As the new year began, Russia launched its first attack of 2025 on Ukrainian cites Dawn breaks over the Dnipro River in Kyiv, 1 January 2025. Photo: Valentyn Ogirenko / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA Those who found themselves still seated around a kitchen table at daybreak on Wednesday got to watch as the night sky gradually grew pink and golden before turning into a sunny and warm winter morning.

Damascus Airport will resume receiving and departing international flights from January 7. This was stated by the head of the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority, Ahmad al-Salibi. The official did not specify which directions the planes will fly from the capital of Syria to and from there. At the same time, the Qatari national airline Qatar Airways previously announced that from January 7 it will operate flights from Doha to Damascus and back.

Janis Timma and Anna Sedokova, photo: social networks Latvian law enforcement agencies have opened a criminal case for the violent murder of basketball player Janis Timma. The athlete’s friend, entrepreneur Mark Pugachev, announced this on Instagram. According to the man, he acts as the main witness in the case. “While we cannot say who the culprit is, whether he exists or not, let the investigation investigate. If anyone is involved, he will be summoned for questioning here in Latvia.

The Scholz government has resigned, new elections are due in February. We understand the situation and explain who will be the new Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz in the Chancellery building in Berlin, November 26, 2024. Photo: Clemens Bilan/EPA The end of 2024 was marked for Germany by a series of events that would seem to have little to do with a stable political system.

Screenshot: Telegram A video of an unexpected encounter on the front line between a lone Ukrainian soldier carrying out a clean-up operation and a single Russian soldier hiding in a building has gone viral, despite its violent content.

Monologue of a volunteer from the Kursk region Distribution of humanitarian aid by a volunteer organization in Kursk. Photo: Anatoly Olshansky On August 6, 2024, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in response to the Russian invasion, began military operations in the Kursk region. Since then they have occupied several dozen settlements. Regional authorities then declared a counter-terrorism operation.

In the Sverdlovsk region, Ural human rights activist Alexei Sokolov was released from a pre-trial detention center. This was reported by the Network Freedoms project. Photo: SOTAvision Sokolov is the first person in Russia accused of re-displaying the Facebook logo as “prohibited symbols” (Article 282.4 of the Criminal Code). The reason was his posts on social networks.

In Bratislava, about four thousand people rallied on January 3 to support Ukraine and express dissatisfaction with the country's foreign policy. The Slovak publication Aktuality writes about this. Protesters gathered near the government building. They waved the flags of the European Union and Slovakia. The EU anthem was also played, and the organizers noted that “this is our anthem.” The action was organized by the civil association “Peace for Ukraine,” which supports arms supplies to Kyiv.

Photo: social networks Georgian authorities deported 25 foreign citizens accused of participating in protests in Tbilisi in November-December 2024. This was reported by the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic. The department clarified that previously administrative penalties, including fines, were applied against all these citizens for participating in protests.

The main thing in world cinema for the year: from the unexpected success of Russian actors in “Anora” to a new wave of politicization on screens Still from the film “Anora”, 2024. Photo: Neon Filled with premieres and audience hits, comebacks of legendary directors and poignant political cinema, 2024 brought many event films and phenomenon films.

Screenshot: telegram channel “Warrior DV” Russian military telegram channels began distributing a video that allegedly captured a knife fight between a Ukrainian soldier and a member of the Russian Armed Forces. The footage was also shown by military correspondent Yuri Kotenok. The videos were taken from the helmet camera of a Ukrainian soldier in the fall of 2024 during an attempt by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to recapture the village of Trudovoye, Volnovakha district, Donetsk region.

We tell the stories of Russian journalists who were imprisoned in 2024 Journalists Konstantin Gabov, Antonina Favorskaya, Artyom Kriger and Sergei Karelin, in the dock at the Nagatinsky District Court of Moscow, October 2, 2024. Photo: AP Photo/Scanpix/LETA The profession of journalist has never been safe in Russia, but after the outbreak of a full-scale war in 2022, it became virtually illegal.

The main thing in historical politics over the past year: security forces deny repression, historians are being prepared to complete the “SVO”, Medinsky opens a bookshelf At the Levashovsky Memorial Cemetery, near St. Petersburg, Russia, October 30, 2015. Photo: Anatoly Maltsev / EPA-EFE In an interview with Tucker Carlson in February 2024, Putin answered a question about the reasons for the attack on Ukraine with a long historical lecture.