Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met in Brussels on December 18 with NATO chief Mark Rutte and several European leaders to discuss war strategy amid concerns that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could pull U.S. support for Kyiv after he returns to the White House next month.

The meeting came as European leaders seek to develop their own plans if Trump, who has pledged to bring a swift end to the conflict, pulls support or forces Kyiv to make concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a cease-fire.

The key topic of Zelenskiy's meeting with Rutte was security guarantees, Zelenskiy's office said.

"It is very important to use these two days in Brussels to meet with all our partners and have the same, and very importantly, not divided -- the same -- common European position on how to secure Ukraine, how to strengthen our people and, of course, make our army stronger," Zelenskiy said, according to a statement released by his office.

Zelenskiy said earlier on X that he and French President Emmanuel Macron had a "detailed one-on-one discussion" that focused on priorities to further strengthen Ukraine’s position.

"We continued working on President Macron’s initiative regarding the presence of forces in Ukraine that could contribute to stabilizing the path to peace," Zelenskiy said in an apparent reference to a discussion of boots on the ground raised recently during a meeting between Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters ahead of the meeting that the priority of the meeting was to secure the "sovereignty of Ukraine and that it will not be forced to submit to a dictated peace." He said any discussion of boots on the ground would be premature.

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Rutte said Kyiv's allies should focus on ramping up arms supplies to ensure that Ukraine is in a position of strength.

Strengthening Ukrainian air defense especially ahead of the winter was a key topic during Zelenskiy's meeting with Rutte, according to the statement from Zelenskiy's office.

"We have to do everything we can now to make sure that when it comes to air defense, when it comes to other weapons systems, we are doing everything we can to provide everything we can," Rutte said.

Zelenskiy was expected to again plead for more air-defense systems to try to help stave off Russian barrages against Ukraine's power grid.

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Organized by Rutte, the meeting involves officials from Germany, Poland, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the European Union's main institutions.

Among the potential topics are possible security guarantees offered to Ukraine in the event of a cease-fire and how a cease-fire could be monitored, with one option being an international peacekeeping force.

NATO members have rebuffed Kyiv's calls for an invitation to join the alliance right away, sparking speculation that sending peacekeepers could be an alternative.

Rutte also said he wants to discuss military aid, especially air defense, with Zelenskiy, saying Ukraine needs 19 extra air-defense systems to protect the country's energy infrastructure from Russian bombardment.

Earlier on December 18, Rutte announced that a new NATO command in the German city of Wiesbaden has taken up its work to coordinate Western military aid for Ukraine.

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"The NATO command in Wiesbaden for security assistance and training for Ukraine is now up and running," Rutte told reporters at NATO's headquarters in Brussels. Dubbed NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), the command takes over coordination of the aid from the United States in a move widely seen as aiming to safeguard the support mechanism against Trump.

NSATU is set to have around 700 personnel, including troops stationed at NATO's military headquarters in Belgium and at logistics hubs in Poland and Romania.

Russia has condemned increases in Western military aid to Ukraine as risking a wider war.

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and dpa

The U.K. and U.S. governments on December 18 said the comments of Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev following the assassination of a high-ranking Russian general by Ukrainian security services were irresponsible and yet another sign of Moscow's desperation.

Medvedev, reacting to an editorial in the London-based Times newspaper that called the December 17 killing of a high-ranking Russian officer "a legitimate act of defense by a threatened nation," said Moscow should apply the same logic.

Medvedev accused NATO and officials from countries allied with Ukraine in its battle to repel invading Russian troops of being participants in the conflict, making them "legitimate military targets."

The U.S. State Department told RFE/RL that Medvedev's comments amounted to more irresponsible rhetoric from the Kremlin and reiterated that the United States and NATO do not seek a military conflict with Russia.

