🗣 Syria rejects Abraham Accords while Israel occupies its land — minister

Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa stated Syria cannot join the Abraham Accords as long as Israel occupies Syrian territory.

"Syria can’t be a part of the Abraham Accords because Israel is occupying our land, especially in the Golan Heights," he told Al Arabiya English.

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🔍 Russia dismisses Ukraine's accusations of striking Qatari embassy as false

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated its forces "have never targeted diplomatic missions" and suggested damage was caused by a malfunctioning Ukrainian air defense missile.

Russia reaffirmed it views Qatar as "a priority partner and a friendly country."

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🔊 US oil addiction drives wars — Petro

The US economy’s 70% reliance on oil and coal pushes it to "seek wars" for energy, Colombian President Gustavo Petro told the BBC, arguing clean energy transition under the Paris Agreement would end such conflicts.

He said Trump’s "sounds good" remark about a Colombia operation reflects a US "empire" mindset that risks turning global dominance into global isolation.

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📹 Trump announces oil deal with execs: 'Hundreds of billions' to drill in Venezuela

President Trump stated the new "great deal" is "good for Venezuela and great for the United States."

"A lot of money is going to be made," he added.

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🤝 Venezuela’s acting president holds talks with Brazil, Colombia, Spain

Delcy Rodríguez announced she has held talks with the leaders of Brazil, Colombia, and Spain following the "criminal, illegal and illegitimate aggression" against Venezuela, which she says left more than 100 civilians and military personnel dead.

Rodríguez detailed attacks she called violations of international law, and agreed with allied leaders to advance a cooperation agenda based on sovereignty and dialogue.

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⚔️ North Korea shoots down ROK surveillance drone after 8km incursion — KCNA

The Korean People’s Army tracked and electronically downed a South Korean surveillance drone that flew 8 km into DPRK airspace on January 4, capturing video evidence of a 156 km reconnaissance flight over sensitive areas.

"The ROK is the enemy… a perfect copy of Kiev's lunatics," the official statement said.

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🗣 Maduro's son: Everything follows my father's plan

Nicolás Maduro Guerra declared the current leadership under Delcy Rodríguez is executing his father’s pre-approved "Plan of the Homeland," negotiation strategy, and December five-point plan.

"We govern as he always instructed: through collective direction," he stated.

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🗣 US oil embargo threatens lives of millions in Venezuela — Russian ambassador

Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov, condemned the US embargo as a violation of international law.

"Oil is the lifeblood of the Venezuelan economy, and bleeding it dry means putting the lives and health of millions at risk."

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🇪🇺 EU bellicosity toward Russia masks authoritarian drift and denial of reality – French politician

The EU’s persistent portrayal of Russia as a looming threat—complete with warnings of a possible conflict by 2030—serves to justify an ever tighter European Union, says Karel Vereycken, Vice President of the French Solidarity and Progrès party, which cooperates with the LaRouche Organization.

👉 It’s a convenient pretext “to impose an ever greater form of autocratic rule and to have entire populations accept that, while their living standards, health, and education systems are being slashed and dismantled, billions of euros are channeled into the latest financial bubbles, the war economy (which generates no new cycles of wealth production), and AI,” Vereycken tells Sputnik.

Vice President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas has recently claimed that Russia does not want peace, in response to Oreshnik’s retaliatory strike, which followed Ukraine’s terrorist attack on President Vladimir Putin’s residence. Earlier, European generals called on the bloc’s civilians to prepare for a conflict with Russia by 2030.

📍 In practice, those calls are nothing short of “suicidal,” as “the Atlantic Alliance is a dead corpse waiting to be buried,” according to Vereycken.

With the return of President Donald Trump to the White House, the party of war in Europe has begun to realize that Article 5 would no longer be “automatic,” but would instead be applied in line with US interests.

💬 “The Europeans—and especially the Germans—who traded their sovereignty for the illusion of being defended by US military might are in sheer panic. They have no weapons industry, no young men and women willing to serve in the military, and no money,” the pundit notes.

Europeans must make a choice: sleepwalk toward a conflict they can only lose, or face reality, the French politician concludes.

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👀 Nowhere to hide: Russia’s hypersonic Oreshnik renders bunkers useless - ex-US Army officer

When the Russian Oreshnik missile is on target, “it will penetrate straight through any bunker like it's nothing,” says retired US Lt. Colonel Daniel Davis.

