Putin's top foreign policy aid says proposals could prolong conflict as talks with US negotiators are held in Miami It disputed reports that Russian troops had occupied the nearby village of Ryasne. Ukraine's rights ombudsman said Russian forces forcibly moved about 50 people from Grabovske to Russia. US intelligence believes Putin remains intent on capturing all of Ukraine and reclaiming parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet Union, Reuters reported, citing six sources familiar with US intelligence. Last week Putin called Europe's leaders “little pigs” and said Russia would achieve its goals through diplomacy or force. However, Donald Trump's lead negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are holding talks with Russia's envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Miami in the belief that a peace deal may be close. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said diplomatic efforts were advancing “quite quickly” and that his negotiators in Florida had been working with the American side. However, Ushakov said a proposal for three-way talks had not been seriously discussed. France has welcomed reports that Putin was open to talks with Emmanuel Macron. “As soon as the prospect of a ceasefire and peace negotiations becomes clearer, it becomes useful again to speak with Putin,” the French president's office said in a statement. Ukrainian drones hit an oil rig and other facilities at Russia's Filanovsky oil field in the Caspian Sea, more than 700km (435 miles) from Ukraine's nearest border, Ukraine's military general staff said on Saturday.

Kate Winslet has described being shamed over her appearance as a young actor by schoolmates and teachers. The actor, whose directorial debut film Goodbye June was released this month, recalled being told by a drama teacher that she would have to settle for “fat girl parts”. Winslet said she was set on acting from a young age, inspired by black-and-white photographs of her grandparents performing on stage, but she often played supporting roles. “And I didn't care about that, I didn't aspire to play leading roles, really ever,” she said. “But also because I was a little bit stocky, when I did start taking it much more seriously and got a child agent I really remember vividly a drama teacher … and she said to me, ‘Well, darling, you'll have a career if you're ready to settle for the fat girl parts.' “It's appalling the things people say to children.” Winslet told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs she was teased at school for her size, called “blubber” and locked in the art cupboard. “I learned to have a pretty thick skin pretty early on,” said Winslet, who left school at 16, around the time she got her first film role in Peter Jackson's 1994 film Heavenly Creatures. She said the experience led to her later developing issues about her body, including on-and-off diets from the age of 15 to 19. At the time of the bullying, she said she threw herself into her acting and creative world beyond school.

The first public signal came on Dec. 21 from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who stated that Vladimir Putin had “expressed readiness to engage in dialogue.” “Therefore, if there is mutual political will, this can only be viewed positively,” Peskov told Russian state media. The Elysee Palace also emphasized that any discussions with Moscow would be conducted "in full transparency" with President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, with the ultimate goal of securing a "solid and lasting peace" for Ukraine. Macron and Putin previously held a call on July 1 after nearly three years without contact, discussing Russia's war against Ukraine and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. On Dec. 17, Putin lashed out at Western leaders during an annual meeting with his defense ministry, calling European leaders "piglets" and declaring that the goals of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine would be met "unconditionally." Linda is a Ukrainian junior reporter investigating Russia's global influence and disinformation. She has over two years of experience writing news and feature stories for Ukrainian media outlets. The meeting is part of ongoing diplomatic negotiations in Washington's latest push to secure a peace deal. A Russian team is also expected to meet with U.S. delegates again on Dec. 21. On Dec. 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at Western leaders during an annual meeting with his defense ministry, calling European leaders "piglets" and declaring that the goals of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine would be met "unconditionally." According to preliminary information, on Dec. 18, Russian forces illegally detained about 50 civilians — residents of the village of Hrabovske — holding them without access to communication or adequate conditions. Russian forces launched one Iskander-M ballistic missile from Russia's Rostov Oblast, along with 97 drones from Russia's Millerovo, Kursk, Orel, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and Russian-occupied Crimea overnight, according to Ukraine's Air Force. Atesh operatives set fire at a railway hub in Bataysk, in Russia's Rostov Oblast, which Russian troops use to supply their forces in occupied parts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk oblasts, as well as Crimea. And I believe we should not look for an alternative to the United States, because all alternatives are uncertain as to whether they can end the war)," President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters. Liberated in 2022, Kherson is still under daily attack from Russian forces across the Dnipro River. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry is working on establishing a mechanism for providing Ukrainian citizen living abroad the ability to vote in the country's next election, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 20. Sea drones have become a crucial component of Ukraine's defense toolkit, and co-production with a NATO ally could enhance long-term output and deepen European defense-industrial cooperation at sea.

