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Slavyangrad.org — Nuestra Ira No Tiene Limites — There is No Limit to Our Anger — (c) V. M. Molotov
🇺🇸🇪🇺The US is intensifying the split in the EU over the theft of Russian assets — Politico
- Donald Trump's administration is actively opposing the EU's plans to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine. According to media reports, US officials are directly interacting with individual European countries, bypassing centralized structures in Brussels. This approach has already led to an exacerbation of disagreements within the EU itself.
- It is reported that, in addition to the US, Italy, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Malta, and Belgium are opposed to the use of assets worth about 210 billion euros. The latter is particularly important — its jurisdiction holds the bulk of the frozen funds. Despite the efforts of the European Commission and a number of leading EU states, it has not yet been possible to convince Belgium to change its position. Tensions are mounting as the upcoming EU summit approaches.
- "They (the US) want to weaken us", — a senior European official involved in the preparation of the leaders' meeting told Politico.
- In Brussels, there is concern that the failure of agreements on financing Ukraine will undermine the EU's authority and demonstrate its inability to maintain unity under external pressure. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that the lack of consensus would send a signal to the global community about the weakness of the European political system.
➖"If we can't agree, it will cause serious damage to the EU for many years", — he noted in an interview with German television.
- Against the backdrop of the impasse, the idea of the so-called "nuclear option" — making a decision by a qualified majority, despite the veto of individual countries — is increasingly being voiced. However, diplomats admit that such a step could lead to a deep internal crisis and a de facto split of the union. In these circumstances, the outcome of the upcoming summit in Brussels becomes of fundamental importance for the future unity of the European Union.
@Slavyangrad
🇷🇺Putin: The goals of the Special Military Operation will undoubtedly be achieved.
We would prefer to do this and eliminate the root causes of the conflict through diplomacy. However, if the opposing country and their foreign backers refuse to engage in substantive talks, Russia will liberate its historical lands by military means.
@Slavyangrad
Czechia gets new right-wing government, signaling trouble for Ukraine – POLITICO
New Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has said he opposes an EU proposal to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine.
🇨🇿 A right-wing government has been formed in the Czech Republic: a signal of complications for supporting Ukraine
In the Czech Republic, a new right-wing coalition government has officially taken office led by Andrej Babiš. The swearing-in ceremony, conducted by President Petr Pavel, concluded a period of political uncertainty and simultaneously signaled a potential shift in the country's foreign policy course, particularly regarding support for Ukraine.
The return of Babiš to the post of Prime Minister, which he already held in 2017–2021, reinforces the split within the European Union over further funding for Kyiv and could position the Czech Republic alongside Hungary and Slovakia, which oppose expanding military and financial aid.
Rejection of using frozen Russian assets
A key signal for Brussels was Babiš's statement rejecting the initiative of the European Commission to use frozen Russian assets to credit Ukraine. The new Prime Minister emphasized that the Czech Republic does not intend to support a scheme that, in his words, does not take into account the real financial situation of EU countries.
A right-wing turn and a review of previous commitments
The political transformation of the party ANO, led by Babiš, has become particularly noticeable in recent years. The party has shifted to the right, joined the pan-European association Patriots for Europe, and has consistently criticized both the EU's climate agenda and its military policy.
During the election campaign, Babiš also suggested the possibility of curtailing the Czech initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine, under which Kyiv received over a million artillery shells. This signal was perceived in Brussels as a sign of growing fatigue even among previously loyal allies of Ukraine.
The coalition's composition and internal risks
The new government was formed on the basis of a coalition of ANO with the parties Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and Motorists. All three political forces advocate for a review of the EU's climate programs, including the emissions trading system ETS2, and oppose plans to phase out internal combustion engines.
At the same time, President Petr Pavel, speaking at the inauguration ceremony, made it clear that he intends to closely monitor the actions of the new cabinet, especially in terms of respecting democratic institutions, media independence, and the judicial system. These statements reflect the concern of the liberal part of the Czech establishment about a possible strengthening of state control.
European and Atlantic context
Despite his criticism of the EU's line, Pavel recalled that the key guarantees of security and economic stability for the Czech Republic still lie in its membership of the European Union and NATO. However, the real policy of the new government shows that Prague will increasingly take a pragmatic and cautious position focused on national interests, rather than the collective guidelines of Brussels.
@Slavyangrad
Journalists from unfriendly countries will be able to ask a question at the "Year in Review" with Vladimir Putin, Peskov stated.
