New Year's appeals to the Russians who will not see on TV The president’s New Year's appeal before the chimes turned into the same tradition as Olivier’s salad or a glass of champagne. However, the storm of Vladimir Putin on TV forces Russians to look for alternatives : some watch the appeals of Boris Yeltsin or Vladimir Zelensky , and someone asks to record a new congratulation to Alla Pugacheva. "Cold" offers readers short congratulations from people pursued by the current government.

From 31 March 2024, the European Union plans to abolish air and sea border controls within the Schengen area for Romania and Bulgaria. This event will be the first precedent in the history of the EU. At the moment, the decision concerns only sea and air borders, while maintaining control at land borders, as specified in the document adopted by the EU Council.

The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov , reported that the number of victims of the shelling of Belgorod had increased to 24 dead. 108 people were injured, 25 of them remain in serious condition. Gladkov said that they plan to transport them to federal clinics. In total, 30 apartment buildings, 381 apartments and several private houses were damaged. According to the governor, more than two thousand people were involved in the restoration of the city that night.

And what to do if the conflict has nevertheless occurred. The psychologist tells Holidays are approaching, and many of us will spend them with their family. Such meetings do not always take place smoothly: conflicts and misunderstandings often arise. “Cold” asked the clinical psychologist Anna Zamornikova how to overcome the excitement before the trip, how to respond to provocations and what to do if you still quarreled with someone.

On the night of December 31, the Russian military attacked Ukraine using 49 Shahed kamikaze drones, reports the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Of these, 21 drones were shot down.

Leading Russian TV channels cut the performances of Philip Kirkorov and Lolita from New Year's broadcasts, reports Komsomolskaya Pravda and Margarita Simonyan in her Telegram channel. According to the Agency telegram channel, this happened because of Putin’s reaction to the video from Nastya Ivleeva’s party, where they took part. The VGTRK holding and Channel One decided to remove Philip Kirkorov and Lolita from the airwaves.

Alexei Navalny's New Year's message was published on December 31, 2023 on his social media channels. The politician said that he misses his family, friends and colleagues terribly, and for the third time now he has been included in a holiday photo only with the help of Photoshop. This year, the illustration for the congratulations was created using artificial intelligence. “I don’t feel lonely, abandoned or disconnected at all. The mood is excellent and quite New Year's.

In several Russian regions, New Year's events were canceled due to shelling in Belgorod. At least 16 regions and cities of Russia reported the introduction of restrictions in connection with this tragedy. In St. Petersburg, the New Year's concert was canceled as a sign of solidarity with Belgorod by decision of Governor Alexander Beglov.

President Vladimir Putin delivered a New Year's address. The appeal was shown on the afternoon of December 31, 2023, Moscow time, on Russian television channels in the Far East. The speech took three minutes and 45 seconds and was recorded against a traditional background - near the walls of the Kremlin. “Today I would like to appeal to our military personnel, to everyone who is at a combat post, at the forefront of the fight for truth and justice.

The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov , reported that an elderly man was killed during the shelling of the village of Krasnoye, Shebekinsky district. He was in a grocery store at the time of the shooting. A store saleswoman was also injured as a result of the shelling. She was hospitalized with a shrapnel wound to the head. The store and power line were damaged by shrapnel. There was no damage in the residential sector.