Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] In the coming days, below-normal temperatures and frosts down to –30 to –40 degrees Celsius are expected in the northern European part of Russia, the Urals, the Volga region, Siberia, and the Far East. Roman Vilfand, scientific director of the Russian Hydrometeorological Center, reported this on December 17.
He clarified that temperatures in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug are expected to reach -37°C, which is 9-19°C below normal. In the northern Urals, in the Yamalo-Nenets and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrugs, temperatures could drop to -40°C. In Komi, temperatures will be 10-18°C below normal.
“It’s a real winter here,” Interfax quoted Vilfand as saying.
In the Sverdlovsk region, he clarified, temperatures will be 7-19 degrees below normal throughout the week, with frosts ranging from -28 to -36 degrees. Frosts down to -34 degrees are also expected in the Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, and Tyumen regions.
Temperatures in the northern Volga Federal District will range from -23 to -28 degrees Celsius. Extremely low temperatures are being observed in the Siberian Federal District. According to the meteorologist, temperatures in the northern Krasnoyarsk Krai and the central region are currently very cold, with temperatures reaching -38 to -43 degrees Celsius in Taimyr and Evenkia.
Severe cold is also expected in the Far East, particularly in Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast. Particularly severe frosts will be experienced in Yakutia, where temperatures could reach -48 to -51 degrees Celsius.
In Moscow, the coldest night since the beginning of winter was the night of December 14-15. Evgeny Tishkovets, a leading specialist at the Phobos weather center, reported that the minimum temperature at the VDNKh (All-Russia Exhibition Center) reference weather station was -8.2 degrees Celsius. According to him, these readings are in line with the December climate norm. The lowest temperature was traditionally recorded at the local pole of cold, in Cherusti, where the thermometer read -11.8 degrees Celsius.
On December 14, Vilfand reported that abnormally cold weather would arrive in the coming days in the northern European part of Russia, the Volga region, the Urals, and Siberia.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] 21.54 The US Senate has approved a large-scale $901 billion defense policy bill for 2026, which, among other things, provides $400 million in aid to Ukraine. Radio Liberty reports.
The document was supported by 77 senators from both parties, with 20 speaking out against it.
21.09 The Cabinet of Ministers approved the package of solutions developed by the Ministry of Defense, which are necessary for the launch of the Defence City space. This concerns comprehensive state support for Ukrainian arms manufacturers to scale and modernize production and generate innovations. This was announced by the head of the department, Denys Shmyhal.
19.09 The Presidents of Ukraine and the Czech Republic, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Petr Pavel, discussed the diplomatic situation, Ukraine's combat successes in Kupyansk, and the continuation of the Czech initiative to supply ammunition during a telephone conversation. The press service of the Ukrainian head of state reported this.
18.46 The EU is focused on preparing a reparations loan for Ukraine based on frozen Russian assets, and alternative financing scenarios are not currently being considered, said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaia Kallas. Radio Liberty reports.
18.21 The first anti-aircraft regiment with the S-500 Prometheus missile system (ZRS) has been created in Russia. This was stated by the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Andrei Belousov at the expanded board of the department. The S-500 is designed to combat not only missiles, drones and aircraft, but also low-orbit satellites.
17.56 The presentation of the 20th package of EU sanctions against Russia is scheduled for early 2026. This is reported by European Truth, citing several diplomats in Brussels.
17.45 Ukraine and Germany have signed a number of new important agreements worth over 1.2 billion euros. This was announced by Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal. One of the agreements concerns the supply of spare parts for Patriot anti-aircraft systems, which will allow for faster restoration of existing complexes.
17.38 The Air Force has shared footage of the destruction of Russian drones in southern Ukraine. This is evidenced by a video posted by the Air Force Command on its Facebook page.
17.05 In Zaporizhia, as a result of a bomb attack, the number of victims has increased to 29 people, including 5 children. This was reported by the head of the Zaporizhia OVA Ivan Fedorov. Two apartment buildings suffered significant damage. Another 12 apartment buildings and private houses were damaged.
