Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The remains of Russian citizen Roman Novak and his wife, who disappeared after being kidnapped and tortured, have been discovered in the United Arab Emirates. This was reported on December 1 by a source familiar with the investigation.
According to him, the couple's bodies were hidden in the desert.
"They were encased in concrete. The remains were found back in November," a source told KP-Petersburg.
Law enforcement agencies are currently considering whether to transfer the remains found to Russia for examination and subsequent burial.
Novak was a known crypto trader and had previously been convicted in St. Petersburg of large-scale fraud. After his release, he frequently visited the Emirates, where he lived with his family and worked on digital asset exchange projects.
The couple lost contact in October. According to media reports, their phones appeared in various locations, including Oman and South Africa, for a while after their disappearance, but then lost signal. It was suspected that their disappearance may have been related to an attempt to obtain large sums of cryptocurrency. NO! Reeeallly?
On November 7, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the arrest of several members of a criminal group suspected of kidnapping and murdering Novak and his wife. According to the agency, the suspects attempted to extort cryptocurrency from the couple, then killed them and hid their bodies in the desert. A criminal case has been opened for the murder of two or more persons, and arrests took place in St. Petersburg, the Krasnodar Territory, and the Stavropol Territory. Three suspects were remanded in custody.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] 22.39 The US peace plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine has been "seriously refined", and therefore Washington is "optimistic". White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said this during a briefing.
22.21 Special Operations Forces units successfully struck the Shahed storage and launch area near Cape Chauda in temporarily occupied Crimea on the night of November 28. The Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this and posted a corresponding video on their YouTube channel.
21.49 The European Union is preparing sanctions against Belarus over the launch of smuggled balloons into Lithuanian airspace. This is evidenced by a post by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in X.
21.38 Russian invaders are not giving up attempts to capture Pokrovsk and Mirnograd in Donetsk region. The situation is critical, the battle for the agglomeration is ongoing. This was reported by the DeepState monitoring project on Telegram.
21.25 The latest attacks on Russian "shadow fleet" vessels in the Black Sea are a worrying escalation of the situation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported.
20.56 In November, the Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed more than 31 thousand Russian soldiers, while the total losses of the Russian army since the beginning of the year exceeded 383 thousand. This was reported by the Ministry of Defense, citing information from the General Staff.
So, last month, our soldiers "removed" 31,190 occupiers.
"Since the beginning of 2025, the Russian army has lost more than 383,000 soldiers. Conditionally, this is equal to the number of 32 divisions - that is, about three divisions every month," the report noted.
20.37 Negotiations between Ukrainian and American diplomats in Florida, which took place on the eve of the visit to Moscow of US special representative Stephen Witkoff, did not bring progress on the key issue - territorial. ABC News reports this, citing informed sources.
Kyiv continues to refuse to cede Donbas, as the Kremlin insists. Russia, for its part, refuses to agree to any form of ceasefire.
19.49 Minister of Defense Denys Shmyhal met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels.
"The key issue is strengthening air defense. To deter Russian missile and drone terror, additional systems are needed, as well as missiles for them. We focused separately on the role of the PURL initiative, which is critically important for stable supplies," Shmyhal noted.
19.03 French President Emmanuel Macron announced the completion of work on security guarantees. He made this statement at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris.
17.52 Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov and head of the Ukrainian negotiating team in the United States reported to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the results of the two-day talks in Florida.
"We have managed to achieve significant progress, although some issues require further refinement," he said.
17.17 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a conversation with European partners, which was attended by France, Britain, Germany, Poland, Italy, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, representatives of the European Commission, the European Council, and the NATO Secretary General.
The politicians discussed the content of the negotiations between the Ukrainian delegation and the American side in Florida.
"We are preparing meetings in Europe. We agree that the war must be ended with dignity. It is important that there is progress in developing security guarantees and a long-term basis for our stability - both Ukraine and Europe. We will continue to coordinate," Zelenskyy said.
16:50 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a joint conversation with French leader Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, and US President's Special Representative Steve Witkoff.
