TASS canceled the news that Belarus itself will be able to determine targets for the Russian Oreshnik missile system located on its territory. “The news “Belarus, if necessary, will independently determine Oreshnik’s goals,” released on tass.ru at 17:24 Moscow time, is CANCELED due to erroneous publication and removal of the material by the TV channel. TASS apologizes to its subscribers and readers,” the message on the website says.

The head of the Ministry of Education and Science Valery Falkov announced on December 22 that in the 2026/2027 academic year the department plans to reduce about 13% of all paid places in Russian universities (approximately 45 thousand places). “This, of course, is economics, management, state municipal administration and jurisprudence. <...> The labor market does not need such a number of specialists,” the minister said.

The US State Department has banned five Europeans from entering the country, including representatives of public organizations fighting hate speech on social networks, as well as former European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton, who resigned in 2024. It was under him that proceedings began against the social network Twitter (X), which ultimately ended in a multimillion-dollar fine . Associated Press reports .

The Verkh-Isetsky District Court of Yekaterinburg fined 41-year-old geologist from Kirovgrad Dmitry Rykov 49 thousand under the article of “discrediting” the army for a single picket with a poster that contained lines from the song “Let there always be sunshine” based on verses by Lev Oshanin. The decision was made by Judge Olga Trapeznikova, a Mediazona correspondent reports from the courtroom. The picket took place on December 13 at the Lenin monument on 1905 Square.

India's largest private oil refining company Reliance Industries has resumed purchases of Russian oil, despite current US sanctions against key Russian producers. Bloomberg reports this, citing sources familiar with the situation. According to the agency, Reliance purchases oil at a discount from non-sanctioned Russian suppliers and sends the shipments to a refinery in Jamnagar (Gujarat). For transportation, the company charters Aframax class tankers from RusExport.

News The Insider December 24, 2025 #Military report In today's summary At the Seversky salient, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces recognized the retreat from Seversk under the pressure of “superior enemy forces” In the Konstantinovka direction, the Russian military manages to penetrate into Konstantinovka only in small groups In the southern Donetsk direction, the Russian Armed Forces resumed attacks on Ivanovka on the left bank of the Volchaya River The pace of Russian territorial

Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov announced that Putin's traditional meeting with business representatives will take place on December 24 in a closed format; the press will not be allowed. “The conversation with business is frank, questions are asked openly. This discussion is most productive in a closed format,” TASS quotes Peskov. Previously, Putin’s meetings with entrepreneurs have more than once become sources of scandals.

A criminal case has been opened into the mass death of animals at the Forgotten Hearts shelter in the Rostov region. The owner of the shelter, Tatyana Makarova, was detained; she is accused of cruelty to animals for mercenary reasons, which resulted in the death and injury of several dozen animals. According to media reports, before Makarova’s arrest, she tried to start a fire on the territory of the shelter, but the fire was quickly extinguished.

In August 2025, Polish border guards returned a 16-year-old Russian citizen to Russia after he attempted to seek political asylum. The case became known in October, when criminal proceedings against the teenager reached a Russian court. The incident is part of a larger trend. By 2025, European Union countries bordering Russia and Belarus have effectively closed themselves to political asylum seekers.

Roman Anin, an investigative journalist and the founder of the independent media outlet Important Stories , has been stripped of his Russian citizenship. The move follows Anin’s conviction in a case concerning the “spreading of false information about the army,” Kommersant reports , citing a statement from the press service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Yaroslavl Region.

Until now, frozen Russian assets have been seen as the only plausible source of funding for a large, well-equipped Ukrainian military. On that assumption, Ukraine signed memorandums of intent ( 1 , 2 , 3 ) for expensive weapons purchases, including 150 Swedish Gripen fighter jets, 100 French Rafale jets, and U.S.-made combat helicopters.

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has recognized the NPO B4Ukraine, registered in the Netherlands, as an undesirable organization. The department said that the organization’s activities were focused on monitoring the export of Russian oil and gas in order to increase sanctions pressure and limit Russia’s access to world markets.

The central question in the talks is the line at which both sides would be prepared to stop fighting. Russia’s position remains unchanged: full control of the Donbas. Although the Luhansk Region is almost entirely occupied by Russian forces, such terms would still require Ukrainian forces to withdraw — without a fight — from the significant parts of the Donetsk Region that remain under Kyiv’s control.

Russia could use satellite images provided by Chinese companies to attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure. This was stated by the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. According to Zelensky, Kyiv is recording a correlation between the filming of Ukrainian territory by Chinese satellites and subsequent Russian attacks on energy facilities.

President Vladimir Putin was given a list of convicted Russians who are proposed to be pardoned by the New Year, but a decision should not be expected before the holidays. This was announced by the head of the Human Rights Council Valery Fadeev. According to him, the list was prepared by HRC member, human rights activist and journalist Eva Merkacheva.