Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Andrey Khrustalev
[REGNUM] A "modern genius," a world-renowned artist, and a source of ostentatious pride for Ukrainian cultural achievements, 90-year-old Ivan Marchuk is once again making headlines.
Just not in connection with the creation of another masterpiece or a foreign exhibition that “turned the consciousness of Europeans upside down.”
The gray-mustached artist is trying to reclaim the rights to his own works in court, which were fraudulently registered in the names of a former member of parliament and adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs, a lawyer, a businessman, and the gullible artist's own assistant.
"The biblical truth has been confirmed that there are Judases among the apostles. Beware of them, people. Details later," Marchuk wrote on his social media page in November after the court hearing.
And here, of course, he's referring to the main swindler—the aforementioned former MP Mikhail Apostol, who managed to outsmart the Louvre robbers. While they stole nine items worth $100 million, this one orchestrated the theft of 5,000 paintings worth approximately $150 million.
And this entire story, incredibly mean and cynical, perfectly illustrates who is actually trying to destroy Ukrainian culture and “deliberately destroying national identity.”
Without any interference or participation of any outside forces.
FROM MIGRANT TO PATRIOT
Ivan Marchuk, it must be said, is an extremely rare example of how to love Ukraine from outside its borders – unlike many “true patriots.”
He was born in 1936 in the Tarnopol Voivodeship of Poland. In the 1950s, he graduated from the Lviv Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts in the USSR, and after graduating, he moved to Kyiv.
However, the original work of the Galician genius did not please the leadership of the Union of Artists of Ukraine, and after Marchuk's works ended up in the West and began to be exhibited at diaspora exhibitions, the KGB became interested in him.
In 1989, when the Soviet Union was already falling apart, the artist decided to emigrate to Australia, then to the United States and Canada, where he gained popularity and earned a decent income. His works from the 1970s and 1980s rarely fetch less than $15,000 at auction, more often fetching between $30,000 and $50,000.
In the summer of 2024, the painting "The Moon Rises Over the Dnieper" sold for a record-breaking $300,000 at the Goldens auction in Kyiv. In 2022, another painting by Marchuk, "The Garden of Temptation," sold for $120,000 at a charity auction.
So the interest in his person on the part of various kinds of crooks is quite understandable.
In Ukraine, Marchuk was awarded the Shevchenko Prize in 1997 and received various awards, and he took this as a sign. In 2001, the artist decided to return to his homeland. The following year, he received the title of People's Artist of Ukraine. In 2007, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph included Ivan Stepanovych in its list of "100 Modern Geniuses."
Thus, he became the first Ukrainian to be included on this list, a fact tirelessly reiterated by the authors of numerous publications about him. The International Academy of Contemporary Art "Rome" accepted the artist into the ranks of the "Golden Guild" and elected him an honorary member of the Scientific Council.
But already in 2011, he lamented in an interview: "I've been in Ukraine for ten years now. Although it's been ten years of nerves, ten years of negativity. And the fact that I work is solely for myself, to keep from going crazy... Because at one point, I believed that I was returning to an independent, free Ukraine. I couldn't go back."
Five years later, he openly declared, "Ukraine is a gravedigger of talent," that its leaders are "building some kind of pseudo-state with its pop culture," burying everything progressive and original. He said he had nothing to be happy about, because "Ukraine only respects those who are no longer here. And those who are, are deeply envied. And the state couldn't care less. If there is such a state, it's Ukraine. I believe it simply doesn't exist. The land exists, but the state doesn't."
For years, his paintings sat haphazardly in his small studio due to space constraints. The initiative to create a permanent studio-museum died before it was born. Copies of Marchuk's works were brazenly sold by "pirates" everywhere (including on Andriyivskyy Descent in Kyiv, a popular tourist destination).
Not a single album of his work, which would have served as a calling card for the country, was published with state support. All Ukrainian exhibitions were held exclusively by commercial organizations. And foreign exhibitions required so many approvals that the old man simply gave up trying.
Nevertheless, in 2022, he once again embraced his "love for Ukraine," supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces not only verbally but also financially. Finally, exhibitions were held in Krakow, Chicago, Vienna, Rome, and many other cities, and he donated the proceeds from the auctions to the Ukrainian army.
"Now this unit of mine (the painting "My Land is My Stronghold" – Ed.) is helping our soldiers defend our homeland. We will definitely win!" – this is one of Marchuk's posts on social media during this period of emotional outburst.
Gratitude, so to speak, was not long in coming.
THEFT OF THE CENTURY
While Marchuk was selling paintings and donating money to the army, painting new canvases and dreaming of victory, he had no idea that he had become the victim of a massive fraud.
This is how it turned out.
In the summer of 2024, Natalia Burlachenko, owner of the Big Wines wine brand, received a complaint from former deputy Mikhail Apostol.