Top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov on Dec. 21 denied that trilateral talks involving Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. were even being considered. "At present, no one has seriously discussed this initiative, and to my knowledge, it is not in preparation," Ushakov told journalists. Ushakov also stated that he doesn't even know whether Ukrainian representatives are in Miami, where the talks between U.S. and Russian officials are taking place. Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, confirmed later on Dec. 21 that he and General Andrii Hnatov, chief of Ukraine's General Staff, are in the U.S. and holding another round of talks with the American delegates. Previously, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Washington has proposed trilateral talks between delegations from the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia, noting that he believes substantial progress toward ending Russia's war cannot be made in that format but that it could yield results, including prisoner exchanges or lay the groundwork for more important talks. Linda is a Ukrainian junior reporter investigating Russia's global influence and disinformation. She has over two years of experience writing news and feature stories for Ukrainian media outlets. The meeting is part of ongoing diplomatic negotiations in Washington's latest push to secure a peace deal. A Russian team is also expected to meet with U.S. delegates again on Dec. 21. On Dec. 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at Western leaders during an annual meeting with his defense ministry, calling European leaders "piglets" and declaring that the goals of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine would be met "unconditionally." Ukrainian and Russian delegations have rushed to Miami to take part in yet another round of talks with the U.S. representatives in what some see as an American effort to end Russia's war against Ukraine. According to preliminary information, on Dec. 18, Russian forces illegally detained about 50 civilians — residents of the village of Hrabovske — holding them without access to communication or adequate conditions. Russian forces launched one Iskander-M ballistic missile from Russia's Rostov Oblast, along with 97 drones from Russia's Millerovo, Kursk, Orel, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and Russian-occupied Crimea overnight, according to Ukraine's Air Force. Atesh operatives set fire at a railway hub in Bataysk, in Russia's Rostov Oblast, which Russian troops use to supply their forces in occupied parts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk oblasts, as well as Crimea. And I believe we should not look for an alternative to the United States, because all alternatives are uncertain as to whether they can end the war)," President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters. Liberated in 2022, Kherson is still under daily attack from Russian forces across the Dnipro River. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry is working on establishing a mechanism for providing Ukrainian citizen living abroad the ability to vote in the country's next election, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 20. Sea drones have become a crucial component of Ukraine's defense toolkit, and co-production with a NATO ally could enhance long-term output and deepen European defense-industrial cooperation at sea.

Silver steward is one of three people arrested in connection with alleged theft from presidential residence A silver steward employed at the Élysée Palace in Paris has been arrested for stealing silverware and porcelain, amid a wave of thefts from high-profile French institutions. Investigators arrested the man and two alleged accomplices last week. Investigators began to question Élysée staff after factory personnel recognised some of the missing items on auction sites. The alleged thefts are an unwelcome encore to a string of robberies from the Louvre and other French museums in recent months that have raised concern about lax safeguards at the country's cultural institutions. According to investigators, the man's Vinted account included a plate stamped “French Air Force” and ashtrays marked “Sèvres Manufactory” – items not usually available to the general public. They said they recovered about 100 objects in his home, vehicle and personal locker, including Sèvres porcelain, a René Lalique statuette, Baccarat champagne coupes and copper saucepans. The recovered items were returned to the Élysée – a happier outcome than at the Louvre, which is still missing crown jewels worth an estimated €88m (£77m) after a daylight raid in October. Four suspects have been arrested in relation to that case. Both were raided in September, losing six gold nuggets worth about €1.5m (£1.3m) and Chinese porcelain with an estimated combined worth of €6.55m (£5.7m) respectively. In October, around 2,000 gold and silver coins worth about €90,000 (£78,000) were stolen from the Maison des Lumières (House of Enlightenment), a museum in Langres dedicated to the philosopher Denis Diderot.