"The Kremlin's aggression against Ukraine is the most significant and direct threat to Europe's security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area. It is the Kremlin that started this war, and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin could end it today," the State Department's press office said in a statement e-mailed to RFE/RL.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told a briefing on December 17 that Washington had no connection to the killing of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces (RKhBZ), or any prior knowledge of it.

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The U.K. Foreign Office said the comments were "just another example of Putin’s propaganda machine," while a spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was quoted as saying Medvedev's comments were "simply the latest in a stream of desperate rhetoric" to come out of Putin's government.

"Unlike in Russia, a free press is a cornerstone of our democracy and we take any threats made by Russia incredibly seriously," the spokesman added, according to The Times.

"Our newspapers represent the best of British values: freedom, democracy and independent thinking," he said. "I stand with The Times."

In its article, The Times said the assassination was "a discriminate strike against an aggressor" and that it underlines the need for Western governments to give Ukraine "all support it needs to fight a just war of self-defense."

"All officials of NATO countries involved in decisions about military assistance to Ukraine and those participating in hybrid or conventional warfare against Russia are now considered legitimate military targets for the Russian state and all Russian patriots," Medvedev wrote in response.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told RFE/RL on December 18 that "Russia is always threatening. And it is meant to scare us, so what we see is the threats we have heard before."

Speaking in Brussels before a meeting of EU leaders to discuss the war, she said: "I think the only response we can have is not to be afraid."

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The man nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia also weighed in on the killing, telling Fox News that it was "not a good idea" in his opinion.

"There are rules of warfare and there are certain things you don't do," said Retired Lieutenant-General Keith Kellogg. "When you are killing [officers] in their hometown it's kind of like you kind of extended it and I don't think it's really smart to do."

Kirillov and his assistant were killed by a bomb concealed in a scooter outside the entrance of a Moscow building early on December 17.

Kirillov is one of a number of Russian officers and pro-war figures to be killed in Russia and in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. His death came a week after a senior official from a Russian company that develops cruise missiles used by Moscow in the war was reportedly shot dead just outside the capital.

Medvedev's rhetoric draws from the Kremlin's long-term narrative of blaming Western "forces" for anti-Russian actions worldwide and acts of sabotage and "terrorism" on Russian territory.

Russian investigators termed the killing a "terrorist" attack and immediately attributed it to Ukrainian intelligence. On December 18, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had detained a suspect -- a 29-year-old unnamed Uzbek national -- in the case.

Medvedev also threatened retribution against journalists from The Times, ominously warning that the newspaper could be included in those "legitimate military targets," adding that "in London, many things happen…be careful."

That warning appears to be a thinly veiled reference to the radiation poisoning of former FSB officer and Kremlin critic Aleksandr Litvinenko in London in 2006, and the attempted assassination of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal in the British city of Salisbury with a deadly nerve agent in 2018.

Russia accused Kyiv of "terrorism" after authorities said they had detained an Uzbek citizen who confessed to planting an explosive device that killed a high-ranking Russian officer on the instruction of Ukrainian intelligence.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces (RKhBZ), and his assistant were killed by a bomb concealed in a scooter outside the entrance of a Moscow building early on December 17.

The speed of the arrest of the unnamed suspect led some analysts to question whether the 29-year-old Central Asian was a scapegoat, while unconfirmed reports swirled that police were ratcheting up raids on migrants.

"The special services have a clear interest in showing their superiors the result of their work, that a successful investigation has taken place, and so on. It's not the first time we've seen this. It's hard to judge right now how accurate this [arrest] is," political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin told Current Time.

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While no individual or group officially claimed responsibility for the killing, a source at Ukraine's SBU security service told RFE/RL that the blast was the result of a special operation by the SBU.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on December 18 that the unnamed suspect had been recruited and trained by Ukraine's special services and promised money to carry out the attack.

The FSB said the suspect, on instructions from Ukraine, "arrived in Moscow, received a high-power homemade explosive device, and placed it on an electric scooter, which he parked near the entrance to the house of Kirillov."