"On the Road" is a painting by Ivan Marchuk, created in 1990.
He reported that her company was illegally using images of Marchuk's paintings on wine labels, since the copyright owner was Apostol himself.
Burlachenko, who has been collaborating with Marchuk under a direct contract since 2022, reported what she had heard to the artist, and this information shocked the old man.
Marchuk immediately recalled the events of May 2020, when a group led by Apostol, a man he knew well, visited his studio. The artist was asked to sign a "symbolic document" transferring the copyright to his paintings, ostensibly for charity.
The distinguished guest assured Marchuk that without notarization, the agreement was invalid and "purely formal." Without reading the documents, the grandfather signed them, trusting his interlocutor completely.
But in fact, he transferred exclusive rights to more than 5,000 of his paintings for a period of 100 years for the symbolic sum of $360, and the text contained a clause stating that the agreement did not require notarization.
Now, Stripko's assistant, who signed the fifth document, claims she didn't know or understand this at the time. Although, she most likely acted as an additional "trust factor."
Since Marchuk’s psychotype was studied quite well by his “friend” Apostol.
It was he who, in 2017, dealt with stolen paintings that were taken by an agent under the guise of organizing a European exhibition.
"He removed 101 paintings from the studio. He initially 'scheduled' the exhibition at the Prado Museum (Madrid) for September 3, 2016, then 'postponed' it to October, then to November. And from mid-December, he stopped answering the artist's phone calls... He responded in early January when he sensed the Master was being advised to contact the police. The rhetoric didn't change, but there were hints of threats," the then-current adviser to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs recounted the investigation's progress on social media.
And he once reported that Marchuk himself had signed all the documents and powers of attorney to this person regarding the rights to the paintings, holding exhibitions “and other actions related to the Maestro’s work.”
Then-Interior Minister Arsen Avakov personally oversaw the matter, and the paintings, valued at $10 million, were returned.
The joyful event is captured in a photo: Marchuk, Apostol, and a third person stand together with the acquired masterpieces, which never made it to Spain—all this time they lay in the swindler's basement.
Naturally, after this, the grandfather trusted his patron completely and entirely, especially since he constantly visited him and acted as co-leader of the Ternopil community.
But the notorious $10 million clearly haunted the respected man. It was clear he was possessing a veritable treasure.
So, three years later, Apostol pulled off exactly the same scam, only without physical possession of the paintings: now every exhibition, album, wine label, any copy of Marchuk's masterpieces, and every auction sale began to bring him profit.
The former advisor has extensive experience in this area. For example, in 2016, he headed the committee to combat corporate raiding in the agricultural sector and promised to protect farmers from raiders, but in the end, some farmers simply lost their land.
Now, after the scandal became public, Apostol denies everything, and his representatives have repeatedly appealed to have the judges recused, dragging out the proceedings in every way possible. The legal dispute initiated by the artist has been ongoing for five months. Meanwhile, Marchuk travels from Vienna to Ternopil to attend the proceedings.
Eventually, the genius gave up and left Ukraine. In his new location, he created around 200 new works in recent years. In keeping with his own formula: "Everyone who has distinguished themselves has done so outside of Ukraine."
Well, she herself is clearly destroying her own culture and her best people more than any enemy. Because her insane greed, meanness, and desire to steal have always outweighed her feigned love for "all things Ukrainian," which is only needed for formal photographs in embroidered shirts.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] On Friday, December 12, a sharp drop in temperature is expected in the European part of Russia during the day, according to Roman Vilfand, scientific director of the Russian Hydrometeorological Center.
"On Friday, there will be a sharp shift in circulation, when air masses will flow into the center of European Russia not from the southwest or west, but from the north. This will lead to a very sharp drop in temperatures during the day—by six to seven degrees," the forecaster noted in an interview with RIA Novosti.
According to him, temperatures will reach 5°C (5°F) in the first half of the day, dropping to -3°C (-3°F) by the evening. The sudden change in weather is due to the passage of a cold front. Rain, followed by sleet, is expected after 12:00 PM Moscow time.
Vilfand announced yesterday that snow would cover 92% of Russia by the middle of next week. He attributed this to the Volga Federal District, where overnight temperatures are expected to range from -4 to -9 degrees Celsius, and daytime temperatures from -2 to -7 degrees Celsius, ensuring continued snow cover.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] 21.33 US President Donald Trump is "extremely disappointed" with both sides of the war between Russia and Ukraine, White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said.
"Trump is extremely frustrated with both sides of this conflict. He's tired of meetings that are held just for the sake of meetings. He doesn't want more talk, he wants action," she said.
The White House spokeswoman added that the US administration had spent a lot of time negotiating.
21.12 A meeting of the Coalition of the Willing was held, which discussed, in particular, the issues of security guarantees for Ukraine. During his speech, President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that work is underway to ensure that security guarantees include serious components of European deterrence and are reliable, and "it is important that the US is with us and supports us."