16.35 Since the beginning of the day and as of 16:00, 87 battles have taken place on the front, which is almost half the figure on Tuesday as of this time. Such data was published by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an operational summary. No clashes were recorded at all in the Kupyansk, Kramatorsk and Prydniprovsk directions.
16.02 Russian war criminals attacked a motorcyclist with a drone in the village of Darʼivka, Kherson region, at around 1:20 p.m. on Wednesday, December 17. This was reported by the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, on his Telegram channel.
15.59 The Russian military leadership is spreading claims about alleged control over Kupyansk due to fear of losing positions after defeats, while most of the city is controlled by the Ukrainian Defense Forces. This was reported by the head of the Central Directorate of the National Security and Defense Council Andriy Kovalenko.
"Russian Defense Minister Belousov continues to lie that Russia controls Kupyansk. In fact, most of the city is controlled by the Ukrainian Defense Forces, and they continue to clear it of Russians," Kovalenko noted.
He added that all officials of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, from Valery Gerasimov, who first declared alleged control of the city, to Belousov, continue to lie under Putin himself.
15.29 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ordered the transfer of £2.5 billion (over $3.3 billion) from the sale of Chelsea football club by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to humanitarian purposes in Ukraine, The Guardian reports.
15.05 The head of the Russian regime, Vladimir Putin, called European politicians "pigs" who allegedly hoped to benefit from the collapse of Russia. He said this during an expanded meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry's board.
14.42 Norway will finance a new military aid package for Ukraine worth 3.2 billion kroner (almost 270 million euros), Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced. The package will include ammunition for F-16 fighter jets and missiles for air defense systems.
14.30 The Verkhovna Rada supported the draft law on the legal status and medical care of foreign military personnel and stateless persons. A total of 291 MPs voted for the relevant draft law No. 14052.
The draft law, in particular, provides that foreign citizens who are undergoing military service, to confirm the legality of their stay in Ukraine, have the right to obtain a temporary residence permit for the entire term of the contract, as well as within three months after its termination or termination.
In addition, foreign military personnel serving in Ukraine, as well as their family members, will be able to obtain a temporary residence permit even if their passport has expired or needs to be replaced. This is allowed in cases where they need to contact the authorities of their country to apply for a new passport, and this country is an aggressor against Ukraine or does not recognize its territorial integrity.
14.18 A state-level emergency has been declared in the Odessa region. This was reported by the head of the OVA, Oleg Kiper, in Telegram.
According to him, this is precisely the status of the emergency situation that arose as a result of the massive Russian attack on the energy infrastructure of the Odessa region on December 13-14.
13.49 Plans to deploy European troops in Ukraine to monitor compliance with the peace agreement may be the subject of negotiations. This was a surprise statement made by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
13.16 Ukrainian military managed to regain control of almost 90% of the territory of the city of Kupyansk in Kharkiv region and recaptured territories in Pokrovsk and its surroundings in Donetsk region. This was reported by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky.
13.04 In the Kherson region, Ukrainian military destroyed a Russian 2S6 Tunguska anti-aircraft missile and gun complex. The combat operation was carried out by servicemen of the 39th separate coastal defense brigade together with the crews of FPV drones of the 34th Venom BPS center and the Lasar's Group unit.
"The destruction of this SAM system significantly weakens the enemy's ability to cover its equipment from our means of destruction," the military said.
12.44 Russian aggressors struck Zaporizhia and Zaporizhia district with guided bombs. This was reported by the head of the local OVA Ivan Fedorov. As of now, 26 people are known to have been injured.
12.27 The administration of US President Donald Trump is preparing a new package of sanctions against the Russian energy sector. Bloomberg reports this, citing sources. It is indicated that Washington will impose sanctions if Moscow rejects the peace agreement with Kyiv.