"Just now, together with Emmanuel Macron - Keir Starmer was also in touch - we spoke with Rustem Umerov and Steve Witkoff about the results of the talks in Florida," Zelenskyy noted.
16.21 In the Novosibirsk and Bryansk regions of Russia, explosions occurred at critical railway facilities in late November, which complicated the logistics of the troops.
The explosions on November 20 and 28 destroyed fuel and lubricant warehouses and damaged the railway track, which in turn made it impossible for freight trains to move, in particular for the logistical support of the Russian army.
15.08 Minister of Defense Denys Shmyhal announced the launch of joint Ukrainian-Dutch production of drones.
Shmyhal signed the corresponding agreement today with the Minister of Defense of the Netherlands, Ruben Brekelmans.
The document paves the way for the joint production of Ukrainian unmanned systems both in Ukraine and in the Netherlands.
15.01 The number of people injured in the missile strike on the Dnieper has increased to 40 people. This was reported on December 1 by the acting head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA, Vladislav Gaivanenko. According to him, the vast majority of the injured are in hospitals. 11 of the wounded are in serious condition.
14.15 Air defense destroyed 9,707 air targets used by the Russian Federation to attack Ukraine in November 2025. This was reported by the command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the Ukrainian SSR. It is noted that 11 Kh-47 M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles were destroyed; 51 Kh-101 cruise missiles; 15 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles; 20 Kalibr cruise missiles; three Kh-59/69 guided aircraft missiles; 19 Iskander-K cruise missiles; 2,939 Shahed attack UAVs; 361 reconnaissance UAVs and 6,288 UAVs of other types.
13.39 A Russian agent has been detained who coordinated missile and drone attacks on Chernivtsi and called on the Russians to continue strikes throughout the western region. The SBU reports this. It is noted that the main task of the suspect was to search for and photograph and videotape local industrial enterprises, aviation infrastructure, and Ukrzaliznytsia facilities. The enemy agent turned out to be a 35-year-old unemployed man who was hiding from mobilization.
13.18 In Dnipro, the number of victims of the Russian missile attack has increased to four, and the number of injured has increased to 22.
13.02 Ukrainian military denied the statements of the Russian military leadership about the capture of the settlements of Stavky and Novoselivka in the Donetsk region. This was reported by the press service of the Third Army Corps.
"The command of the 20th Army and the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the alleged capture of the settlements of Stavka and Novoselivka in the area of responsibility of the 60th separate mechanized brigade of the Third Army Corps. And this is another information manipulation," the report says.
12.53 Russian occupiers attacked the Korabelny district of Kherson at night, there is damage to houses. This was reported by the head of the Kherson MVA Yaroslav Shanko on December 1. According to him, enemy shells damaged the houses of civilians - roofs were pierced and windows were broken.
12.40 In Dnipro, the number of people injured in the Russian missile attack has increased to 15. Three of them are receiving outpatient treatment, the rest are hospitalized. Six of the injured are in serious condition.
12.16 The Netherlands allocated €250 million under the PURL initiative to strengthen Ukraine's air defense, directing funds to air defense systems and ammunition for F-16s. This was announced by the Minister of Defense of the Netherlands, Ruben Brekelmans.
"Ukraine urgently needs additional military support to counter Russia's intensive air attacks. Therefore, the Netherlands is again allocating 250 million euros for supplies from American stocks (PURL): air defense systems, ammunition for F-16s, etc. In these crucial times, Ukraine can count on our support!" - Brekelmans said.
12.07 Drones attacked the city of Kaspiysk in the Russian Dagestan region on December 1. The Dagdizel defense plant is located near the site of the attack. This was reported by the Russian Air Force service. According to the head of the republic, Sergei Melikov, drones were allegedly shot down over the city of Kaspiysk on Monday. At the same time, he did not specify which targets were hit by the drones.
12.00 Three people were killed and eight injured in a rocket attack in Dnipro. Rescue operations are ongoing. A service station and an enterprise were previously reported to have been damaged.
11.23 As a result of a Russian drone attack in the Bilopol community, one person was killed and one was injured. This was reported by the head of the Sumy OVA, Oleh Hrygorov.