"An effective model of security guarantees is impossible - and we emphasized this - impossible without Europe and all members of our Coalition of the Willing: from Canada to Japan, to Australia and New Zealand - thank you all. Everyone's contribution is important," Zelenskyy said.
The President also called on allies to actively contribute to the PURL initiative and "move forward as quickly as possible on the issue of using frozen Russian assets."
20.17 A clause on the size of the Armed Forces has been agreed upon in the draft of a possible peace agreement on Ukraine. The document provides for the preservation of the current real size of the Ukrainian army - about 800 thousand soldiers.
19.47 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the United States is seeking a joint management format for the Zaporizhzhia NPP, but it is currently difficult to determine what the consortium could be, because Ukraine's access to the station is possible only after the withdrawal of Russian troops.
"The Americans want a joint format for managing the station. Our position here is very simple. If the Americans can take the station under their control, somehow demilitarize this zone, that is, Russian troops must withdraw from the station to a certain distance, then there will be an opportunity for Ukraine to have access to the station. And then we need to look for a way to manage all this," Zelenskyy explained.
19.45 Ukraine has received and will process a draft security guarantees from the US, adding its proposals. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Ultimately, the document on security guarantees that we are working on will be in Congress, and Congressional support will be needed. We need effective security guarantees, not something like the Budapest Memorandum. Everyone understands this, and I am grateful to America for this understanding," the president said.
19.10 The peace plan that Ukraine is developing together with its partners provides for the withdrawal of the Russian army from the territories it occupies in Sumy, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions. And a "compromise option" is being considered regarding Donbas. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this during a meeting with journalists.
19.00 Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced the "capture" of Siversk, Donetsk region. The Russian leader noted that the Russian military "continues to fulfill the tasks of the war and confidently advances along the entire front."
In addition, Putin ordered his troops to continue fighting "to fulfill all objectives." According to him, "the strategic initiative on the front is completely in the hands of the Russian army."
The Ukrainian military responded to the Russian dictator's statement. The East Group of Forces reported that the city of Siversk in the Slavyansk direction remains under the control of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, and counter-sabotage measures are ongoing.
The Russians are trying to infiltrate Siversk in small groups, taking advantage of adverse weather conditions, but most of these units are destroyed on the approaches.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council, stated that despite great pressure on the front, Russia has not achieved any strategic goals since the spring.
18.49 The Ministry of Defense presented a universal field tent (armored blanket), designed taking into account the needs of combat units and modern conditions of combat operations.
Armored blankets provide ballistic protection from shrapnel and can be used individually or collectively, allowing them to be adapted to different tactical conditions and different ways of performing their intended purpose on the front line.
What is an armored blanket?
An armored blanket looks like a dense tent and is a complete means of protection. It is designed to protect against shrapnel from shells, mines, or hand grenades, and consists of elements capable of detaining the weapon and dissipating its energy.
The basis is a soft ballistic bag made of multilayer elastic material, placed in a waterproof protective case.
The soft ballistic package of the item provides a fragmentation resistance class of F5 according to the Vproof confirmation criterion at 550 m/s with a 95% confidence level and a probability of error of 0.2.
The product retains its protective properties in humidity conditions from 40% to 70%, at temperatures from -40 °C to +70 °C for at least six hours. Each bulletproof blanket will be marked with a QR code with access to text instructions for use.
17.21 Ukrainian military struck two Russian chemical plants for the production of explosives at night - Akron (Veliky Novgorod) and Dorogobuzh (Smolensk region), as well as other critical, strategic and military infrastructure facilities, including an oil refinery. This was reported by the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) Robert "Magyar" Brovdi on Telegram.
16.35 Since the beginning of the day, 108 combat clashes between the Ukrainian army and the Russian occupiers have taken place on the front. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this in an operational report. Almost a third of the Russian assaults are concentrated in the Pokrovsk area. There, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already stopped more than 30 attacks.
15.53 Another group of children aged 4 to 16 were returned from the temporarily occupied part of the Kherson region to the territory controlled by Ukraine. An adult who has the status of a child deprived of parental care was evacuated with them. This was reported by the head of the Kherson OVA, Oleksandr Prokudin, on December 11.
15.44 The Security Service of Ukraine prevented an attempt on the life of a Ukrainian soldier in Chernihiv. An FSB agent tried to blow up a soldier with a homemade bomb, luring him to a fake "date" through a dating site.
As the investigation established, the suspect was supposed to make explosives and plant them near the apartment building where the military was supposed to arrive.
To lure the Ukrainian defender to the site of the planned terrorist attack, the FSB created a fake account of a girl on a dating site, who then invited him "on a date."
Law enforcement officers uncovered the enemy's plan in advance, neutralized the explosives, and thereby saved the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier.