Thousands of mourners gathered under tight police security at Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach on Sunday evening to mark a week since two gunmen targeting a Jewish festival killed 15 people. Since then, Australian governments have been galvanized into action on countering antisemitism and tightening already strict national gun controls. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, his predecessors John Howard and Scott Morrison, and Governor-General Sam Mostyn, who represents Australia's head of state King Charles III, were among the dignitaries at the commemoration that drew more than 10,000 people. “This has to be the nadir of antisemitism in our country,” New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies President David Ossip told the crowd. The crowd booed Albanese when Ossip acknowledged his presence. Opposition leader Sussan Ley, who had said that a conservative government led by her would reverse a decision made by Albanese's center-left Labor Party government this year to recognize a Palestinian state, was cheered. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at Albanese over the attack on the Hannukah celebration, saying “your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire.” Netanyahu has repeatedly sought to link widespread calls for a Palestinian state, and criticism of Israel's military offensive in Gaza following Hamas' 2023 attack, to growing incidents of antisemitism worldwide. “Waltzing Matilda” was sung in honor of the youngest victim, whose Ukrainian parents gave their Australian-born daughter what they described as the most Australian name they knew. A widely acclaimed hero of the massacre, Ahmed al Ahmed, sent a message of support from his hospital bed. Today I stand with you, my brothers and sisters,” he wrote. His father, Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed, was invited to light a candle on the Jewish candelabrum known as a menorah on the final night of Hannukah. Beyond the famous beach, people around Australia united with Sydney's stricken Jewish community by lighting candles and observing one minute of silence at their homes at 6:47 p.m. to remember the moment the massacre unfolded. Television and radio networks across Australia also fell silent. The federal and New South Wales state governments declared Sunday a national Day of Reflection to mark Australia's worst mass shooting since 35 died in Tasmania state in 1996. Albanese had earlier announced a review of federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies following last week's attack, which was inspired by the Islamic State group. Indigenous leaders held a traditional smoking ceremony on Sunday morning at the waterfront Bondi Pavilion, where an impromptu memorial has grown as flowers and heartfelt messages have accumulated. She later delivered a message from the British monarch saying he and Queen Camilla were “appalled and saddened by the most dreadful antisemitic attack on Jewish people the Hannukah celebration on Bondi Beach.” One of the suspects, Naveed Akram, 24, was shot by police. He has been charged with 15 counts of murder and 40 counts of causing harm with intent to murder in relation to those wounded. His father, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene. The Health Department said 13 of those wounded at Bondi remained in Sydney hospitals on Sunday. Police bolstered security around Bondi on Sunday, including officers armed with rifles. Flags flew at half-staff on the Sydney Harbor Bridge and government buildings, which were lit in yellow on Sunday night in a show of solidarity with the Jewish community. Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief Alex Ryvchin said the victims' families felt “tragically, unforgivably let down” by government failures to combat a growth in antisemitism in Australia since the war between Israel and Hamas began in 2023. A day after the attack, an emergency meeting of federal and state leaders committed to tightening national gun laws with measures including limiting the number of guns an individual can own.

The notion of humanitarian aid being used to combat poverty and hunger is being replaced in Europe with geopolitical “games” as states redirect aid to Ukraine and to defence spending, analysts warn after recent announcements by Sweden and Germany. “I think we are losing a consensus of solidarity and responsibility which has been established for a while now,” said Ralf Südhoff, director of the Berlin-based Centre for Humanitarian Action. “Germany this year has started to phase out Latin America, decreased engagement in Asia and say they want to focus now on crises which have an impact on Europe,” he said, noting that while Ukraine was in need of funding because of Russia's invasion, its location in Europe meant it was saved from the cuts developing countries have experienced. The UK also announced earlier this year that it would be cutting aid to fund defence spending. Norway has increased its civilian support to Ukraine by 2.5bn kroner (£185m), to a quarter of its aid budget, but has been accused of making Africa pay for that rise with a 355m kroner cut (£26m). “It's a broader geopolitical trend and there's a misleading belief by European actors that they have to play this game now in the same way as Moscow, Beijing, Washington,” said Südhoff, suggesting aid will be more “transactional” and directed to where donors see direct benefits for themselves. Analysis of Germany's 2026 aid budget by Venro, a coalition of German NGOs, shows that the country is slashing funding to traditional development and poverty-reduction programmes, with a 20% cut for the World Food Programme and 33% for the Gavi vaccine alliance. Anita Kattakuzhy, director of policy at Near, a coalition of civil society groups in the global south, said a wider pattern is emerging among donors. “Cutting funding in this way may meet short-term priorities in donor capitals, but it destabilises the local systems that are keeping crises from getting worse.” Among the countries most affected by aid cuts is Mozambique, which has suffered from cyclones and droughts as well as a resurgent conflict in the country's Cabo Delgado province that has displaced more than 300,000 people since July. The country has received only $31m of $222m funding required this year, leading to food distribution happening only every two months and covering 39% of caloric needs, according to the UN. Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Tanzania are among six countries, along with Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia – that could bear the brunt of cuts to health programmes tackling HIV/Aids, according to analysis by the Boston Consultant Group. Ilaria Manunza, country director for Save the Children Mozambique, said aid cuts have already made 2025 very difficult: “Every cut compounds the risk of long-term developmental setbacks, particularly in education and child protection,” said Manunza.