"This morning in the Bilopil community, a Russian drone hit a car carrying two civilians. Unfortunately, the 53-year-old driver died on the spot. The passenger received minor injuries," he wrote on Telegram.
10.58 Russian troops launched a missile strike on the Dnieper. An air alert has been declared in the region. The Ukrainian Air Force warned of a threat of an attack on the Dnieper.
10:45 GUR fighters conducted a successful operation in occupied Berdyansk, Zaporizhia region, where a concentration of Russian Guardsmen and enemy equipment were hit. This was reported by the press service of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense.
10.32 Counterintelligence of the Security Service prevented the contract killing of a reconnaissance soldier of the Defense Forces in Zaporizhia. An FSB agent was detained who was preparing the liquidation of a fighter of the elite reconnaissance unit of the Airborne Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The attacker attempted to plant an improvised explosive device (IED) in the soldier's apartment and then remotely detonate it.
The terrorist attack was prepared by a 44-year-old occupational safety engineer from a local medical facility recruited by the FSB. He rented out a room in which the soldier lived during his rotation after completing combat missions on the southern front.
After "reporting" this to the FSB, the agent was tasked with retrieving the explosives from the cache and secretly planting them near the front door of the military man's residence.
SBU officers uncovered the hostile plot in advance and detained the suspect while he was preparing the terrorist attack. During a search of his residence, an electric detonator and additional components for the SVP, as well as other evidence of contacts with the FSB, were seized.
10.14 After Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, power outages were recorded in several regions on the morning of December 1, including Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kherson regions.
Also, due to the failure of equipment previously damaged by Russian drones, subscribers in the Odessa region remain without electricity.
9.42 In Sevastopol (temporarily occupied Crimea), the command of the Russian Black Sea Fleet is dispersing fuel and lubricant warehouses after successful strikes by the Ukrainian Defense Forces. This was reported by the partisan movement ATESH.
9.40 On the night of December 1, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with 89 Shahed, Gerbera and other types of strike UAVs.
Air defenses shot down/suppressed 63 enemy Shahed, Gerber and other types of drones in the north, south and east of the country. 26 strike UAVs were recorded in nine locations.
9.21 Two people were injured in a Russian drone attack in Chernihiv region, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported on December 1.
8.54 Over the past 24 hours, 171 combat clashes between the Ukrainian Defense Forces and Russian invaders were recorded at the front. This was stated in a statement by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on December 1. It is noted that the missile troops and artillery of the Defense Forces struck two areas of concentration of Russian personnel, weapons, and military equipment.
8.37 Two people were injured as a result of Russian shelling of the village of Chrnobaivka on the morning of December 1. This was reported by the Kherson OVA.
8.16 As a result of a morning attack by Russian drones in Mykolaiv, a fire broke out on the roof of a multi-story building. This was reported by the head of the Mykolaiv OBA, Vitaly Kim, on December 1.
7.45 The Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed 1,060 Russian occupiers and 71 units of automotive equipment and tanker trucks over the past 24 hours. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02.22 to 01.12.25 were approximately 1,173,920 people.
02.02 US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine has corruption problems that "do not help" to end the war. At the same time, he said that now there is a "good chance" to conclude a peace agreement. He confirmed the visit of Steve Witkoff to Moscow, which is to take place after negotiations with the Ukrainian side in Miami.
01.00 All three Shaheds who attacked Vyshgorod, Kyiv region, last night were equipped with cluster munitions, reported radio technology specialist Serhiy "Flash" Beskrestnov. The State Emergency Service conducted a unique demining operation on the roof of a high-rise building in Vyshgorod. Cluster munitions from a Russian UAV were collected using a robot.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to fulfill their tasks, inflicting losses on the enemy in manpower and equipment.
There is no confirmed breakthrough deep into the Ukrainian defenses in the indicated areas of Donetsk region.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has denied the fake statements of the Russian Ministry of Defense about the alleged capture of the settlement of Klynove in the Donetsk region and significant losses of Ukrainian equipment. The General Staff's message, published on the Telegram channel on the evening of Monday, December 1, emphasized that the information about the "capture of Klynove" is unreliable.