15.22 In the Hulyaipil direction, a group of Russian military, dressed in civilian clothes, tried to infiltrate the rear of the Ukrainian defenders.
A group of men in civilian clothes approached the positions of the Ukrainian border guards, observed our forces for some time, and then, taking advantage of the difficult weather conditions, tried to bypass the positions and penetrate the rear.
However, the disguise did not help. While moving, a radio station worked in them, which identified the individuals as servicemen of the Russian army. As a result, a group of Russians consisting of two men was eliminated. Under the civilian clothes of the destroyed attackers, the uniforms of the Russian armed forces were found.
15.19 Russian archaeologist and Hermitage employee Alexander Butyagin was detained in Poland at the request of Ukraine, RMF FM reports.
The Russian is suspected of illegal excavations in the annexed Crimea, which caused damage of 200 million hryvnias. Butyagin was arrested for 40 days. Kyiv will demand his extradition in the case of the destruction of the cultural heritage site - the "Ancient City of Myrmekiy" in Kerch. Ukraine has been searching for the Russian since November of this year, and he faces up to ten years in prison.
Butyagin, who heads the department of ancient archaeology at the Russian Hermitage, is reported to have been in Poland in transit, en route from the Netherlands to one of the Balkan countries.
15.08 Only Ukraine will withdraw troops from the demilitarized territories, according to the so-called "peace plan" of the administration of US President Donald Trump. While the White House does not make such a demand to the Russian regime. This is reported by the Financial Times.
14:55 Russian invaders dropped a guided aerial bomb (GAB) on a store in the Velykypysarivska community of Sumy region. Two women were killed and two others were injured, said the head of the Sumy OVA, Oleg Hrygorov.
14.08 The Russian federal budget expenditures on military items in January-September 2025 set a new record – 11.854 trillion rubles. Such data, based on data from the Russian Ministry of Finance, was published by Janis Kluge, a researcher at the German Institute for International Security Problems, on Thursday, December 11.
14.07 At noon, Russian troops shelled the Dniprovskyi district of Kherson. Civilians were injured as a result of the enemy attack. This was reported by the press service of the Kherson OVA.
As noted, three people were injured as a result of the "arrival" at the house: a 77-year-old woman and men aged 60 and 63.
The victims were taken to the hospital with blast injuries and contusions.
13.55 The Europeans have submitted proposals for a peace plan for Ukraine to US President Donald Trump, and negotiations with the US administration may take place this weekend. This was stated by German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz on December 11 in Berlin at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
13.14 An indictment has been sent to the court against the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, whom the investigation accuses of organizing the invasion of Russian-controlled forces into Ukraine, waging an aggressive war, war crimes, and using Ukrainian prisoners as a "human shield." The Prosecutor General's Office reports this.
"During the investigation, it was established that he organized the invasion of controlled units of the Russian National Guard, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Chechen Republic, and the Russian Ministry of Defense into the territory of Ukraine to wage an aggressive war and seize Ukrainian territories," the report noted.
As noted, under his instructions, subordinate formations captured settlements, brutalized civilians, and violated the laws and customs of war.
13.03 The large-scale Russian attack last Saturday caused serious disruptions in Ukraine's power system and affected the operation of all three nuclear power plants. This is stated in a statement by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. At the nuclear power plants, the capacity of individual reactors had to be reduced and power units temporarily shut down.
12.22 Law enforcement officers exposed the management of a defense plant that embezzled state funds for the purchase of armor for tanks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The SBU reported this. The large-scale scheme operated in Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions. The commercial director of the state-owned enterprise, its former head and the owner of the contractor company were involved in the transaction. They embezzled 102 million budget hryvnias.
11.35 Law enforcement officers detained two agents of the Russian military intelligence (GRU), who participated in the preparation of air strikes by the Russian Federation on the Kyiv region. This was reported by the SBU. These are two unemployed people from the Odessa and Khmelnytsky regions. They came to the attention of racists when they were looking for "easy money" in Telegram channels.
11.19 On Thursday night, Russian invaders attacked energy facilities in several regions of Ukraine. As a result, consumers in the Odessa region are without power, Ukrenergo reported. Emergency restoration work has already begun. Energy workers are doing everything possible to restore the damaged equipment to operation as soon as possible.
10.59 Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, about ten railway stations have been destroyed, and about forty more facilities have received damage of varying degrees. This was reported by JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukrinform reports.
10.50 On Thursday night, Russian invaders launched three Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles and 151 drones of various types into Ukraine. Most of the enemy targets were intercepted by air defense and electronic warfare units, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.
10.33 On Thursday night, an unknown drone hit a private house in the village of Sokilnyky near Lviv. This was reported by the National Police Department in the Lviv region.
There have been no official reports of a drone threat to the Lviv region. The last air alert in the region was on the night of December 7.