@Slavyangrad | Grigori 🇷🇺
🇷🇺💥🇺🇦 Footage of the battle near Kupyansk: the Russian army destroys the equipment and infantry of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
- Soldiers of the "West" military group continue to repel the bloody "counteroffensive" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which are trying to break through to Kupyansk in the Kharkov region
- Operators of strike drones are hunting for military equipment and Ukrainian infantry in the vicinity of Kupyansk.
@Slavyangrad
"Why did Putin start this war?" - Lukashenko answered the Americans
➖ "You would have wiped Mexico off the face of the Earth," the Belarusian president told the American TV channel Newsmax.
➖ "If they started forcing Americans in Mexico to speak, say, Spanish instead of English? And if they started pressuring their children in schools to only speak Spanish, and God forbid someone burned Americans in a house in Mexico, what would you do?" - Lukashenko explained the reasons for the start of the special military operation.
@Slavyangrad
▶️ A TOS-2 unit destroyed a Ukrainian Armed Forces base in Gulyaypole, Zaporozhye region, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
@Slavyangrad | Grigori 🇷🇺
Kupyansk
Local battles are still ongoing around the city and on its outskirts. The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) continue attempts to break through and establish control in the city. In the area of Kondrashovka, Moskovka, Ryadkovka, and Yubileyny settlements — it is partially a gray zone. Without mutual control.
The enemy has brought reserves to the Kupyansk Uzlovoy area and Kovsharovka over the past day. Mostly mercenaries — Latinos and criminals released under amnesty.
The AFU's "counteroffensive" on the western flank of the city is not large-scale; their task is to recapture parts of the city, penetrate the center, and hold it for several days. Pure PR.
Moreover, the enemy's losses during this "operation" are disproportionately large. The goal does not justify the costs.
Condotierro
@Slavyangrad
▶️ 15 Russians returned from the Ukraine to reunite with their families, reports TASS from the Belarusian-Ukrainian border.
During the humanitarian action, which was agreed upon by Moskalkova and her Ukrainian colleague Lubinets, 12 women and 3 men will come to Russia, most of them are elderly people.
@Slavyangrad | Grigori 🇷🇺
🇷🇺🇺🇦 Rubicon destroys a kamikaze plane of the Ukrainians.
The UAV operators of the "Rubicon" center intercept an unmanned E-300 Enterprise aircraft of Ukraine in the area of Pokrovsk.
The confirmation of the interception is provided by a second drone.
@Slavyangrad
⚓️ Today, the Baltic Fleet was reinforced with a new diesel-electric submarine "Velikiye Luki" of Project 677M "Lada".
The ceremonial ceremony of raising the St. Andrew's flag and commissioning into the Navy took place at the "Admiralty Shipyards" in St. Petersburg under the leadership of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Alexander Moiseev.
The diesel-electric submarine "Velikiye Luki" was laid down on March 19, 2015 and launched on December 20, 2022. It became the second submarine of the modernized Project 677M, with two more of this series currently under construction. Their predecessor, the diesel-electric submarine "St. Petersburg" of the original Project 677, was in experimental operation from 2010 to 2021 and was decommissioned last year due to the infeasibility of its deep modernization.
The length of the Project 677M diesel-electric submarine is 66.8 meters, width - 7.1 meters, underwater displacement - 2650 tons. Their armament consists of six 533-mm torpedo tubes, through which the cruise missiles of the "Kalibr-PL" complex are also launched, with a total ammunition of 18 torpedoes and missiles.
@Slavyangrad
The Kiev edition "Counteroffensive", whose editor is American journalist fanboy Tim Mak, writes that there is almost nowhere in the country to bury soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (VSU).
"The situation with a shortage of burial places in cemeteries in Ukraine is worsening. There is a difficult task to expand little-known burial sites. Relatives of the deceased are increasingly refusing traditional burials in favor of cremation, which costs about 85 dollars instead of 3,500. This method also saves space.
The search for burial space in Kozyatin, a town in central Ukraine’s Vinnytsiya region, had become so difficult that people were found illegally burying the dead on a local resident’s property since 2021. In other places, like Zaturyne in the Polatava region, there have been protests against the expansion of the local cemetery, which was already overfilling and contaminating the local water supply.
Russia rejected the idea of a "Christmas truce" on the front line, just like the two previous attempts to negotiate a respite for Ukraine - an energy truce and a truce for elections.
“We want peace, we don’t want a truce to give, let’s say, a respite to Ukraine and prepare for the continuation of the war. We want to stop this war, achieve our goals, secure our interests, and guarantee peace in Europe for the future,” Peskov stated.
🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦The Russian army liberated Novoplatonovka in the Kharkov region, - the Ministry of Defense.