It is noted that the Russian Defense Ministry has once again spread another fake about the alleged "advance" and "liberation" of settlements in the Donetsk region, in particular Klinovoe. Such informational injections are part of the regular Russian propaganda practice that has been ongoing since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
"According to the logic of the Russian statement, their units should have "advanced", capturing the settlement of Vyrolyubivka along the way, which in reality has not happened."
The General Staff also denied claims about significant losses of Ukrainian armored vehicles, pointing out that such reports are often spread without any evidence.
The situation in the region remains under the control of the Defense Forces. There are no recorded breakthroughs in the Ukrainian positions indicated in these reports. Ukrainian units are carrying out their tasks, inflicting losses on the enemy in manpower and equipment. The General Staff emphasizes that the Russian information "victories", which are announced daily, do not correspond to the real situation on the battlefield.
It was previously reported that Russian invaders have advanced in the Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kharkiv regions. This was stated by analysts of the Ukrainian monitoring project DeepState.
We will remind, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that during the week, a search and destruction of the enemy was carried out directly in the city of Pokrovsk on an area of about 11.5 sq. km.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 21:59 Fighters of the Center group of forces day and night are conducting active destruction of enemy infantry and equipment.
In support of the offensive, attack drone operators carry out precise strikes on targets.
21:37 LBS adjustment. Shakhovo and Suvorovo under the control of the Russian Armed Forces, –MAP.
21:31 Kupyansk direction. Adjustments have been made to the LCS. After the Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group entered Kurilovka, the village itself was not consolidated; the Ukrainian Armed Forces have regained control of the eastern part of the village. Meanwhile, the Russian Armed Forces are advancing toward Petropavlovka from the eastern side, gradually occupying strongholds and burned-out forests.MAP.
20:01 FPV drone operator with the call sign "Flash" old, why hunting enemy "birds" in the sky sometimes turns out to be much more difficult than destroying ground targets.
19:11 A Ukrainian Armed Forces combat vehicle was hit by three FPV drone strikes in a forested area near the village of Khrapovshchyna in Sumy Oblast, video.
18:38 A crew of the 122mm BM-21 Grad MLRS, airborne artillerymen of the Dnepr group of forces destroyed enemy UAV control points in the Orekhov area in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Rocket artillery from the Vostok group of forces hit a Ukrainian Armed Forces stronghold in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
17:22 Advance of the Russian Armed Forces in the Dobropolsky direction, –MAP.
17:09 UAV operators of the Eastern Forces Group destroyed heavy hexacopters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Drone crews from the Vostok group of forces distributed propaganda leaflets over the village of Gulyaipole calling for an end to resistance.
Drone operators from the Southern Group of Forces destroyed a UAV control center, a drone control antenna, and an enemy fuel and lubricants depot in the Seversky direction.
FPV drone operators from the Western Group of Forces destroyed Ukrainian Armed Forces equipment in the Khar'kov region.
UAV crews from the Northern Forces Group burned an enemy buggy and robotic platform in the Khar'kov and Sumy regions.
Drone operators, operating as part of the Dnepr troop group, scored precise hits on Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel in the Orekhov area.
Drone operators from the Rubicon Center destroyed strongholds and temporary deployment points, automobile and armored vehicles, as well as elements of the communication system of Ukrainian Armed Forces units in the Sumy direction.
16:55 Advance of the Russian Armed Forces near Dimitrov, –MAP.
15:54 For November 2025, the RF Armed Forces released 750 sq. km of territory.
15:34 Crews of towed howitzers 152mm "Msta-B" of the motorized rifle regiment of the "North" group of forces destroyed temporary deployment points with Ukrainian Armed Forces manpower in the Khar'kov direction.
13:39 Khar'kov region.Volchansk
Russian assault forces are completing the clearing of the city's outskirts. The entire location and outskirts are under our complete control.
The Russian Armed Forces are also conducting assault operations in the area of the village of Melovoe, Kupyansky district.