9.31 At night, the occupiers attacked an energy facility in the Odessa region with strike drones. Several fires broke out as a result of the shelling. This was reported by the head of the Odessa OVA, Oleg Kiper, on December 11. Damage to the energy facility was recorded. Two private houses nearby were also damaged, the glazing and door of the administrative building were broken. The fires that broke out were quickly extinguished by rescuers. There was no information about the dead or injured.
9.21 On the night of December 11, Russian troops attacked energy facilities in the Kremenchuk district of Poltava region, causing fires. This was reported by the head of the Poltava OVA, Volodymyr Kohut.
"Air defense was working. A significant number of targets were shot down. Fires broke out at the facilities due to falling debris and direct hits," he noted.
8.57 Over the past 24 hours, 234 combat clashes have taken place on the front, 49 of which were in the Pokrovsky direction. The General Staff reported this on its Telegram channel.
8.43 The Russian Defense Ministry announced the most massive drone attack on the Russian Federation in recent times. The agency assures that 287 drones were shot down, the Russians traditionally keep quiet about how many UAVs reached their targets. The Russian Defense Ministry reported this on Telegram.
7.59 The Ukrainian Defense Forces killed and wounded 1,460 Russian occupiers over the past 24 hours. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on its Facebook page.
7.32 Drones attacked the Russian city of Veliky Novgorod on the night before December 11. The drone strike hit the local Akron chemical plant, which caused a fire.
The Governor of the Novgorod Region, Alexander Dronov, confirmed the attack at around four in the morning.
06.32 The 20-point abridged peace plan is part of a package of three documents that the parties are actively discussing. Among the key provisions of the draft are the creation of a demilitarized zone along the front line, holding elections in Ukraine, providing security guarantees from the US, similar to NATO Article 5, etc.
04.28 On the night of Thursday, December 11, Russia recorded one of the largest drone attacks in recent times. Explosions were heard in Moscow and the Moscow region for several hours and air defense systems were active, a strategic energy facility was damaged in the Smolensk region, and one of Russia's largest chemical plants was attacked in Veliky Novgorod.
02.25 On the night of December 11, Russian forces launched a strike with ballistic missiles and drones on Kremenchuk. An air alert was declared in Kyiv and a number of regions of Ukraine due to the threat of a ballistic attack.
01.29 On the night of Thursday, December 11, unknown UAVs attacked the capital of the Russian Federation. Temporary restrictions on the arrival and departure of aircraft were introduced at Sheremetyevo Airport. Restrictions were also introduced at Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports. A total of 50 aircraft were reported to be delayed. In addition, explosions were heard over Tula and the city of Oleksyn.
00.20 Russian troops launched a missile strike on the Zaporizhia region on the evening of Wednesday, December 10. This was reported by the head of the Zaporizhia regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov. The threat of high-speed missile strikes on the Zaporizhia region was announced again an hour after the previous warning.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 21:31 Published Russian Ministry of Defense's traditional collection of footage from Russian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crews in various combat missions. 20:09 Posted footage of the destruction of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Mangust radar by the Lancet.
20:05 In the Dobropillya direction celebrated advance of Russian attack aircraft near New Donbass.
19:57 The calculation of the ISDM "Agriculture" of the group of forces "Center" blocked the enemy's routes of movement and supply delivery in the Krasnoarmeysk direction, -video.
18:53 Published additional footage from the western outskirts of Seversk.
18:41 Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov congratulated military personnel with the liberation of the village of Seversk in the Donetsk People's Republic
18:32 Posted footage from the village of Seversk in the DPR, which has come under the full control of the Russian Armed Forces.
18:26 Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov congratulated military personnel on the liberation of Kurilovka in the Khar'kov region.
17:43 Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the development of the situation in the SVO zone.
16:52 In the Zaporizhzhia direction, the advance of the Russian Armed Forces is observed near Stepnogorsk, –map.
15:46 Stele at the entrance to Seversk, Donetsk People's Republic crossed under the control of the Russian Armed Forces.
14:15 From 08:00 Moscow time to 14:00 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 32 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles were:
13 UAVs were flying over the Bryansk region,
10 UAVs were flying over the Moscow region,
Four UAVs were flying over the Kaluga region,
Three UAVs were flying over the Tula region, and
Two UAVs were flying over the Kursk region.
13:54 Russian troops in Severska are mopping up northwestern part of the city.
13:39 Operators of the unmanned aerial systems units of the Vostok group identified fortified enemy strongholds in the area of the village of Gulyaipole and transmitted the coordinates of targets for destruction to artillerymen, video.
12:55 Russian flags raised over Seversk, Donetsk People's Republic.
12:23 Summary of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of the special military operation as of December 11, 2025:
Units of the North military group have completed the liberation of the village of Liman in the Khar'kov region through active operations.
They defeated the formations of a mechanized, airborne assault brigade, an assault regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and two territorial defense brigades in the areas of the settlements of Alekseevka, Andreevka, Novaya Sich, and Kucherovka in the Sumy region.