The Kremlin has not commented on the FSB statement, which said the suspect activated the bomb when Kirillov and his assistant were coming out of the building.

The accused man had been given $100,000 for the murder as well as residency in a European country, the statement said, adding that the suspect faces life in prison for his alleged crime.

"The Ukrainian special services officers involved in organizing the terrorist attack will be found and will receive the punishment they deserve," the FSB said.

The FSB did not present any evidence along with its statement, and some analysts questioned the speed of the response.

One woman from Kyrgyzstan told RFE/RL in Moscow that she expects a backlash for migrants from Central Asia.

"The situation is difficult," the woman said. "I think the position of Central Asian migrants will only worsen after this event. Street inspections will likely intensify."

The woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was afraid to reveal her identity, recalled that events after the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in March there were many raids and deportations of Central Asians from Russia and it's possible this could happen again, she said.

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Russian investigators said the assault in which 144 people were killed was carried out by four men, all Tajik nationals.

The Kyrgyz woman who spoke with RFE/RL said that she believes Uzbeks in Russia will continue to have a difficult time.

"Migration laws in Russia are already being tightened. Things will get worse for them regardless," she said, noting that new laws will come into effect on January 1 and "everything will become even harder."

Kirillov, 54, is the highest-level Russian military officer to be killed in an apparent assassination since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

His death came a day after the SBU reported that Ukrainian prosecutors had filed a charge against him, accusing him of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops during the war started by Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

The SBU has said Russian forces have used chemical weapons almost 5,000 times during the war in Ukraine under Kirillov's leadership. The claim could not be independently verified.

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The RKhBZ are special forces who operate under conditions of radioactive, chemical, and biological contamination.

Kirillov is one of a number of Russian officers and pro-war figures to be killed in Russia and in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.

His death came a week after a senior official from a Russian company that develops cruise missiles used by Moscow in the war was reportedly shot dead just outside the capital.

Viktor Yahun, the former deputy head of the SBU, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service in an interview that with some 20 million people in Russia having Ukrainian origins, "you can find a percentage who are ready to sincerely work for Ukraine. That's why there are so many agents over there."

Kirillov was seen in footage that was central to an RFE/RL Russian Service investigation that revealed details about a restricted facility outside Moscow. The site is linked to a U.S. assertion that Russia maintains an offensive biological weapons program in violation of the UN Biological Weapons Convention.

Former President Dmitry Medvedev, now a senior Russian security official, told a meeting shown on state TV that NATO and Ukraine's Western allies were behind the attack because of their support for Kyiv throughout Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

"These individuals can and should be considered a legitimate military target," he said.

NATO officials have not commented publicly on Medvedev's remarks, but Kaja Kallas, the top EU diplomat, told reporters in Brussels that "Russia is always threatening."

"And it is meant to scare us, so what we see is the threats we have heard before, so I think the only response we can have is not to be afraid,” she added.

Security analyst Yuri Fedorov told Current Time he expects that Russia "will certainly try to retaliate, so it is very possible that there will be attempts by the Russian agents to kill high Ukrainian military and/or security services officers."

"The attacks on Russian generals could have a political and psychological effect, but they cannot seriously impede Russia’s military effort: people like General Kirillov are not the irreplaceable figures who cannot be substituted."

With reporting by Zoriana Stepanenko in Brussels and Rikard Jozwiak in Prague

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili challenged the European Union to do more to support pro-EU protesters and press the ruling Moscow-friendly Georgian Dream party to hold new elections following its unilateral decision to postpone negotiations with the 27-member bloc.

Protesters, who have seen their street protests met with heavy handed police tactics, have also called for fresh elections in almost daily rallies following allegations of electoral fraud during the October parliamentary poll whose results the opposition has refused to recognize amid accusations that Georgian Dream rigged the vote to cling to power.

In power since 2012, Georgian Dream was founded by Russia-friendly billionaire and ex-Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.

