The European Union authorities have prepared sanctions against individuals involved in Russian hybrid operations and information manipulation around the world, claims Sistema, an investigative project of Current Time and Radio Liberty. As Sistema notes, sanctions on these grounds will be introduced for the first time. In total, 16 people and three companies will be subject to restrictions, journalists learned from the draft document that was at their disposal.

Viktor Baturin, Nikita Molochkovsky and Nikita Borisov, conscripts from the Sakhalin region, who accused the unit’s command of forging their signatures on a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, died in Ukraine, reports the Window project. Molochkovsky died in August. This was previously reported by the Sibir Realii publication. Borisov, according to the stories of his colleagues, died even earlier. Colleagues also told his family about the death of 21-year-old Baturin.

16-year-old Arseny Turbin, who was sentenced to five years in an educational colony for participation in a terrorist organization, was transferred to an educational colony in the Perm region, the student’s support group reported. “Mom told us that the other day Arseny Turbin was taken to an educational colony in the Perm region. This is about 1,500 kilometers from Moscow,” the message says.

Your browser does not support the audio element. Why can Russians now be declared terrorists and extremists? The Russian authorities have tightened repressive legislation: the State Duma has amended almost 50 federal documents.

Update. T-Bank told RIA Novosti that their terminals and ATMs are “working properly”, have undergone the necessary updates on time and support transactions with Visa and Mastercard cards. Incorrect information was provided in the initial support message,” a bank representative told the agency. Some terminals and ATMs of T-Bank (formerly Tinkoff) may stop accepting cards from the international payment systems Visa and Mastercard from January 1, 2025, the bank’s press service told RBC.

Who is at risk of being included in the (already absurdly broad) list of “terrorists and extremists”? It's the same story: the Russian authorities adopted a new repressive law.

Roskomnadzor has limited access to the Viber messenger due to violation of the requirements of Russian legislation on organizers of information dissemination, the department reported.

The Ministry of Economic Development has banned Russian operators from selling tours to Abkhazia as long as business protests against the ratification of the investment agreement with Russia continue there, said Artur Muradyan, vice-president of the Association of Tour Operators (ATOR), in an interview with Gazeta.ru.

Sefa Karacan/Anadolu/Getty Images A bill has been introduced to the State Duma that regulates the distribution of video games in Russia. It will oblige publishers and digital stores to inform customers about the content of games, but most importantly, it will require mandatory user authorization (for example, through “Government Services”). Industry representatives believe that the law will primarily be directed against foreign digital stores that continue to operate in Russia.

The Austrian authorities will pay 1,000 euros to Syrian refugees who wish to return to their homeland, said Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer. “Austria will support Syrians who want to return to their homeland with a return bonus of 1,000 euros. The country now needs its citizens to recover,” he wrote on the social network X. Nehammer added that the process of considering asylum applications from Syrians in Austria remains frozen.

Your browser does not support the audio element. The Russian opposition is preparing a new march in Berlin. For what? And what else should Putin’s opponents do in exile? Discussing with Fedor Krasheninnikov On December 12, politicians Yulia Navalnaya, Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza announced a Russian opposition march in Berlin on March 1 and called for the unification of all anti-war and democratic forces.

In Germany, several unidentified drones were spotted flying over important industrial facilities and the US air base in Ramstein in early December, Der Spiegel reports, citing a secret report from German security authorities. According to the document, in the evening of December 3 and 4, many unknown drones were recorded over a US military base. Despite an intensive search, authorities have been unable to find the people who flew the drones.

He told no one about the escape plans and assured the military leadership that Russian help was on the way Ali Haj Suleiman / Getty Images A torn portrait of Bashar al-Assad in the presidential palace in Damascus. December 10, 2024 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, overthrown by opposition forces, told almost no one about his plans to flee the country, and a few hours earlier he held a meeting at which he convinced the military leadership that Russian support was on the way, writes Reuters.

The Russian Ministry of Justice has updated the register of “foreign agents”. The department included artists Ekaterina Margolis, Anatoly Osmolovsky and Igor Ponochevny. The artists were included in the register, among other things, because they opposed the “special military operation in Ukraine” and also disseminated “inaccurate information” about the policies of the Russian authorities, the Ministry of Justice said in a statement.

The administration of US President Joe Biden is working to increase arms supplies to Ukraine in time for the transfer in the last five weeks of his term. CNN reports this with reference to a senior White House official. He said the administration is investing resources to deliver previously promised weapons before Biden leaves office. “The Department of Defense is making a historic effort to move huge quantities of weapons into Ukraine over the next five weeks.