In the Khar'kov direction, units of a heavy mechanized, ranger, two motorized infantry brigades, an assault regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a territorial defense brigade were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Prilipka, Staritsa, Vilcha and Vovchanskie Khutora in the Khar'kov region.
The enemy's losses amounted to 145 soldiers, a vehicle, an Israeli-made RADA radar station and an ammunition depot.
Units of the West group of forces continued to destroy the enemy group surrounded on the left bank of the Oskol River.
The manpower and equipment of three mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a National Guard brigade were damaged in the areas of the settlements of Kupyansk-Uzlovaya, Boguslavka, Novoplatonovka, Kurilovka in the Khar'kov region and Krasny Liman in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 215 servicemen, four US-made HMMWV armored vehicles and a Canadian-made Senator armored personnel carrier, 11 vehicles, an electronic warfare station, and six ammunition depots.
Units of the Southern group of forces occupied more advantageous lines and positions.
They defeated the formations of two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Seversk, Kramatorsk, Stepanovka and Konstantinovka of the Donetsk People's Republic.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 120 servicemen, two armored personnel carriers, two armored combat vehicles, eight cars, three ammunition depots, supplies, and fuel.
Units of the Center group of forces continued to destroy encircled Ukrainian Armed Forces formations in the Vostochny and Zapadny microdistricts of the village of Dimitrov, as well as clearing the villages of Svetloe and Grishino in the Donetsk People's Republic.
They inflicted losses on the manpower and equipment of four mechanized brigades, a Jaeger brigade, two airborne assault brigades, three assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, two naval infantry brigades, a territorial defense brigade, and two National Guard brigades in the areas of the settlements of Toretskoye, Rodynskoye, Krasnoyarskoye, Svetloye, Shevchenko, Belitskoye, Torskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic, Novopidgorodnoye and Novopavlovka in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The enemy lost over 415 servicemen, a Swedish-made Viking armored personnel carrier, two armored combat vehicles and three pickup trucks.
Units of the "East" force group continued to advance into the depths of the enemy's defenses.
They inflicted losses on the manpower and equipment of three mechanized brigades, two assault brigades, two assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a territorial defense brigade in the areas of the settlements of Ternovatoye, Kosivtsevo, Varvarovka, Hulyaipole in the Zaporizhzhia region and Andreevka in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 235 servicemen, four armored combat vehicles, 18 cars, and two field artillery pieces.
Units of the Dnepr group of forces defeated formations of a mechanized brigade and two coastal defense brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Nikolske and Ponyatovka in the Kherson region.
More than 50 servicemen, an armored personnel carrier, 13 vehicles, three artillery pieces, including two US-made 155mm M-777 howitzers, an electronic warfare station, and two ammunition and supply depots were destroyed.
Operational-tactical aviation, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, missile forces and artillery of the Russian Armed Forces groups have damaged energy and fuel complex facilities used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed forces and foreign mercenaries in 152 districts.
Air defense systems shot down ten US-made HIMARS multiple launch rockets, a Neptune long-range guided missile, and 396 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Black Sea Fleet destroyed an unmanned boat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the central part of the Black Sea.
11:39 The line of combat contact in the Vovchansk direction has been adjusted, map.
11:05 According to operational data, in the Volchansk direction of the Russian Armed Forces released Liman and continue to advance south of Volchansk.
10:05 UAV of the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked an ambulance in the city of Vasilyevka in the Zaporizhzhia region, when the team was transporting a patient.
Shrapnel pierced the body of the car. Two doctors, a nurse, the driver, and a patient were in the car at the time of the impact.
9:40 Crew of the TOS-1A Solntsepek of the North group of forces destroyed accumulation of enemy manpower in the Khar'kov direction.
Presentation of state and departmental awards to servicemen of the 6th NBC Protection Regiment.
9:14 Ukrainian Armed Forces continue attacks on civilian infrastructure on the left bank of the Kherson region
Yesterday afternoon, the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired 43 shells from barrel artillery at populated areas of the Kherson region of the Russian Federation:
8:31 During the past night, in the period from 23:00 Moscow time on December 10 to 7:00 Moscow time on December 11, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 287 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
118 UAVs were flown over the Bryansk region,
40 over the Kaluga region,
40 over the Moscow region,
27 over the Tula region,
19 over the Novgorod region,
11 over the Yaroslavl region,
10 over the Lipetsk region,
Six over the Smolensk region,
Five over the Kursk region,
Five over the Oryol region,
Four over the Voronezh region,
Two over the Ryazan region.
8:00 Crews of the 220mm BM-27 Uragan MLRS of the 25th Combined Arms Army of the West Forces Group destroyed armored vehicles and manpower of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units in the Krasnolimansk direction.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] The Russian Armed Forces are intensifying their offensive in the Zaporizhia region. Units of the "East" force group entered the city of Hulyaipole from the northwest and advanced deep into the urban area.