Russian troops abducted around 50 residents of the village of Hrabovske in Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, about 200 meters from the Russian border, Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets wrote on Telegram. According to preliminary information, on Dec. 18, Russian forces illegally detained about 50 civilians — residents of the village of Hrabovske — holding them without access to communication or adequate conditions. I also sent a letter to the ICRC,” Lubinets wrote. He stressed the need to adopt a law on compulsory evacuation, particularly for children, from areas where there is an immediate threat to their lives and freedom. The information about the abduction of Ukrainian civilians in Sumy Oblast was also confirmed earlier by a spokesperson for Ukraine's General Staff, Dmytro Lykhovii. Most of those forcibly taken are elderly men and women; one of the women is 89 years old, Lykhovii told Ukrainska Pravda on Dec. 21. Almost all of them had previously refused to evacuate deeper into Ukrainian-controlled territory. Later today, Viktor Trehubov, the head of communications for Ukraine's Joint Forces, told Suspilne that on Dec. 20, Russian military units from the 36th Brigade entered a border village and attempted to advance up to one kilometer into Ukraine. Among the 50 civilians taken, most were men — people who had previously refused evacuation. "Today, some residents from the Krasnopillia community, who had previously refused evacuation, were evacuated by armored transport," he wrote. The border villages in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast are subject to waves of Russian attacks on a daily basis. The relentless strikes have triggered mandatory evacuations in hundreds of communities. Sumy Oblast has been a key target for Russian forces throughout the full-scale invasion due to its location on the northeastern frontier. It continues to face near-daily strikes, but Ukrainian forces have maintained control over most of the region. Linda is a Ukrainian junior reporter investigating Russia's global influence and disinformation. She has over two years of experience writing news and feature stories for Ukrainian media outlets. The meeting is part of ongoing diplomatic negotiations in Washington's latest push to secure a peace deal. A Russian team is also expected to meet with U.S. delegates again on Dec. 21. On Dec. 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at Western leaders during an annual meeting with his defense ministry, calling European leaders "piglets" and declaring that the goals of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine would be met "unconditionally." According to preliminary information, on Dec. 18, Russian forces illegally detained about 50 civilians — residents of the village of Hrabovske — holding them without access to communication or adequate conditions. Russian forces launched one Iskander-M ballistic missile from Russia's Rostov Oblast, along with 97 drones from Russia's Millerovo, Kursk, Orel, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and Russian-occupied Crimea overnight, according to Ukraine's Air Force. And I believe we should not look for an alternative to the United States, because all alternatives are uncertain as to whether they can end the war)," President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters. Liberated in 2022, Kherson is still under daily attack from Russian forces across the Dnipro River. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry is working on establishing a mechanism for providing Ukrainian citizen living abroad the ability to vote in the country's next election, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 20. Sea drones have become a crucial component of Ukraine's defense toolkit, and co-production with a NATO ally could enhance long-term output and deepen European defense-industrial cooperation at sea.