11.33 The head of the medical unit of one of the combat brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine worked for the Russian FSB and corrected enemy air attacks in the Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Chernihiv regions. The SBU reported this. In exchange for cooperation, the Russians offered the agent money and "evacuation" to relatives in Russia.
11.15 Russian military attacked a rescue vehicle in Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk district, Donetsk region, four employees were injured.
"In Druzhkivka, Russian troops attacked rescuers with an FPV drone as they were driving to respond to a fire call. Four SES employees were injured when they hit a tanker truck. They were evacuated to the hospital. A fire truck was also damaged," the SES said in a statement.
11.10 Over the past 24 hours, the Russian occupation army has lost 1,730 soldiers killed and wounded on the front in Ukraine. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this in an operational update. The Ukrainian military has destroyed more than 400 units of Russian equipment, including air defense and MLRS.
10.51 On Wednesday night, Ukrainian military forces successfully struck strategic military-industrial complex and oil refining facilities of the Russian Federation. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported details.
10.39 Russian military struck a heat generation facility in Kherson, possible disruptions in the supply of heat to homes.
10.30 As of Wednesday morning, hundreds of thousands of consumers in Ukraine remain without electricity due to Russian shelling. This was reported by the Ministry of Energy. At the same time, the number of outages in the Odessa region was reduced 10 times over the past 24 hours - as of this morning, 32 thousand subscribers were without electricity.
09.34 In the Vyshhorod district of the Kyiv region, as a result of an attack by Russian drones, the windows of two two-story residential buildings were broken. There were no injuries. No critical infrastructure was hit.
09.15 On the night of December 17, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with 69 Shahed, Gerber attack UAVs and other types of drones.
Air defenses shot down/suppressed 37 enemy Shahed, Gerbera and other types of drones in the north, south and east of the country. 29 strike UAVs were recorded hitting 12 locations.
08.30 Over the past 24 hours, 278 combat clashes have been recorded on the front. In particular, in the Pokrovsky direction, Ukrainian defenders stopped 82 assault actions of the Russian invaders.
07.28 The cessation of Russia's war against Ukraine "depends on the position of US President Donald Trump and the States." This was stated by the self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in an interview with Newsmax.
"Now a lot depends on the position of Trump and the United States of America. The main thing is that Trump does not back down from this position. He is a person with character, sometimes impulsive. So that he does not spit on all this, does not wave his hand and does not go aside. If he persistently moves in this direction, then there will be a result. The Europeans have nothing to make a fuss about here," the Belarusian dictator said.
Answering the question of how Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian ruler Vladimir Putin can achieve peace, Lukashenko said: "I think that the situation that is developing... will push them to make this peace happen."
03.20 In Russia, drones attacked an oil refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban, in the Krasnodar Territory. Social media reports say that a fire broke out at the plant.
01.51 Representatives of the United States and European countries have developed drafts of two documents containing a plan to support Ukraine after a peace agreement is reached. The plan involves strengthening the Ukrainian army, deploying European troops to the country to deter a new invasion, and more active use of American intelligence. The second part of the agreement, which the publication's interlocutors described as an "operational document between the military," contains more detailed information. In particular, it outlines how US and European troops will cooperate with the Armed Forces of Ukraine to prevent Russia from attempting to seize more territory.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Korrespondent] No clashes were recorded in the Kupyansk, Kramatorsk, and Prydniprovsk directions.
Since the beginning of the day and as of 4:00 p.m., 87 battles have taken place on the front, which is almost half the figure on Tuesday as of this time. Such data was published by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an operational summary on Wednesday, December 17.
Thus, in the North Slobozhansk and Kursk directions, there were three combat clashes between our defenders and the Russian invaders.
In the South Slobozhansk direction, four attacks were repelled near the settlements of Lyman, Odradne, Dovhenke and towards the settlement of Izbitske. Another battle is ongoing.
In the Lyman direction, the enemy carried out seven assaults near the settlements of Novovodyan, Kolodyazi, Drobyshevo, Novoselivka and towards the settlement of Cherneshchyna. One battle is ongoing.
