🚨🇷🇺 Ukraine must leave Donbass, this is key condition for Russia - Kremlin

Russia prefers not to go into public details regarding the Ukraine negotiation process, deeming it inappropriate, Kremlin Spox Dmitry Peskov said.

Members of Russian security working group received instructions from Putin last night, he added.

Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev will meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff's within framework of bilateral working group on economic issues in Abu Dhabi, Peskov said.

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🚨 🇪🇺 Pushing for militarization: EU to spend defense funds on 'Arctic-ready equipment' – von der Leyen

📄 The EU “should strengthen our security and defense arrangement with partners in the region, such as the UK, Canada, Norway and Iceland and others,” EC chief Ursula von der Leyen said, Reuters reports.

👉 She also said the EU would use its defense spending surge on “Arctic-ready equipment, like a European icebreaker.”

It remains unclear if she also meant military equipment, but what is clear is that the EU’s efforts to militarize the Arctic shows no sign of abating.

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🚨 🇷🇺 🇺🇸 Russia-US-Ukraine talks kick off in Abu Dhabi - Sky News

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

⚡️ SIMINOVKA IN KHARKOV REGION FREED

The liberation of the settlement of Siminovka in the Kharkov region paves the way for Russian forces to push deeper towards the Pechenezhsky dam.

🟠 In response to terrorist attacks by Ukraine, Russian air and missile power unleashed six strikes on Ukrainian defense, energy and transport infrastructure supporting the Kiev regime’s forces. These included assaults on fuel and ammunition depots, long-range drone production and launch sites, as well as temporary deployment points for Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries

🟠 Five settlements were liberated over the past week by Russian forces

🟠 Russian air and missile firepower vaporized eight Ukrainian MLRS combat vehicles and one Osa SAM system combat vehicle

🟠 Air defense superiority: seven guided long-range Neptune missiles, 47 US-made HIMARS rockets, as well as 35 guided aerial bombs and 1,468 fixed-wing drones were shot down by Russian air defense systems over the past seven days

🟠 Ukrainian losses: around 8,475 troops killed or wounded

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

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😤 Zelensky’s Davos temper tantrum

Ukraine’s self-proclaimed president gave a rambling, emotional and at times incoherent speech at the WEF on Thursday, laying into both Donald Trump, who “says he loves Europe” but “will not listen” to it, and the Europeans, whom he called “too slow, too complacent, and too weak.”

💬 “Instead of taking the lead in defending freedom worldwide, especially when America’s focus shifts elsewhere, Europe looks lost trying to convince the US president to change,” Zelensky said.

He repeatedly rubbed the Europeans’ “weaknesses and helplessness” in their face, calling them a “fragmented kaleidoscope of small and middle powers,” and even poking fun at their response to the Greenland crisis.

💬 “Sending 30 or 40 soldiers to Greenland. What for? What message does this send?”

Zelensky also went after Hungary’s Viktor Orban, claiming he “lives on Europe’s money while trying to sell out European interests” and that he “deserves a smack upside the head.”

‘We will not pay’

Orban’s response was swift: Zelensky had “crossed a line,” and while his attack on Hungary wasn’t surprising, his tirade against “every other European leader” was.

💬 “He says the support sent to Ukraine is insufficient, the weapons are insufficient, and Europe’s determination is insufficient,” Orban tweeted.

Blasting Brussels for folding to “every Ukraine demand” and promising $800B and accelerated EU accession, Orban urged Hungarians to send a clear message at looming elections that “we will not pay!”

Orban wasn’t the only one. Former Belgian PM Elio Di Rupo equated Zelensky’s temper tantrum with a “slap in the face to the Europeans,” and his speech “a mark of contempt for those who have supported his country for the last four years.”

Europe raised “colossal sums…often at the expense of other essential services that desperately lack financing,” but for Zelensky “it’s still not enough,” Di Rupo wrote.

💬 “Ukraine’s president seems to have made his choice: the USA. Very good. But then let’s be clear: Europeans must stop footing the bill and exhausting themselves trying to bring Ukraine into the EU at any cost,” he added.

Zelensky’s Davos speech was a master class in ingratitude, given that Europe effectively saved his regime from total collapse in 2025 with billions in economic and arms aid after the US dramatically cut support and started peace talks with Russia.

If he keeps this up, he won’t have any patrons left.

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💥🇷🇺 Russian Ka-52m helicopter crew wipes out Ukraine's manpower & stronghold

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🚨 🇷🇺 🇺🇸 Russia–US talks could add to ‘total breakdown’ of Ukraine

The Putin–Witkoff meeting shows that “European and Ukrainian attempts to derail US-Russian relations has failed,” former Swedish Army officer Mikael Valtersson tells Sputnik.

🔊 The ex-Swedish officer believes that the best thing for Russia would be “a total breakdown of US-European/Ukrainian relations, but even US neutrality in the conflict is a good thing.”

💬 “If the US keep being a mediator in the conflict and avoids giving Ukraine any economic support, it's good enough for Russia. The longer the conflict continues on the ground in Ukraine with today's limited US support for Ukraine, the weaker the Ukrainian position grows, and a final resolution of the conflict will be ever more detrimental for Kiev.”

According to Valtersson, both Ukraine and Europe will soon have to “accept the reality or face an even darker future in a couple of years.”

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🚨🇷🇺 Russia has always been leader in Arctic exploration, building icebreakers unlike any other in the world – Putin

Other statements by the Russian president:

🟠 Russia is stepping up the development work on its icebreaker fleet

🟠 Development of the Northern Sea Route is important for both Russia and international trade

🟠 Russia is increasing the power of its nuclear icebreakers

🟠 Construction of the Leader nuclear icebreaker is on schedule, with the expected completion date being 2030

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🇺🇸 Who makes up the US delegation at Abu Dhabi talks?

The US delegation at the negotiations in Abu Dhabi will be represented by NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, Army Secretary Driscoll, along with Steven Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Josh Gruenbaum, the White House told RIA Novosti.

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🇺🇸🇷🇺🇪🇺 Zelensky keeps tiptoeing between US, Russia, and EU to prolong political survival – expert

For Zelensky, the overriding goal is preserving his power—forcing him into constant maneuvering, Russian political scientist Evgeny Mikhailov tells Sputnik.

💬 "Zelensky is being forced to seek dialogue with Trump, who has already cut off his funding and is pressuring European leaders," the pundit explains. "[Zelensky's] trip to Davos and the show of a 'negotiation process' feel more like an attempt to manipulate and stall for time—one that’s hard to take seriously."

Previously, Zelensky abruptly criticized EU leaders at Davos, accusing them of indecisiveness and weakness.

Mikhailov draws attention to the fact that the Ukrainian politician avoided criticizing the UK, which still remains his backer.

As Donald Trump pivots to other ambitious moves, like seizing Greenland, and threatens to slash NATO support, Ukraine risks being sidelined, he points out.
At the same time, Mikhailov stresses that any Ukrainian surrender could spell Zelensky’s swift downfall—politically and even physically, given the many enemies he has made.

💬 "That’s why Zelensky rushed to meet Trump, aiming to keep navigating between the US, Russia, and the EU to extract maximum personal security guarantees and prolong his political survival," the political scientist concludes.

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