It is reported that our assault groups have occupied Volnaya and Bochanskaya streets, advancing along Naberezhnaya and Donetskaya streets.
On the eastern side of the city, Vostok fighters advanced along Velyka and Ukrainskaya Streets, gaining a foothold in the buildings on Brigadnaya Street and pushing Ukrainian forces back toward Guryanska Street.
There are reports of Ukrainian units being redeployed to Hulyaipole, with enemy reinforcements along Road T0401, which leads north to the village of Varvarovka. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are establishing forward command posts northwest of the city, near the village of Vozdvizhevka.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are seeking to stabilize the situation and hold the front line along the Gaichur River, a tributary of the Volchya River that flows from southeast to northwest.
30 kilometers north of Hulyaipole, Russian units drove the Ukrainian Armed Forces out of the village of Ostapovskoye (Dnipropetrovsk region).
From this area, the enemy repeatedly attempted to launch a counterattack in the direction of the villages of Danilovka and Nechayevka, occupied by Vostok units in the second half of November.
With the capture of Ostapovsky, the salient “hanging” over Gulyaipole from the north expands.
ALONG THE DNIEPER
The Russian Armed Forces' offensive continues further west, in the area of Stepnogorsk, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region near the banks of the Dnieper, 20 kilometers as the crow flies from the city of Zaporizhzhia.
According to the latest data, a significant portion of Stepnogorsk has come under the control of our troops. Fighting continues in some areas with the remaining Ukrainian units holding some buildings. Having achieved success, Russian troops have continued their offensive northeastward toward the village of Lukyanivske.
The capture of Stepnogorsk creates the opportunity to bypass the Ukrainian defensive line to the south and continue the offensive in the enemy's rear.
Expanding the control zone near Stepnogorsk will also cover the flanks of the Russian group advancing upstream along the Dnieper River in the direction of Primorskoye, a large village near the former Kakhovka Reservoir.
Advancement in this sector will allow Russian troops to reach enemy lines on the Konka River, a tributary of the Dnieper. The distance from the Konka to the outskirts of Zaporizhia is less than 15 kilometers.
Furthermore, the capture of Stepnogorsk will allow for increased artillery and drone strikes along logistics routes near the city of Orekhov, including the Zaporizhzhia-Orekhov highway.
This potentially affects the supply of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of Orekhovo and Gulyaipole.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces command may seriously fear that the completion of the operation in the Stepnogorsk and Primorskoye area and further east, near Orekhovo, will open the way for Russian troops to reach Zaporizhzhia.
The predominantly flat nature of the terrain does not allow for the organization of any powerful defense in this area.
On the other hand, the enemy uses the terrain to its advantage, actively using drones.
DIMITROV: WE'RE CLOSING THE "CAULDRON"
After the liberation of the city of Krasnoarmeysk, Russian troops continue to press the encircled enemy group in the satellite town of Dimitrov (Mirnograd in Ukrainian terminology).
The recent capture of the village of Rovnoye, located between Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov, proved decisive. Fighting for Rovnoye had been going on since November. At the time, the only route through this area allowed the Ukrainian Armed Forces to retreat from the cauldron, along the T0515 highway, which ran from north to south.
Russian assault units entered Dimitrov from the direction of Rovno.
There are also reports of our military advancing in the area of the village of Grishino northwest of Krasnoarmeysk, where the clearing of enemy fortified positions continues.
The loss of Grishino and Rodinsky makes it difficult for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to retreat from Dimitrov, if not simply impossible.
In the city itself, Russian units approached the Central mine from two directions, which is considered an important defensive hub for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Control over this facility would allow Russian troops to disrupt the integrity of the enemy's defensive line and seriously weaken the Ukrainian front.
There are reports from the field of our troops advancing in the central and southern parts of Dimitrov and of the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the territory southwest of the city due to the threat of encirclement.
According to some estimates, up to 2,000 enemy fighters remain trapped in Dimitrov, facing a difficult operational situation. The enemy is suffering heavy losses and is constantly trying to change its location to avoid being attacked, a frontline source told Regnum news agency.
"Individual troops and units are constantly maneuvering. They move from building to building, hiding from drones," the source said. " But with our air superiority, all this is a piece of cake. Their movements are monitored, and pockets of defense are systematically eliminated. Overall, our tactics have been honed over the years; it's foolish to play hide-and-seek."
The source also noted that many Ukrainian soldiers have been fighting in encirclement for the past few months without rotation or adequate medical care.
Some personnel of the 7th Airborne Assault Corps of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have dismissed the claims of Ukrainian Army Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, who denies that Dimitrov is surrounded by Russian forces, as a lie. This was reported by the Kyiv-based newspaper Ukrainska Pravda. The publication also stated that Ukrainian forces are attempting to withdraw their troops from the city but are losing them "in the gray corridor."