Three attacks were stopped and repelled in the Slavyansk direction. The aggressor was active in the areas of Serebryanka, Siversk, and Pereyzne. Another clash is ongoing.
In the Kostyantynivka direction, the enemy carried out 14 assaults in the areas of the settlements of Oleksandro-Shultyne, Kleban-Byk, Pleshchiivka, Rusyn Yar and towards Kostyantynivka and Sofiivka.
In the Pokrovsk direction, Russian invaders have carried out 31 assaults in the areas of the settlements of Shakhove, Rodynske, Chervonyi Lyman, Myrnograd, Pokrovsk, Kotlyne, Udachne, Molodetske, Dachne and towards Novopavlivka. The defense forces have already repelled 23 enemy attacks. Fighting continues in eight locations.
In the Oleksandrivka direction, the enemy tried to break through the defenses in the areas of the settlements of Oleksandrovgrad, Sosnivka, Solodke, Pryvilne, Krasnohirske and towards Dobropillya. Four clashes are currently ongoing.
In the Hulyaipil direction, our defenders repelled six attacks in the areas of Hulyaipil and towards Varvarivka. Two more clashes are ongoing.
In the Orikhiv direction, the occupiers twice attempted to advance in the Plavni area.
As a reminder, in the 24 hours of December 16, the Russian occupation army lost 1,730 soldiers killed and wounded on the front in Ukraine. The total number of Russian losses approached 1.2 million people.
It was also reported that over the past week, Russian losses near Pokrovsk have increased by 30%. This is attributed to the full involvement of the Russian operational reserve in the battles - three regiments of the 76th Airborne Assault Division.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[NewsFront] 21:43 UAV crews from the Novorossiysk Guards Airborne Assault Mountain Unit of the Airborne Forces of the Dnepr Group of Forces amazedmanpower and equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Zaporizhzhia region.
UAV operators from the Vostok Forces Group identified enemy vehicle routes and remotely mined roads in areas prone to breakthroughs. They also destroyed enemy armored vehicles near the village of Gulyai-Pole in the Zaporizhzhia region.
UAV crews from the Sever group of forces destroyed Ukrainian Armed Forces' Gvozdika self-propelled artillery units in Sumy Oblast.
Drone operators from the Eastern Group of Forces burned an enemy AS-90 self-propelled artillery unit in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Drone crews from the Center group of forces suppressed firing points and eliminated personnel in a fortified stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Krasnoarmeysk direction.
FPV drone operators destroyed a passenger car, an ATV, and an enemy shelter containing personnel.
20:45 In the period from 11:00 Moscow time to 20:00 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed nine Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
Five UAVs - over the Black Sea,
Three UAVs – over the territory of the Republic of Crimea,
One UAV – over the territory of the Kursk region.
19:47 UAV operators of the Rubicon Center struck equipment, artillery installations, ground-based robotic systems, elements of communication systems and enemy UAVs in the SVO zone.
A crew of the Lancet loitering munition destroyed a RADA radar near the village of Krolevets in the Sumy region.
18:40 A Fagot (AT-4) ATGM crew from the Vostok group of forces destroyed manpower and a stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, equipped in a forest belt near the village of Gulyai-Pole in the Zaporizhzhia region.
18:12 122mm BM-21 GRAD regiment Sparta from the group "CENTER" strikes, -video.
17:31 Destruction of a refueling point that was actively used for Ukrainian Armed Forces equipment in the area of the village of Semenovka, video.
16:34 Crews of the 152mm 2S5 Giatsint-S self-propelled guns of the Dnepr force group destroyed field ammunition depot of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Zaporizhzhia region.
A 122mm BM-21 Grad MLRS crew from the 110th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 51st Combined Arms Army of the Center group of forces disrupted the rotation of Ukrainian Armed Forces formations in the Krasnoarmeysk direction.
15:43 "Tosochka" of the "Vostok" group destroyed enemy stronghold in the area of the settlement of Gulyaipole.