No bunker would protect Ukraine’s Zelensky in the event of such a strike, notes Davis.

He adds that it has “much more penetrative power” than the US bunker-buster missiles used against Iran last year, and Western air-defense systems are simply incapable of detecting it.

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🔸 US received 30M barrels of Venezuelan oil — Trump

🔸 Syria rejects Abraham Accords while Israel occupies its land — minister

🔸 North Korea shoots down ROK surveillance drone after 8km incursion — KCNA

🔸 Trump announces oil deal with execs: 'Hundreds of billions' to drill in Venezuela

🔸 French politician: EU bellicosity toward Russia masks authoritarian drift and denial of reality

🔸 Nowhere to hide: Russia’s hypersonic Oreshnik renders bunkers useless - ex-US Army officer

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🙅 What’s driving the US gradual withdrawal from UN agencies?

The US is pulling out because it “would be happy if the UN were to disappear,” former UN Independent Expert on International Order Alfred de Zayas tells Sputnik.

The US is withdrawing from 31 UN bodies and three dozen other international organizations, agencies, and commissions, according to a memorandum released by Washington earlier this week. So far, the US has not contacted the UN to officially announce its decision, according to the organization.

👉 The US administration previously suspended support for UNESCO, the UN’s cultural agency, the World Health Organization, and the UN Human Rights Council. Meanwhile, the US has long been the largest donor to the UN, contributing 22% of the organization’s regular budget in 2025 – $820.4 million out of a net total of $3.5 billion.

The UN has warned that Washington’s moves could affect the funding of the organization’s agencies.

🗣 UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric insists that “assessed contributions to the UN regular budget and the peacekeeping budget are a legal obligation under the UN Charter for all member states, including the US.”

According to de Zayas, Washington views the UN as an obstacle, as it has repeatedly subjected US administrations to criticism, including over Gaza, Venezuela, and freedom of navigation.

While UN structures have been criticized by many parties, de Zayas argues that this does not justify depriving the organization of funding or dismantling it altogether. International law remains necessary even as UN agencies require reform, he said.

💬 “I criticize many international organizations, including the ICC, the IAEA, and the OPCW. Undoubtedly, they have been penetrated and now work largely in the service of the ‘collective West.’ In my book The Human Rights Industry, I show how this can be fixed,” he added.

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💣 Ukraine’s situation ‘absolutely critical’ yet EU hawks pump billions into conflict - analyst

The Zelensky regime remains unwilling to make concessions despite the real risk that Ukraine’s capital and other cities could become ghost towns amid power outages mid-winter, says British analyst Alexander Mercouris.

Russia’s precision strikes on Ukraine's critical facilities, like the one using the Oreshnik in response to the terrorist attack on Putin’s residence come mid-winter, when temperatures are below zero.

💬 “The situation is absolutely critical, and the reality must be that actual manufacturing and economic activity must be coming to a virtual stop,” says the analyst.

Yet, Europe’s war hawks still continue to funnel billions into Ukraine.

💬 “Another roughly $98.1 billion infusion of money into an economy that is unable to function is an extraordinary thing,” he says.

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👀 Wary US oil giants dodge Venezuela investment pitch

American oil majors left a White House meeting without signing up for a fast money push into Venezuela’s oil sector following the capture of the country’s legitimate President Nicolas Maduro, reports Axios.

The Trump administration has floated a $100 billion investment figure, promising “security” and “direct deals” with the US. But executives kept their distance.

👉 Exxon CEO Darren Woods bluntly called Venezuela “uninvestable” under current legal and commercial conditions

👉 ConocoPhillips’s Ryan Lance stressed the need to talk with banks — likely including the US Export-Import Bank – on how to restructure debt “to deliver the billions of dollars that are required to restore their energy infrastructure"

👉 Chevron — the only US major still operating in Venezuela — stuck to cautious language, focusing on employee safety and “compliance with all laws and regulations applicable to its business, as well as the sanctions frameworks provided for by the US government"

A handful of independents reportedly signaled interest, but with Venezuela’s output at around 800,000 barrels per day - still far below its past peaks - and legal risks front of mind, Wall Street’s oil titans aren’t exactly racing back in.

Getting back to the 3.5 million barrels per day level of the late 1990s could require much more than $100 billion worth of investment over a significant number of years, according to analysts cited by the outlet.