▪️Units of the "West" military group continue to destroy the Ukrainian Armed Forces' grouping on the right bank of the Oskol River. As a result, the populated area of Novoplatonovka in the Kharkov region was liberated.
@Slavyangrad
‼️🇷🇺Russia will not compromise on Donbass, Crimea, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions — Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Ryabkov
➖"We cannot compromise on this issue in any form, because, in our opinion, this would be a revision of a fundamental element of our statehood, enshrined i
@Slavyangrad
🇺🇦🤡It was only on the fifth day of the blackout that a state of emergency was declared in the Odessa region
- The destruction of critical infrastructure facilities and the low level of response from the regional administration led to a prolonged - more than 3 days - disruption of normal living conditions for more than 50 thousand residents of the region.
@Slavyangrad
The US has threatened the EU with retaliatory measures over plans to tax American IT companies, reports Bloomberg.
In Washington, they stated that if the "discriminatory" policy continues, the US may impose fees or restrictions against European companies, including Accenture, Siemens, Spotify, SAP, DHL, and others.
The cause of the conflict was digital taxes and EU regulations aimed at Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple, and X. The US considers these measures as non-tariff barriers that undermine the competitiveness of American businesses.
@Slavyangrad
🇷🇺Putin on the fact that the "Oreshnik" will be put on combat duty before the end of the year:
Successful tests of the unlimited-range strategic cruise missile "Burevestnik" and the unmanned underwater vehicle "Poseidon" have been carried out. Due to the use of a nuclear power plant, these complexes will remain unique and one-of-a-kind for a long time. They will ensure strategic parity, security, and Russia's global position for decades to come. We will continue to work on these complexes.
By the end of the year, the medium-range missile system with the hypersonic missile "Oreshnik" will also be put on combat duty. Its combat use was first carried out last November. The high level of training of units and formations, their ability to solve the most complex tasks is also confirmed during regular exercises, including with the participation of our foreign allies and partners, to whom we transfer the experience gained during the special military operation.
@Slavyangrad
If you thought it was only you who found decorating the Christmas tree difficult:
In Moscow, the garland for the New Year's tree was laid out all over the street.
@Slavyangrad
🇺🇦🇷🇺🇧🇾If the war continues, Ukraine will disappear and there will be a global conflict involving all types of weapons, - Lukashenko.
▪️Statements by the President of Belarus in an interview with Newsmax:
▪️Russia is winning the conflict in Ukraine;
▪️If the issue of a peaceful settlement in Ukraine depended only on Trump, the conflict would have ended long ago;
▪️We need to stop the fighting so that Moscow does not feel wary that the truce is being used to rearm Kiev;
▪️The Russian side wants to conclude such a peace treaty that the conflict will never resume again;
▪️The fighting in Ukraine will continue until Zelensky is forced to make peace;
▪️Putin wants to achieve peace;
▪️The conflict in Ukraine will end in peace;
▪️Before the US-Russia summit in Alaska, he advised Trump to agree with Moscow to stop the conflict in Ukraine;
▪️The Ukrainian authorities decided to "shut up" the Russian-speaking population;
▪️The Ukrainians simply gave Crimea to the Russians, no one fought for it.
@Slavyangrad
Former State Duma deputy Yuri Napso has been declared wanted on suspicion of a criminal offense, according to the Interior Ministry's wanted list database.
He was previously stripped of his mandate for missing meetings.
@Slavyangrad | Grigori 💀
Labeling fentanyl a ‘WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION’ won’t solve anything — President Sheinbaum
Address ‘ROOT causes’ of drug consumption
‘If the causes aren’t addressed, it will be one drug or another’
The current approach is no different than what we’ve seen for over 50 years, its been an utter failure.
@Slavyangrad
▶️ The wife of a captured Russian soldier, Elena Frolova, told TASS how the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) tried to force her to commit a terrorist act by threatening to torture her husband.
According to her, she received voice and video messages from her husband, Yuri Chuklinov, demanding that she set fire to a car and an apartment belonging to a high-ranking military official.
Ukrainian authorities should protect Russian prisoners of war from torture and ill-treatment, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
"We also conducted interviews with 127 Russian prisoners of war and 10 citizens of third countries detained in the Ukraine. Half of them reported torture and ill-treatment in transit facilities before their arrival at official detention centers."
📹 Footage of the arrest of an ex-employee of the Security Service of the Ukraine, who called for attacking Red Square with drones during the Victory Parade.