Ukrainian sources acknowledge that Russian forces have advanced in certain areas of the former Donetsk Oblast, including Dimitrov (including heavy defensive fighting by the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the Central mine). They also mention the area east of Krasnoarmeysk, where the fighting is gradually expanding.
"BOILERS" NEAR OSKOL AND IN SEVERSK
After liberating Kupyansk, Russian troops continue their offensive along the Oskol River. According to reports from the field, the immediate objective is to destroy the enemy's bridgehead on the left bank of the river.
In recent days, the villages of Kucherovka and Petrovpavlovka on the left bank of the Oskol River, east of Kupyansk, have been successively liberated.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces retreated in this area and consolidated their positions near the Kupyansk-Uzlovaya station. Ukrainian troops are currently blocked in this area and unable to retreat.
The encircled Ukrainian military is being supplied with supplies using drones.
On December 7, reports emerged that our Aerospace Forces had launched a strike in the Chuguevsky district, targeting the Pechenezhskoye Reservoir dam and pontoon crossings across the Seversky Donets River in the area of the villages of Stary Saltov and Bazalievka.
The disruption of enemy communications is creating problems for the Ukrainian Armed Forces group in the northeast of the Kharkiv region.
On December 11, at a meeting on the current situation in the Northern Military District, President Vladimir Putin received detailed reports on the complete transfer of the city of Seversk in the DPR under the control of the Russian Armed Forces. This was announced to journalists by the president's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov.
It was previously reported that assault units had cleared the southern districts of Seversk of Ukrainian Armed Forces and occupied the center, including administrative buildings.
Russian troops have advanced near the villages of Zakotnoye and Platonovka on the banks of the Seversky Donets River, northwest of Seversk. Simultaneously, fighting is underway for the village of Kirovo (a southwestern suburb of Seversk).
This narrows the mouth of the fire cauldron, which can cause the enemy to become surrounded.
The corridor between the Russian Armed Forces positions in Platonovka and Kirovo is expected to narrow from nine to four kilometers.
Overall, the situation on the front is developing in favor of the Russian army. Last week, several Western media outlets acknowledged that the pace of the Russian advance had approached that of the first months of the Central Military District.
According to analysts, in November, the Russian Armed Forces occupied approximately 518 square kilometers of territory—twice as much as in October (approximately 260 square kilometers).
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Russia has transferred a total of 11,000 bodies of fallen soldiers to Ukraine, receiving 201 in return. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced this on December 11.
"To date, we have transferred to Kyiv more than 11,000 bodies of fallen Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers and, in return, received 201 bodies of our soldiers," he said during an embassy roundtable on resolving the situation around Ukraine.
Earlier in October, Russia and Ukraine, as part of the Istanbul Agreements, exchanged the bodies of fallen soldiers using the " 1,000 for 31 " formula. The previous exchange took place on September 18. At that time, Kyiv received the remains of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers. Moscow returned the bodies of 24 fallen Russian service members.
During the first exchange of bodies agreed upon by both sides, Ukraine for some time refused to accept the bodies of its soldiers. On June 9, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky announced that Ukraine was refusing to collect them because it was difficult for it to acknowledge the large losses, and the compensation money had already been spent.
Kyiv later retrieved the bodies of the dead after the refrigerated trucks remained stranded at the Ukrainian border for several days. Russia fulfilled its part of the agreement and handed over a total of 7,000 bodies of servicemen.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] European governments and the EU leadership are obstructing attempts to peacefully resolve the conflict in Ukraine. This was announced by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova during a media briefing on December 11.
"We see how Russophobes in Western European countries, especially in the EU leadership and the European Commission, are fiercely resisting any diplomatic initiatives that could bring peace while taking Russia's interests into account," Zakharova noted.
At the same time, according to the diplomat, Russia is doing everything possible to achieve a speedy settlement. She also noted that the negotiation process on Ukraine is ongoing.
On December 10, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Europe continues to incite Zelenskyy to continue the war against Russia. The minister also noted that the European Union has exhausted its financial reserves to support military action and is now seeking other sources of funding, including the illegal confiscation of Russian assets.
#2
I'm not sure if war is being used as a distraction or if Western European elites think of it as a blood sport and they are keen to see who wins the next match.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/12/2025 11:24 Comments ||
Top||
I imagine that satellites are dual use technology…
[IsraelTimes] Three Iranian satellites will be carried to space aboard Russia’s Soyuz launcher from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on December 28, Iran’s Nour news agency reports. One for each wise man.
The devices will be used in agriculture, natural resources, and environmental monitoring, it says.
Russia’s Soyuz carried an Iranian-made telecommunications satellite into space in July.
#2
They have other Soyuz launch sites. What they broke is the only one that can launch to the space station, due to the specialized payloads and required orbit.
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.
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