12:15 Summary of Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of the Special Military Operation as of December 1, 2025
Units of the North group of forces defeated formations of three mechanized brigades, an airborne assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and a territorial defense brigade in the areas of the settlements of Sadki, Kondratovka, Ryzhevka, Barilovka, Khoten, and Novaya Sich in the Sumy region.
In the Khar'kov direction, units of the mechanized and motorized infantry brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were defeated in the area of the village of Volchansk in the Khar'kov region.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost over 210 servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, 13 vehicles, and an artillery piece.
Units of the "West" force grouping have improved their tactical position. They have inflicted losses on the personnel and equipment of three mechanized brigades, two assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a territorial defense brigade, and a National Guard brigade near the settlements of Kupyansk-Uzlovaya, Monachinovka, Blagodatovka, and Osinovo in the Khar'k0v region, and Drobyshevo and Yarovaya in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy lost over 230 troops, 13 vehicles, and three field artillery pieces. Seventeen electronic warfare stations, a US-made AN/TPQ-50 counter-battery radar, and five ammunition depots were destroyed.
Units of the Southern Group of Forces advanced deep into enemy defenses and liberated the village of Klinovoe in the Donetsk People's Republic.
Formations of two mechanized, airmobile, assault, mountain assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a naval infantry brigade were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Seversk, Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, Zakotnoye, Stepanovka, Reznikovka and Konstantinovka of the Donetsk People's Republic.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost over 210 service members and five armored combat vehicles, including a Stryker armored personnel carrier and two US-made M113 armored personnel carriers. Nine vehicles, four field artillery pieces, two electronic warfare stations, and two supply depots were destroyed.
Units of the Center Forces Group have improved their position along the forward edge. They have inflicted losses on the personnel and equipment of six mechanized, infantry, airmobile, airborne, and airborne assault brigades, three assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a naval infantry brigade, two territorial defense brigades, and three National Guard brigades near the settlements of Artemovka, Rodinske, Belitskoye, Maryevka, Gruzskoye, Belozerskoye, Krasnoarmeysk, and Dimitrov in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to 480 servicemen, three combat armored vehicles, three cars and an artillery piece.
Units of the "East" force group have occupied more advantageous positions and lines. Formations of two assault brigades and three assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been defeated near the settlements of Dobropillya, Varvarivka, and Huliaipole in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The enemy lost over 210 servicemen, two armored combat vehicles, 12 cars and a warehouse of supplies.
Units of the Dnepr group of forces inflicted losses on the manpower and equipment of the mechanized brigade and coastal defense brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Orekhov, Lukyanivske in the Zaporizhzhia region and Kazatskoe in the Kherson region.
Up to 75 Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen, nine vehicles and a warehouse of supplies were destroyed.
11:05 On frames OK strike of FAB-1500 on the antitank missile system of the 38th Separate Naval Infantry Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Myrnohrad.
09:13 Training unit of the unmanned systems troops of the Leningrad Military District improves drone control skills at one of the training grounds in the Leningrad region.
07:31 Changes on map over the past 24 hours:
Russian Armed Forces entered the northern part of Gulyaipole.
Advance in Grishino
Expansion of the control zone in Vovchansk, Vilcha and Liman
Advance in Stepnogorsk
Russian Armed Forces entered the village of Dibrova
07:25 During the past night, in the period from 23:30 Moscow time on November 30 to 7:00 on December 1, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 32 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles:
Four UAVs over the Belgorod Region,
Four UAVs over the Bryansk Region,
Four UAVs over the Krasnodar Region,
Four UAVs over the Novgorod Region,
Four UAVs over the Rostov Region,
Three UAVs over the Sea of Azov,
Three UAVs over the Leningrad Region,
Two UAVs over the Voronezh Region,
One UAV over the Volgograd Region,
One UAV over the Kursk Region,
One UAV over the Smolensk Region,
One UAV over the Tula Region.
06:17 TOS-1A "Solntsepek" crew of the "Center" force group completed a salvo of 220mm rockets fired at strongholds of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Krasnoarmeysk direction.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] The corruption crisis rocking Ukraine has deepened after it emerged Volodymyr Zelensky's new peace talks chief has been caught up in the £76million scandal.
