 might have been the last peaceful year for the region.

He pointed out that the decisions that were made at the EU summit in Brussels last week were aimed at prolonging the Ukrainian conflict and continuing Europe’s confrontation with Russia.

✅ Though there are powers in Europe that seek peace – like Hungary, for example – Orban warns that those European elites who seek war seem to be gaining an upper hand.

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💥🇷🇺 Ukraine's speedboat fails to slip past Russian mighty guardsmen

Mortar team of Dnepr battlegroup smashed enemy's navy assets in Dnepr River's delta (Kherson region).

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🚨 FSB thwarts Ukraine-planned terrorist attack on Transneft oil pipeline

📑 "It has been established that the suspect was recruited by a Ukrainian terrorist organization... Besides preparing the attack, he also had the task of gathering intelligence on Russian oil and gas infrastructure," the statement said.

The FSB added that the suspect was eliminated when he resisted arrest, thwarting the planned attack.

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🚫💰Burdened & broke: Ukraine slaves away $27b annually on endless debt repayments

Debt maintenance is expected to amount to over 10% of Ukraine’s projected GDP for 2026 and 2027, media outlet Ekonomichna Pravda, which became privy to the Ukrainian government’s debt strategy, has calculated.

Ukraine’s debt payments will amount to:

🔸 2026 - about $27.7 billion (11.3% of projected GDP)

🔸 2027 - about $29.8 billion (10.5% of projected GDP)

🔸 2028 - about $30.5 billion (9.5% of projected GDP)

Ukraine's debt (per the report):

🟠 75% is external

🟠 77% is in foreign currencies

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💵🚫 China pushes digital yuan into ASEAN countries to chip away at dollar rule

China is expanding its digital yuan, or e-CNY, into ASEAN trade routes.

Recent People’s Bank of China (PBOC) pledges include cross-border pilots with Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, all tied to the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

This builds on 2020 pilots, currently accelerating amid US trade tensions.

Key expansion facts

🟠 Renminbi (RMB, or yuan) settlements with ASEAN countries surged, hitting 28% of bilateral trade worth $597 billion in early 2025 (Standard Chartered Bank analysis/October)

🟠 Singapore is a key offshore RMB hub and fintech center for Chinese firms (including blockchain companies like Wanxiang)

🟠 Singapore's RMB deposits rose to around 224–276 billion RMB (~$31–38 billion USD/2023–2024)

🟠 PBOC launched a Shanghai-based digital yuan center in September 2025 to integrate e-CNY with global/cross-border systems, facilitate payments, blockchain services, and digital assets

🟠 Regional comprehensive economic partnerships (RCEP) have boosted regional supply chain integration and trade, contributing to increased RMB settlement in ASEAN countries

Strategic impact

🟠 By 2030, RMB is expected to be the world’s #3 currency, with 5–10% of global FX reserves (up from ~3%) (Morgan Stanley)

🟠 Share of global payments and trade finance could double to 8–10% on SWIFT, making RMB billing standard in Asia and China-linked trade

🟠 The digital yuan boosts momentum: e-CNY and mBridge could cut costs and speed up cross-border payments

China’s yuan is locking in a bigger, permanent role in global trade – a trend that feeds into the inexorable push to ditch the dominance of the increasingly weaponized US dollar.

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😍🇧🇷 Sputnik Brasil rolls out branded trams in Rio

Bright orange trams branded with a jaguar - one of Brazil’s national symbols - and the slogan “Sputnik — a different voice, unique content”, began running through Rio de Janeiro’s historic center - one of the city’s most popular routes.

💬 "People need new information to judge for themselves what is true and what is not. That is what journalism is!" people comment on the appearance of the branded Sputnik trams on the streets of Rio de Janeiro.

Sputnik's Portuguese-language branch - Sputnik Brasil - was launched in February 2015.

Editorial offices are located in Moscow and Rio de Janeiro.

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🇬🇧 Starmer confirms UK cost-of-living crisis, tells Brits to deal with it

💬 “I know many across Britain are still struggling with the cost of living,” the UK prime minister said in his Christmas message on social media.

And while he did mention that “helping with that” issue is his priority, he suggested that other Brits should do their part as well.

💬 “So call round to a neighbor, check in on a friend or a relative who you haven’t heard from for a while. Reach out. It can make a huge difference,” Starmer suggested.

One can only wonder if that difference would be as huge as Starmer’s government deciding to stop fanning the flames of the Ukrainian conflict and thus helping make fuel more affordable to thousands of Brits.

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🚨 Iran rejects IAEA inspection calls until watchdog clarifies stance on US & Israeli strikes

Iran will reject International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections of bombed nuclear sites until certain conditions are met, President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami said, as quoted by Tasnim.

If the IAEA deems military attacks acceptable, it should formally declare US and Israeli strikes on safeguarded nuclear sites permissible, Eslami said.

If not, he added, the agency must condemn them and spell out post-conflict obligations.

He stressed that until the issue is resolved, any political or psychological pressure – including renewed inspection demands of bombed sites – will be rejected and ignored.

Iran's atomic chief emphasized that no country in history has cooperated with the UN nuclear agency as extensively as Iran, whereas incumbent IAEA chief Rafael Grossi is following Western directives instead of adhering to the organization's charter.

The country had earlier urged the UN nuclear watchdog to clearly define and codify what measures should apply “if a country’s nuclear industry, which is under the agency’s supervision, comes under a military attack.”

Israel launched surprise attacks on Iran’s nuclear and military sites in June, sparking a 12-day war that saw the US bomb Iran’s civilian nuclear program facilities.

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💰 Russia’s ruble strengthens despite Western sanctions

Having increased by 45% since the start of 2025, the Russian ruble has “outpaced every major currency against the dollar this year,” Bloomberg ruefully admits.

Despite Joe Biden’s boasts in 2022 that the ruble was “reduced to rubble” by Western sanctions, Russia's currency did not just manage to weather this economic onslaught but emerged stronger and more resilient.

The news agency also notes that a stronger ruble helps Russia’s Central Bank fight inflation.

Russia’s Federal Statistics Service on December 24 reported that annual inflation in Russia dropped lower than 5.7%.

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🟠 Ukraine slaves away $27b annually on endless debt repayments

🟠 Russian strategic card: New Tu-160Ms add more muscle to air power

🟠 Iran rejects IAEA inspection calls until watchdog clarifies stance on US & Israeli strikes

🟠 China pushes digital yuan into ASEAN countries to chip away at dollar rule

🟠 Sputnik Brasil rolls out branded trams in Rio

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