13:42 Artillerymen of the West group of forces stopped attempts by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to approach liberated Kupyansk.
A crew from the Center group of forces destroyed a command post of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with a Krasnopol-M2 high-precision projectile in the Krasnoarmeysk direction.
Military personnel from the Vostok group destroyed Ukrainian Armed Forces strongholds in Gulyai-Pole.
12:59 UAV crews of the Guards "Sever" are working on airdrops against the infantry of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, -video.
12:23 Summary of the Russian Ministry of Defense on the progress of the special military operation as of December 17, 2025:
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to conduct a special military operation.
Units of the "North" military group defeated formations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Jaeger Brigade and a National Guard regiment in the areas of the settlements of Pisarevka, Varachino, and Shostka in the Sumy region.
In the Khar'kov direction, units of two heavy mechanized brigades, two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a territorial defense brigade were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Stary Saltiv, Revolyutsionnoye, Velykyi Burluk, Izbitskoye, Vovchanskie Khutora and Varvarovka in the Khar'kov region.
The enemy lost up to 160 servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, 12 vehicles, and an electronic warfare station.
Units of the "West" group of forces defeated the manpower and equipment of six mechanized and two assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Blagodatovka, Podoli, Kovsharovka, Novosergeevka, Kupyansk-Uzlovaya, Monachinovka in the Khar'kov region and Krasny Liman in the Donetsk People's Republic.
Ukrainian armed forces lost up to 230 servicemen, three American HMMWV armored fighting vehicles, 15 vehicles, three artillery pieces, including a US-made 155mm howitzer M-777 and 155mm howitzer M-114, a radio-electronic intelligence station, and five ammunition depots.
Units of the Southern Group of Forces have taken up more advantageous positions and lines. Four mechanized brigades, a mountain assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a naval infantry brigade, and two National Guard brigades have been defeated near the settlements of Reznikovka, Stepanovka, Slavyansk, Petrovskoye, Konstantinovka, and Kramatorsk in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy lost more than 200 servicemen, 18 vehicles, two artillery pieces, two electronic warfare stations, and four ammunition and fuel depots.
Units of the Center Forces Group continued to eliminate the encircled enemy in the Vostochny and Zapadny districts of Dimitrov, Donetsk People's Republic. The settlements of Rodynskoye, Svetloye, and Grishino in the Donetsk People's Republic are being cleared of scattered Ukrainian Armed Forces groups.
The manpower and equipment of the mechanized, airmobile, and Jaeger brigades, an unmanned systems regiment, two assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, two naval infantry brigades, a territorial defense brigade, and two National Guard brigades were damaged in the areas of the settlements of Volne, Toretskoye, Belitskoye, and Udachnoye in the Donetsk People's Republic and Novopavlovka in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The enemy lost over 470 troops, two US-made HMMWV armored fighting vehicles, six cars and four field artillery pieces, including two Western-made ones.
Units of the "East" group of forces continued to advance into the depths of the enemy's defenses and liberated the village of Gerasimovka in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
They inflicted losses on the manpower and equipment of the mechanized and assault brigades, three assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and the territorial defense brigade in the areas of the settlements of Andreevka and Gavrilovka in the Dnipropetrovsk region, and Ternovatoye, Hulyai-Pole, and Kosivtsevo in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 235 servicemen, two tanks, an armored personnel carrier, three US-made HMMWV armored fighting vehicles, nine vehicles, and three field artillery pieces, including a 155mm American M-777 howitzer.
Units of the Dnepr group of forces defeated formations of the mountain assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the territorial defense brigade in the areas of the settlements of Razumovka, Novoyakovlevka in the Zaporizhzhia region and Nikolskoye in the Kherson region.
Up to 45 Ukrainian servicemen, 11 vehicles, a 155mm self-propelled artillery unit "Bogdana", two ammunition depots and two supply depots were destroyed.