Anti-corruption agencies NABU and SAPO have been investigating allegations that a group of eight people, including Ukrainian government officials, were collecting bribes from the state nuclear power company, Energoatom.
The group of officials are said to have collected 10-15 per cent of the value of each contract given, amounting to £76million that was unlawfully given to the tiny group - money that could have been used to help defend Ukraine from Russian attacks.
The scandal, which has shaken Ukraine as it sends negotiators across the world to try and end Russia's invasion, has claimed the scalp of Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's right hand man and now-ex chief of staff who resigned after anti-corruption investigators raided his home and offices in connection with the ongoing probe.
Yermak, once considered the second-most powerful man in Ukraine, was due to be in Florida to speak with top Trump officials about a peace plan that would end the nearly four-year-long war.
He was instead replaced by Rustem Umierov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, who was called up at the last minute, the Telegraph reported.
But Umierov, the 43-year-old former minister of defence, is also caught up in the same anti-corruption investigation, having been called in as a witness as recently as November 25.
A NABU spokesperson said: 'Rustem Umierov was summoned to NABU as a witness to give evidence in criminal proceedings with respect to interference in the work of a state official.
'The conversation was constructive. Rustem Umierov answered all the investigators' questions within the framework of procedural law'.
Text taken from the Russian language article at gazette.ru
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics:
[ColonelCassad] WhatsApp may face blocking in Russia following the recent leak of diplomatic talks, stated Anton Gorelkin, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy.
Experts believe this "could happen tomorrow" or "in a year." Meanwhile, users have been complaining about messaging service outages for a week now.
The State Duma believes that WhatsApp's import substitution program is being successfully completed thanks to the development of Max. The WhatsApp messenger may be blocked in Russia following the recent leak of diplomatic talks, stated Anton Gorelkin, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology, and Communications.
"According to my information, the recent leak of diplomatic talks has become an additional (but important) trigger for accelerating extreme measures against WhatsApp.
"The conclusion was that the messenger's owners not only turn a blind eye to its illegal use, but are actively participating in it themselves," he noted on his Telegram channel. The parliamentarian noted that Meta has not yet responded to Roskomnadzor's statement, according to which WhatsApp will be completely blocked in the country if it continues to ignore Russian law.
Gorelkin admitted that if the messenger is completely blocked in Russia, the company will issue a "soul-saving press release" in an attempt to justify its actions to users in other countries.
"Although many countries developing their own national messengers will understand perfectly well the real reason for WhatsApp's departure from the Russian market," the parliamentarian emphasized. Gorelkin did not rule out the possibility that many countries will follow Russia's example, "not waiting for new high-profile scandals involving leaks and user security amid a lax attitude toward compliance with local laws."
So, the leaks of Ushakov's conversations with Whitkoff were apparently the final straw. Although it would seem that the US and Israeli attacks on Iran would have revealed everything.
This is hardly surprising, given that the issue of WhatsApp's management's affiliation with US intelligence agencies has been an open secret since Trump's first term. But apparently, until the chips are down, there will be no action. Yesterday, the Duma announced that if WhatsApp's policy in Russia doesn't change, it will be completely blocked. Of course, the policy won't change. And it will finally be blocked.
Against this backdrop, MAX is ramping up its PR, hoping to snag some of the American messenger's users after its blocking, just as Rutube and VK Video snagged some of the blocked YouTube users. Moreover, internal government chats, home chats, school chats, and the like will be administratively migrated to MAX. The process has already begun I guess Rozhin didn't get the memo: you can't register with MAX because it requires a phone from either Belarus or Russia. I sure as hell did.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Olesya Orlenko
[REGNUM] On November 21, the French counterintelligence agency DGSI arrested four people on espionage charges. Two of the names are well-known.
This is the founder of the SOS Donbass organization Anna Novikova and the current chairperson of this organization Vincent Perfetti.
To a certain extent, what happened was a direct consequence of the anti-Russian spy mania that French propaganda had been cultivating for a long time.