Athens has joined the PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) program for European countries to purchase American weapons for the Ukrainian armed forces, Yury Pilipson, Director of the Second European Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with TASS. "As far as we know, Athens recently joined the PURL initiative for European countries to purchase American weapons for the Ukrainian armed forces, although the Greeks had previously been reluctant to do so," he noted. However, he said, the particular cynicism on the part of the Athens authorities is that they are well aware of the Ukrainian armed forces' subsequent use of these weapons against civilians in Donbass, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, Crimea, and other southern regions of Russia, "where a large Greek community has long lived." According to the diplomat, there is no doubt about involvement of ‘senior comrades' in Greece's accession to the announced initiative. Everyone knows that Kiev is consistently pushing the Greek leadership to transfer highly effective Russian-and Soviet-made air defense systems, currently in service with the country's armed forces, to the Ukrainian Armed Forces—without regard for Greece's own defense capability," he said. The era of a unipolar world order is irrevocably fading into the past, yet the Western camp is trying with all its might to maintain hegemony, which requires strict intra-bloc discipline and the de facto renunciation of national sovereignty, even in such critical areas as defense and security," the diplomat said. Despite the Greek leadership's support for Ukraine, Pilipson noted that the country's population "does not share this approach, to put it mildly." "According to a poll commissioned by the Kathimerini newspaper in July of this year, 72% of respondents believe that Athens should have taken a neutral stance in the Ukrainian conflict," the diplomat said. On July 14, US President Donald Trump and Secretary-General Mark Rutte launched the PURL initiative, which replaced free US arms deliveries to Kiev and those on credit. On September 17, the alliance's representative in Kiev, Patrick Turner, announced that American arms deliveries to Ukraine were underway.

MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. Kirill Dmitriev, Special Representative of the Russian President, Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, called for acknowledging the existence of well-funded and well-organized campaigns inciting war in the US, UK, and EU media. "Let's acknowledge the well-funded, well-organized warmonger media campaign in the US, UK & EU to undermine President Trump's peace plan. UK/EU politicians push the "let's go to war with Russia"—covering up migration blunders/cashing in on weapons sales via "friendly" contractors," he wrote on the X social network. Earlier Dmitriev commented on the statement made by US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, in which she denied mass media reports on presence of Russia's plans to establish control over the entire territory of Ukraine and other parts of the former Soviet Union.

When Rep. Dan Goldman first ran for Congress in 2022, he was cheered on the left as the party's top lawyer during President Donald Trump's first impeachment. Three years on, the Manhattan Democrat is in the fight of his political life against New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a liberal challenger backed by prominent left-wing figures like Zohran Mamdani and Bernie Sanders. In his campaign launch earlier this month, Lander declared: “We need leaders who will fight, not fold.” Goldman is among more than two dozen congressional Democrats battling serious primaries this year — a surge that party insiders attribute to a wave of emboldened liberals across the country who watched Mamdani's unlikely rise and remain frustrated at their party's struggles to fight back against Trump. But privately, many see the surge in far-left challengers as an expensive headache that distracts from the party's goal of seizing control of Congress next November. “I think we've got individuals who might be caught up in the moment, caught up in the internet,” said Rep. Greg Meeks, a fellow New York Democrat who has watched liberal challengers line up against many in his home state delegation. Rep. Juan Vargas of California was even more blunt: “The problem is, they're attacking their own. … We will have spent this energy and money fighting amongst ourselves. Top Democrats believe that most of their sitting members will ultimately prevail. So it's about standing up to Trump, delivering results, providing a positive agenda. But you can't take anything for granted,” Gomez told CNN. In the heated battle for Goldman's lower Manhattan seat, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN that he is fully behind his fellow Democrat. … Our members are going to fight hard, make their case to the voters and come back to office,” said Jeffries, who faced his own short-lived primary threat from a Democratic Socialist NYC council member this year. 2 in the House, Rep. Katherine Clark, faces her own contested primary this year, against a former city councilor who's complained that current House leaders are “not stopping Trump.” Goldman, for his part, told CNN he is looking forward to “running on my progressive record.” “I think that when people look at my record and they learn more about the work I've been doing here the last three years … people will realize they have someone who's representing their interests,” Goldman said. Asked about the pushback from Hill Democrats, a spokesman for Lander said he has made clear why he's challenging a sitting Democrat in the second Trump era, pointing to the opening argument he made in his launch video calling for a more urgent fight for democracy. The video included footage of him being arrested by ICE as he tried to escort a migrant out of immigration court in June. “The problems we face can't be solved by strongly worded letters and high-dollar fundraisers.” Another Democrat facing a contested race, Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York, told CNN he doesn't believe Mandami's support doesn't necessarily translates to other candidates down the ballot. Not every candidate who claims to be in his mold is the real deal,” Torres said, adding of his own primary challengers: “I have five of them. Democrats' primary battle won't siphon away official party resources: The Democratic campaign arms of the House and Senate typically don't spend on primary challenges. But party leaders often use personal travel time to campaign for incumbents. Rep. Suzan DelBene, who leads House Democrats' campaign arm, acknowledged that protecting those incumbents “takes some resources.” But she made clear that her focus is on swing-seats needed to flip the House. “The number one thing we can do to make a difference, to put a check on this administration, to have a Congress that's functional, is take back the majority in the House,” she said. Still, one House Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss their primary race candidly, complained that the money they are currently raising could be going directly to those purple seats instead of their own race. The surge in far-left challengers has also exasperated Democrats like Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who now has to run for reelection in one of the toughest districts for Democrats after Texas Republicans redrew the House map. It's really bad for the Democratic Party that we're having to deal with [this] and spend resources, instead of having all these resources for our November challenge,” Gonzalez told CNN. Gonzalez is facing his own challenger, who has been nicknamed “the Mamdani of south Texas.” But he questioned whether his opponent yet had the fundraising to get off the ground: “I think donors are smarter than that. Rep. John Larson raised $800,000 in a deep blue Connecticut seat to fend off a challenger, who is also the former mayor of his home state's capitol of Hartford. Rep. Mike Thompson in California raised more than $600,000 the same quarter. All three were outraised by their Democratic challengers last quarter. (In California, that could also become a November problem. That state's “jungle primary” rules mean that the top-two finishers will make it to the general election ballot, regardless of party.) “Winds of change, there's always an element that's out there,” Larson told CNN, when asked why he believed so many of his colleagues were facing challenges from inside the party this cycle.

MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will participate in an informal summit of CIS countries, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced. "They [the meetings] will take place because, naturally, Putin will speak with everyone individually over the course of these two days. This will be mandatory," he said in response to a TASS question. The Kremlin spokesman added that such days of informal communication are always imply bilateral meetings. "In fact, that's the value of this format," Peskov concluded.

Atesh operatives set fire at a railway hub in Bataysk, in Russia's Rostov Oblast, which Russian troops use to supply their forces in occupied parts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk oblasts, as well as Crimea. The Atesh group regularly conducts sabotage at military sites in occupied Ukrainian territory and deep within Russia. Earlier last month, partisans reported a sabotage operation against an electric locomotive allegedly used for transporting military cargo from the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. Linda is a Ukrainian junior reporter investigating Russia's global influence and disinformation. She has over two years of experience writing news and feature stories for Ukrainian media outlets. The meeting is part of ongoing diplomatic negotiations in Washington's latest push to secure a peace deal. A Russian team is also expected to meet with U.S. delegates again on Dec. 21. On Dec. 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at Western leaders during an annual meeting with his defense ministry, calling European leaders "piglets" and declaring that the goals of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine would be met "unconditionally." Ukrainian and Russian delegations have rushed to Miami to take part in yet another round of talks with the U.S. representatives in what some see as an American effort to end Russia's war against Ukraine. According to preliminary information, on Dec. 18, Russian forces illegally detained about 50 civilians — residents of the village of Hrabovske — holding them without access to communication or adequate conditions. Russian forces launched one Iskander-M ballistic missile from Russia's Rostov Oblast, along with 97 drones from Russia's Millerovo, Kursk, Orel, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and Russian-occupied Crimea overnight, according to Ukraine's Air Force. Atesh operatives set fire at a railway hub in Bataysk, in Russia's Rostov Oblast, which Russian troops use to supply their forces in occupied parts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk oblasts, as well as Crimea. And I believe we should not look for an alternative to the United States, because all alternatives are uncertain as to whether they can end the war)," President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters. Liberated in 2022, Kherson is still under daily attack from Russian forces across the Dnipro River. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry is working on establishing a mechanism for providing Ukrainian citizen living abroad the ability to vote in the country's next election, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 20. Sea drones have become a crucial component of Ukraine's defense toolkit, and co-production with a NATO ally could enhance long-term output and deepen European defense-industrial cooperation at sea.