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Pro-European Zurabishvili, who has sided with the protesters, told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg on December 18, that the elections must be repeated since they were marred by fraud, violence, and Russian influence.

“Europe needs to find the leverage to act. If Europe cannot exert leverage on a country of 3.7 million, how can it expect to compete with the giants of the 21st century?” she said, while also accusing Georgian Dream of spending the equivalent of some $214 million in what she called "black money" to sway the election in its favor.

"Intimidation, the use of administrative resources, Russian-style propaganda...In addition, 'black money' was used in large quantities. There were no police during the elections. I personally witnessed violence in various districts and tried to contact the minister of internal affairs, but I could not get through," Zurabishvili added.

Georgia received EU candidate status in December last year but ties with Brussels have been tense in recent months following the adoption in May of a controversial "foreign agent" law. Critics say the legislation threatens media outlets and civil society groups and mirrors a similar Russian law used by the Kremlin to stifle political opponents and civil society.

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After the ruling Georgian Dream party declared victory in an election on October 26, protests restarted and intensified after the government said it was suspending talks with Brussels on Tbilisi's bid to join the EU, Georgia’s biggest donor, biggest economic market, and home to the South Caucasus country’s biggest diaspora until 2028.

EU foreign ministers on December 16 agreed to slap visa restrictions on some Georgian officials, but Moscow-friendly Hungary and Slovakia blocked a proposed package of sanctions against leading Georgian officials for the violent crackdown on protesters.

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“If we are honest, Europe so far has not fully lived (up) to the moment. Europe has, so far, met the challenge halfway,” she said. “Where Georgians have been fighting day and night, Europeans have been slow to wake up and slow to react.”

Zurabishvili is due to be replaced by a Georgian Dream-friendly ex-soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili, who was appointed as Georgia’s new president by parliament last week.

Meanwhile, Council of Europe chief Alain Berset arrived in Georgia on a four-day visit on December 18.

Berset said in a statement that his visit aims to verify whether the conditions for continued cooperation between the continental human rights watchdog and the Georgian government are still being met after riot police used excessive violence against peaceful protesters.

Security forces have cracked down on demonstrators for more than three weeks, detaining dozens and injuring scores of people who accuse the government of moving Georgia away from the EU and closer to Russia.

"As a member state of the Council of Europe since 1999, Georgia is bound to respect its fundamental commitments: democracy, the protection of human rights, and the rule of law," Berset said in a statement released ahead of the visit.

"In the current tense and worrying context, the Council of Europe calls on all parties to avoid any escalation of tensions. It urges the authorities to refrain from the disproportionate use of force and to respect fundamental freedoms, in particular freedom of expression and assembly," Berset said, adding, "These principles are essential to guarantee the country's stability and to meet the expectations of the Georgian people."

During his visit to Georgia, Berset is set to meet with representatives of the government, the opposition, and civil society organizations.

Russia's Rosatom is selling its stakes in uranium deposits in Kazakhstan to Chinese-owned companies as the Central Asian nation looks to avoid any international sanctions against Russian-linked assets and a sign of China's growing influence in the region. Kazatomprom, the world's largest producer of uranium, said Uranium One Group -- a unit of Rosatom -- had sold its 49.98 percent stake in the Zarechnoye mine in the Turkistan region to Astana Mining Company, which is owned by China's State Nuclear Uranium Resources Development Company. Kazatomprom maintains its 49.99 percent stake in the venture. Kazatomprom chief Meirzhan Yussupov told The Financial Times in September that sanctions imposed on Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine made it difficult to sell uranium to Western buyers.

The U.S. State Department condemned the 10-year sentence handed down by Iranian authorities against Reza Valizadeh, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen and former journalist for RFE/RL's Radio Farda.

"We strongly condemn this sentencing and call for his immediate release and the release of all political prisoners in Iran," a spokesperson told Radio Farda on December 17.