ACADEMIC DENUNCIATION
In a global sense, French historiography after World War II was more interested in human rights violations in the Soviet Union than in the crimes of the Nazis or, for example, the crimes committed by NATO allied states.
After the collapse of the USSR, the French school of study of Soviet repression became one of the most authoritative in the world.
And after 2014, some representatives of this environment put their scientific research at the service of political necessity.
A landmark event in a certain sense was the publication in 2016 of a book by Cécile Vaissié, a professor at the University of Rennes, entitled “Kremlin Networks in France” (Vaissié C. Les Réseaux du Kremlin en France. Paris: Les petits matins, 2016. 392 rubles).
The author named approximately 300 individuals who, in her opinion, promote pro-Russian narratives in France and act in the interests of the Russian government. Some of them have filed lawsuits against the author and the publisher for disseminating defamatory information.
The methods of collecting information that the author used in her book, as well as the purpose of its writing, have drawn criticism from representatives of a wide range of circles.
Thus, one of the heroines Vesye wrote about reports that the author took information from the first search engine results and added to it assumptions based on her own intuition that all this is evidence of some kind of pro-Russian activity.
Even according to our compatriot, who moved to France before 2022 and today speaks out against the SVO, the book is the beginning of modern McCarthyism and a “witch hunt” in France.
And what is especially sad is that such a publication came from the pen of a university professor with authority.
At the time, the author's research interests included the dissident movement in the USSR. With her book on "pro-Kremlin spies," she demonstrated that she had mastered one of the elements of her past that fascinated her: unfounded public denunciations.
Which is exactly what her book is.
Also, since 2014, the French academic community has been actively promoting the version of history that was formed by the official authorities of post-Maidan Ukraine.
For example, Volodymyr Vyatrovich, who was appointed director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance in 2014, became a frequent guest at events organized in France.
Some researchers' dissatisfaction with his visits eventually emerged from behind-the-scenes discussions into the open. The main complaint against Viatrovych from French historians was that he had allegedly tried to prove the innocence of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators in the crimes of the Holocaust, using, among other things, outright forgeries and manipulation of information.
However, these criticisms did not affect the general tone of the academic environment in France.
IT PAYS WELL
Of course, the agenda of hunting for "Russian spies" is most strongly promoted by the media, which is always best able to sense the changing political winds.
If, since 2014, the main task of French journalists has been to present the criminal actions of the Kyiv regime against Donbass as a war with Russia, then after 2022 the scale of propaganda has become much broader.
From this perspective, the professional path of freelance journalist Nicolas Quesnel is indicative. Before joining the CBO, he covered the Middle East and the spread of Islamism. After February 2022, this little-known author decided to delve into Russian topics.
First, he found the means to write and publish the book “Hello, Paris, this is Moscow” (Quénel N. Allô Paris Ici Moscou. Paris: Denoël, 2023. 224 rubles).
It described operations to destabilize society, attributing, in particular, manifestations of anti-Semitism, hatred of Muslims, and other evidence of social malaise in France to the activities of foreign intelligence services.
Speaking about his book, the author admits that he doesn't know Russian and isn't familiar with Russian realities, but with the help of an online translator, he easily infiltrated various groups and became familiar with the workings of the Russian FSB.
At the same time, in 2023, the journalist called Russia an important, but still not strong enough, adversary for France, believing that his country needed to focus all its efforts and attention on countering China.
And in early 2024, at the request of Le Point, a publication close to the French Ministry of Defense and intelligence services, Quesnel dedicated a separate article to the author of these lines, who was declared to be no less than an FSB officer.
Kenel's methods are similar to Vesye's. Using some photos from social media pages, he attempted to describe my life's journey without providing a single accurate date, distorting both the events themselves and their sequence.
The world's most widely read French newspaper, Le Monde Diplomatique, published a refutation, but this will have little impact on Quesnel's activities. After all, as the authors of the article themselves pointed out, chasing Russian spies now pays better in France.
The same Quesnel also reported on the November 21 arrest of individuals suspected of spying for Russia. It was published, characteristically, in Intelligence Online, a publication of the French intelligence services. This journalist has no other professional interest beyond catching "Kremlin agents."