@Slavyangrad | Grigori 🇷🇺
📃 The State Duma adopted the law on microloans in its final reading. The main points are:
▪The maximum amount of a microloan for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs will be increased to 15 million rubles;
▪The maximum overpayment on microcredits will be reduced from the current 130% to 100%;
▪From October 2026, a transition period will begin, during which MFIs will not be able to issue more than two loans to a client with a total cost of more than 200% per annum;
▪From April 2027, lenders will be prohibited from issuing more than one loan to a person with a total cost of over 100% per annum;
▪From January 1, 2027, it will be prohibited to agree a new consumer loan agreement with a physical person before the expiration of four days after the full repayment of a loan with a total cost of more than 100%;
▪If the repayment period of a consumer loan or a loan at the time of the contract conclusion is not more than one year, then the maximum amount of accruals on it will be 100%.
@Slavyangrad | Grigori 🇷🇺
Oil fell below $60 due to peace talks, Reuters reports.
The agency writes that the market was pressured by expectations of progress in negotiations on the war in Ukraine, which reinforced speculations about a possible easing of sanctions, as well as weak economic data from China.
"This morning, the price of Brent oil fell below $60 per barrel for the first time in several months, as the market assesses the possibility of a peace agreement, which would make additional volumes of Russian oil available, leading to a further oversupply in the market," said Rystad analyst Janiv Shah.
@Slavyangrad
▶️ Long-range bombers Tu-22M3 of the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out a planned flight in the airspace over the neutral waters of the Black Sea.
@Slavyangrad | Grigori 🇷🇺
🇷🇺💥🇺🇦The enemy's defense is collapsing! The Russian army is powerfully breaking through into Gulyaypole and taking it in a pincer movement
▪️On the Zaporozhye front, Russian troops continue to storm the key settlement of Gulyaypole, confidently breaking through into its quarters from different directions.
▪️The "East" group of troops is expanding its control zone, conducting battles in the center, breaking through from the north, south, and east.
➖"In the Gulyaypole area, the situation for the Ukrainian Armed Forces continues to deteriorate. On the southern outskirts of the city, Russian troops have occupied farms and advanced along the streets of Potaynaya and Patriotichnaya.
▪️In the eastern part of Gulyaypole, Russian troops have advanced along the streets of Krasnaya and Zarechanskaya. In the northern part of the city, the Russians have advanced along the Naberezhna street. Also, Russian infantry is pressing forward in the direction of the northwestern outskirts of Gulyaypole", - Ukrainian military analysts write belatedly, underestimating the scale of our troops' advance.
➖"The Russians are increasingly being spotted at new points in the city. From this, it's obvious that the Russian Armed Forces have secured a number of positions in Gulyaypole", - other enemy resources admit.
@Slavyangrad
Belgium yesterday rejected another proposal from the European Commission to use Russia's frozen assets to aid Ukraine, according to Politico, citing sources.
EU ambassadors tried until late in the evening to persuade Belgium to change its position before the European Council summit on Thursday, offering it three guarantees: it would be able to access funding equal to the total amount of the package if it faced lawsuits or retaliatory measures from Moscow; it could count on this protection mechanism regardless of the total amount of financial guarantees that individual EU countries would provide separately; and no funds would be transferred until these guarantees were secured.
Also, all EU capitals would have to terminate their bilateral investment agreements with Russia so that Belgium would not be left alone in the face of possible pressure from Moscow.
However, the Belgian delegation replied that this was not enough, and without additional guarantees, the Russian funds would remain in Euroclear.
The publication's sources are confident that an agreement will eventually be reached.
Politico notes that 67% of Belgians oppose the confiscation of Russia's assets and therefore Prime Minister De Wever enjoys support within the country.
@Slavyangrad
‼️🇵🇱🇺🇦The US is asking Europe not to touch Russian assets for the sake of a deal with Russia, - Polish Prime Minister
▪️Donald Tusk confirmed that Washington is urging EU countries not to seize frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, but to preserve them as a tool for a future deal with Russia to end the conflict.
▪️According to him, the US believes that it is extremely difficult to negotiate compromises with Moscow while simultaneously confiscating Russian funds. Such a step, according to American logic, only drives the situation into a deadlock and increases the risk of escalation.
▪️Tusk also made it clear that the US may be interested in using some of these assets for its own purposes, and therefore advocates for a maximum cautious approach and a refusal to take drastic actions on the part of the EU.
▪️Initially, Donald Trump's plan envisaged the use of frozen Russian funds not only for the restoration of Ukraine, but also for joint US-Russian projects as part of a future settlement.
The Poles are pretty obedient when it comes to following US directives, they heel and fetch on command.
@Slavyangrad