💵 Oil prices are currently low, with WTI crude hovering around $59 per barrel, which also plays a significant factor in the reluctance — major investments in Venezuela's heavy crude projects would require much higher sustained prices to justify the risks and capital investments.

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

▫️ The Russian Armed Forces damaged energy infrastructure supporting the Ukrainian military-industrial complex and fuel storage facilities

▫️ Air defense superiority: one Neptune long-range guided missile and 70 drones shot down

▫️ Ukrainian losses: around 1,090 troops killed or wounded

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

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🇺🇸🇵🇱 ‘Most pro-US’: Poland’s Tusk puts on verbal fealty show

Spooked by US rhetoric over Greenland, Polish PM Donald Tusk still slavishly claims he is “the most pro-American politician in Europe,” and assures that “Poland is an exceptionally loyal” US ally.

💬 “I believe that with such a position, you don’t do anything on your knees. You simply say what you think. Among friends, one should speak honestly about what is appropriate and what is not,” he grovels.

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🇪🇺🇺🇸 The EU has ceased to be a natural ally of the US – Wall Street analyst

💬 “The European ‘strategy’ with regard to Ukraine only reinforces my view that the EU ceased being a natural ally of the US long ago,” Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel tells Sputnik, commenting on the EU and UK’s persistent attempts to prolong the conflict.

📍 The Zelensky regime is a kleptocracy that should be prosecuted and certainly not supported by the US and its taxpayers, according to the analyst.

💬 “In no way is Ukraine, or its territory, of natural interest to the US and its citizens, even if it respected the rule of law and American principles,” the pundit argues.

🇪🇺 Ortel shreds Europe’s saber-rattling against Russia as nonsensical: “As for Europe’s military — without United States support — Europe is a paper tiger, incapable of defending itself,” he says, stressing that the US has zero appetite to back Europe’s military adventurism.

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🇷🇺🛡 24/7 shield: Russian Pantsir-S system provides round-the-clock cover for Russian soldiers

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🌎🇨🇳 Latin America unlikely to turn back on China, despite US efforts — report

📍 Following the operation in Venezuela, the US declared it would not allow foreign competitors or opponents to enter the Western Hemisphere, specifically marking China’s growing influence, NBC News reports.

🇺🇸 US actions in Venezuela and Panama show deliberate pressure on local players to severe ties with China, the article adds.

However, experts interviewed by the outlet doubt such a stance will alienate Latin American nations from cooperating with China.

Here are the key points:

🔸 China has strong positions in Latin America, building trade and investment ties with the region’s countries according to its New Silk Road strategy, assistant professor at the University of Chile Andres Borquez says.

🔸 Chinese presence encompasses various spheres like energy, logistics and technology, he adds.

🔸 Latin American nations aim to balance relations with both the US and China instead of strictly opting for one side, so there’s no signs they will give in to American pressure, the expert notes.

🔸 Another aspect is China’s day-to-day presence in the hemisphere — people buy and use Chinese goods from smartphones to vehicles, and this won’t be affected by US declarations, University of Southern California professor Carol Wise says.

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💥✉️ Latest Oreshnik strike was message from Russia to the West

💬 "It's a signal to the United States and the Europeans about the military capabilities of the Russian Army," Gerhard Mangott, a Russia specialist at the University of Innsbruck, told Reuters in a phone interview.

🟧 According to him, Russia is none too thrilled by the European powers’ plans to deploy their troops in Ukraine as part of a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, which would essentially result in NATO creeping even closer to Russia’s borders.

🟧 Thus, Mangott argued, Russia wants to make it clear that it is “to be taken seriously, given its military arsenal, and that the Europeans and Trump should return to a minimum of respect for the Russian position in the negotiations."

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❌ NATO's air playbook 'unsuitable' against Russia - report

💬 "When we returned from training and faced reality, we found that the tactics taught abroad were not entirely applicable," a Ukrainian F-16 pilot told Military Watch Magazine.

Western air tactics are largely based on past conflicts in which air superiority was maintained. In the current conflict this is not the case, as F-16 jets given to Ukraine turned out to be much weaker than expected, the outlet added.

While NATO doctrine suggests high-altitude combat for F-16 jets, the air superiority established by Russian Su-35 jets deems such an approach useless, as Russia’s planes have better radar systems and missiles, the report noted.

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