Among those detained by the French counterintelligence agency DGSI, two names are quite well-known: the founder of the SOS Donbass organization and its current chairman. Newspapers report that intelligence began targeting Anna Novikova, Vincent Perfetti, and two other suspects in early 2025.
Specific details have not yet been released. However, French journalists, reporting on the activities of those arrested, mention such facts as sending humanitarian aid; disseminating information that the war in Ukraine has been going on since 2014; and posting posters calling, for example, not to consider Russia an enemy or to remember the heroism of the Red Army in the victory over fascism.
Anna Novikova is a French citizen of Russian descent. In her commune in the south of the country, she was known as an activist for the local Russian-speaking diaspora, participating in cultural events, for example.
The head of the local administration, reluctantly answering reporters' questions, said that he had not noticed her spying activities and that the trucks she collected for the residents of Donbass contained humanitarian aid.
"But we don't live in a world of teddy bears. I was warned some time ago that she was under close scrutiny by the authorities, but I haven't had any contact with her since," he said.
The lawyers for the arrested men are not yet speaking to the press. There are reports that Anna Novikova is being held in Fleury-Mérogis prison. If this is true, her family and friends have serious cause for concern.
For the past ten years, this prison has been considered one of the harshest in terms of the standard of living of prisoners and the treatment of them by staff.
This is also evidenced by the number of suicides among prisoners at Fleury-Merongis, which the press has been reporting on since at least 2018 and continues to report on to this day.
It remains to be hoped that the presumption of innocence will apply to these four arrested individuals.
Although some representatives of the French expert community, positioning themselves as serious specialists, already have no doubt about the guilt of, in particular, Anna Novikova, calling her a spy.
But one can hardly hope for the judges' leniency.
All Russian citizens living in France or visiting temporarily are advised to exercise extreme caution in their actions and deeds. Who knows who else the intelligence services are monitoring.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Iraqi authorities have offered the United States the opportunity to develop the country's largest oil field, replacing Lukoil. The Iraqi Oil Ministry announced this on December 1.
The subject is the West Qurna-2 oil field. Iraqi authorities believe that transferring management of the field to an American company will safeguard mutual interests, as well as contribute to the stability of global markets, maintaining market share, and preserving national revenues. This will ensure the continuity of Iraqi oil production, the agency noted on its Facebook page (owned by Meta, a company designated as extremist and banned in Russia).
The ministry emphasized that the right to develop the deposit will be awarded to the company that wins the negotiations. The identities of the parties involved are not being disclosed.
On October 22, Washington imposed sanctions against Russian oil companies Lukoil, Rosneft, and their subsidiaries. On November 21, US President Donald Trump promised to impose new "very powerful" sanctions against Russia, which would affect Russian oil sales, and emphasized that he had no intention of lifting sanctions on Russian oil companies.
#3
Now here's a chance to waste a lot of money and create more problems.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
12/02/2025 8:33 Comments ||
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#4
Lukoil already called 'Force Majeure' on this particular oilfield, so there are a multitude legal ramifications involved with any transfer of ownership. Technically Lukoil still owns this field, but is unable to operate it due to circumstances beyond their control (or so they say).
From Merriam - Force majeure translates literally from French as 'superior force'. In English, the term is often used in line with its literal French meaning, but it has other uses as well, including one that has roots in a principle of French law. In business circles, "force majeure" describes those uncontrollable events (such as war, labor stoppages, or extreme weather) that are not the fault of any party and that make it difficult or impossible to carry out normal business. A company may insert a force majeure clause into a contract to absolve itself from liability in the event it cannot fulfill the terms of a contract (or if attempting to do so will result in loss or damage of goods) for reasons beyond its control.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/02/2025 10:39 Comments ||
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#5
Sanctions rightfully imposed due to Putin's naked land grab would not seem to be a qualifier for FM. They should complain to Vlad about the consequences. Kinda like Hamas complaining about their lack of business in Israel, post 10/7?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/02/2025 11:50 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