11:50 Fighters of the "East" group of forces released settlement Gerasimovka.
09:26 Crews of the unmanned aerial systems troops of the Dnepr group inflicted high-precision strikes on Ukrainian Armed Forces facilities in the Zaporizhzhia region.
08:43 122mm D-30 howitzer crew of the Southern Forces Group destroyed enemy UAV control point in the Konstantinovka area.
07:34 Changes on map over the past 24 hours:
Russian Armed Forces entered the village of Volchanskiye Khutora.
Advance into Vilcha and west of the settlement of Liman
Adjustment of the control zone in Kupyansk in favor of our forces
Expansion of the control zone south of Dronovka
Adjustment of the zone of control in favor of the enemy in the Kupyansk area
07:15 During the past night, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 94 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
31 over the territory of Krasnodar Krai,
22 over the territory of Rostov Oblast,
10 over the territory of Voronezh Oblast,
Eight over the territory of Saratov Oblast,
Eight over the waters of the Sea of Azov,
Eight over the waters of the Black Sea,
Four over the territory of Volgograd Oblast,
Three over the territory of Bryansk Oblast.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] The Russian Armed Forces plan to form four more divisions, 14 brigades, and 39 regiments by 2026. Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov announced this on December 17, speaking at a meeting of the Defense Ministry's board.
He noted that organizational changes are continuing in the army, aimed at increasing the controllability, mobility and autonomy of general-purpose forces units and military units.
Belousov clarified that by 2025, the Russian Armed Forces had already formed five divisions, 13 brigades, and 30 regiments. This work will continue on an expanded scale next year.
In December 2024, a new branch of the Russian Armed Forces was created— the Unmanned Systems Troops. This development also affected individual branches and services.
In August, Airborne Forces Commander Mikhail Teplinsky announced that all Airborne Forces units and formations had established full-time unmanned systems units. He noted that during the special military operation, the Airborne Forces had undergone significant changes : an additional assault airborne division had been created, new regiments and brigades had been formed, and artillery and logistics units had been strengthened.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:
[ColonelCassad] In addition to this, high-resolution satellite images of the naval base in Novorossiysk.
The first image clearly shows damage to the pier where the drone struck. The submarine itself is apparently moored safely at the pier. I suspect the hole in the pier will be patched soon enough.
The satellite images also show a barrier at the harbor entrance. However, somehow (the commission will determine) the enemy managed to get past it.
Overall, they got off easy, but next time they might not be so lucky. If the drone had hit the submarine instead of the pier, it would have taken months of repairs at best, or worse.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Vladimir Putin appears to have dashed hopes for peace after calling Ukraine's European allies piglets and warning that his new Oreshnik missile will be deployed within days.
The Russian leader accused Western politicians of plotting Russia's downfall and vowed to carry on with the war in Ukraine unless his demands are met.
In a major speech in Moscow, he said: 'Everyone believed that Russia would be destroyed and collapsed in a short period of time.
'And the European piglets immediately joined in this work of the former American [Biden] administration, hoping to profit from the collapse of our country.
'To regain something that had been lost in previous historical periods and try to take revenge.
'As is now obvious to everyone, all these attempts and all these destructive plans against Russia have completely failed.'
He also said he would deploy the Oreshnik nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile system in Belarus in the next fortnight. From there, Russians claim it could strike London in eight minutes.
The Russian leader adamantly refused any compromise on his desired land grab in Donbas while also threatening to create such a strong military powerhouse that Europe and its leaders would have to bow to him.
'The objectives of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved,' he told Russian commanders in the speech.
'We would prefer to do this and eliminate the root causes of the conflict through diplomacy.
'However, if the opposing side and their foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive talks, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means.
'The task of creating and expanding a buffer security zone will also be consistently addressed.'
He predicted years of war as he said the issue in Ukraine was not solvable with the current Western leaders in Europe.
'We are ready to negotiate and resolve all the problems that have arisen in recent years peacefully,' he said, before bizarrely blaming European leaders for continuing the war.
'The US administration has demonstrated such readiness, and we are engaged in dialogue with them. I hope the same will happen in Europe.
'It's unlikely that this will be possible with the current political elites, but in any case, it will be inevitable as we continue to strengthen our position.
'If not with the current politicians, then with the change of the current elites in Europe.'
Portraying Europe as collapsing, he said: 'Immediately after the collapse of the USSR, we thought we'd quickly become members of the so-called civilised family of European nations. It turns out today that there's no civilisation there. Only complete degradation.'
He spoke as his forces glide bombed residential buildings in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, wounding 26 people, including a child, in a sickening new attack on civilians.
Rescuers were searching for people under the rubble.
#1
While he is Gazafiying Ukrainian cities, Europeans sit on their thumbs. Solve your own problems, piglets. LOL
We spent plenty on this war already, when Trump tried to end it Europeans encouraged Zelensky to reject any deal.
Let them spend their money and lives. Who cares?
#7
#5 The discussions I've seen focus on US intentions. It might be better to extend the discussion to US capabilities. We can no longer defend both Europe and the "first island" chain.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/18/2025 8:46 Comments ||
Top||
#8
NATO's Rutte:
Putin has to know that after a peace deal, if he tries to attack Ukraine again, the reaction will be devastating.
This is exactly how we are designing the security guarantees.
If the EU could fight its way out of a wet paper bag I wouldn't worry about the war spilling over. They can't and we are still treaty bound to them. So we get the mess we have now.
This notion that young British men - specifically the working class ones – are going to sign up to go fight Russia for Ukraine is hilarious. This applies to other countries too, but let’s focus on the Brits. It’s a lesson in how the left skin-suits an institution, demands…
#12
The money quote. What are these "historical lands"?
Do we get to that later? Finland, Poland, the Baltics?
Read some history. Up until the collapse of the Soviet Union, Donbas and Crimea were Russian and controlled by Moscow, not Kiev and not Brussels.
But then Putin insists on a buffer zone between Russia and his historical enemies in Germany and France. That would mean the rest of Ukraine must be neutralized and that means no Western European or NATO troops in Ukraine and no European security guarantees for Ukraine which is tantamount to NATO on Russia's border which he has already defined as an existential threat to Russia.
Putin's invasion of Ukraine was provoked by NATO plans to expand into Ukraine. Putin warned NATO leaders that he considered that expansion to be an existential threat. That kind of language means war. But NATO leaders thought he was either bluffing or too weak to do anything about it. They miscalculated. It really is that simple. Western European wet dreams about a NATO naval base in Sevastopol will never become reality.
Now, as long as Western European leaders keep talking about security guarantees for Ukraine, Russia will keep taking land from Ukraine. Eventually, Ukrainians will either make a deal or lose their country altogether.
How many more people will have to die for Western Europe's imperial ambitions?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/18/2025 13:33 Comments ||
Top||
#13
Very interesting Abu. Painful, but interesting. Europe has been a cauldron of conflict for centuries. I hope we can stay out of it.
#16
Ref # 6 above
Haunting images when you consider at least a third of those young men died in Soviet camps, half of those deaths being in the 5 years after the war ended!.
" A commission set up by the West German government found that 3,060,000 German military personnel were taken prisoner by the USSR and that 1,094,250 died in captivity (549,360 from 1941 to April 1945; 542,911 from May 1945 to June 1950 and 1,979 from July 1950 to 1955).[5] "
Joe Stalin was a bloody dictator and mass murderer. If you pick a fight with a guy like that and then you lose...
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/18/2025 19:05 Comments ||
Top||
#19
For those who condone Putin's wish to reconstitute the USSR on account of his land grabbing paranoia? Our children will regret your compliance. I don't think NATO should extend into Ukraine, but you have a century of history to put the lie to his and your denials that it's not about rebuilding the empire
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/18/2025 19:32 Comments ||
Top||
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
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