"The Iranian government has repeatedly suppressed press freedom through threats, intimidation, detentions, forced confessions, and the use of violence against journalists in Iran," the spokesperson added.

According to court documents sent to the journalist's lawyer on December 10 and subsequently reviewed by RFE/RL, Valizadeh was sentenced by Tehran's Revolutionary Court on charges of "collaborating with a hostile government."

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In addition to the prison term, Valizadeh was banned for two years from living in Tehran and adjacent provinces, from leaving the country, and from joining political or social organizations following the completion of his sentence.

Valizadeh resigned from Radio Farda in November 2022 after a decade of work.

He returned to Iran in early 2024 to visit his family but was arrested on September 22.

His two court sessions, held on November 20 and December 7, reportedly lacked a prosecution representative, with the judge assuming that role.

Sources close to the journalist claim he fell into a "security trap" despite receiving unofficial assurances from Iranian security officials that he would not face legal troubles upon returning to Iran.

The State Department earlier condemned Valizadeh's detention, calling it "unjust" and inconsistent with international legal standards.

Press freedom organizations, including Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists, urged Iranian authorities to release Valizadeh immediately.

RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus also called for Valizadeh to be released, saying the charges against him, his conviction, and sentence were unjust.

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"Time and again, the Iranian regime has attempted to spread its malign influence around the world, trampling on human rights at every opportunity," Capus said in a statement. "Clearly, this regime feels threatened by the forces of freedom, including independent journalism."

Iran is routinely accused of arresting dual nationals and Western citizens on false charges to use them to pressure Western countries. In September 2023, Iran released five Americans jailed in Iran in a prisoner swap.

Valizadeh is the first U.S. citizen known to have been arrested since that deal.

Iran is also among the most repressive countries in terms of freedom of the press. Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 176th out of 180 countries in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index. The Paris-based media watchdog says Iran is now also one of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it disrupted what it described as the "biggest network" of Russian spies operating within the country who were allegedly collecting intelligence on ally-donated F-16 fighter jets, among other military targets.

The December 17 announcement underlines what Ukraine describes as Russia's constant spying efforts as it continues to repel Russia's ongoing invasion launched in February 2022.

The SBU claimed its military counterintelligence division neutralized the alleged spy network working for Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) across five Ukrainian regions.

In a coordinated operation, the SBU identified 12 Russian agents and informants, including former Ukrainian soldiers who deserted their positions and were later allegedly recruited by Russian intelligence while on the run from law enforcement.

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The group operated across Ukraine's key regions -- Zaporizhzhya, Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolayiv, and Odesa -- under the leadership of a GRU-appointed handler based in the Dnipropetrovsk region, the SBU said.

The group's leader allegedly used forged documents, including fake credentials, to conceal his identity.

According to the SBU, the agents were tasked with high-value intelligence missions crucial to the Russian military strategy.

These included pinpointing the locations of Ukrainian air-defense systems and secret military airfields where F-16 fighter jets might be stationed and locating Ukrainian companies involved in the production of electronic warfare systems used to counter Russian drones.

The SBU reported that the network's operators often used personal contacts, including Ukrainian soldiers in the frontline area, to unwittingly extract sensitive information from them.

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The focus on F-16 fighter jets underscores Russia's strategic concerns, the agency noted, as Ukraine's acquisition of these Western-supplied jets represents a potential major impact in the nearly 3-year-old conflict.

The advanced aircraft bolster Ukraine's air capabilities, posing a significant threat to Russian operations. For Moscow, gaining intelligence on their potential deployment locations is critical to preemptively countering their use.

The SBU has officially indicted the prominent members of the spy network with state treason and the unauthorized disclosure of military information about the movement and location of Ukrainian forces. Other participants in the operation may face further charges from law enforcement officials.

The suspects face prison terms of up to eight years if convicted.

Russian lawmakers have approved a bill that restricts how so-called foreign agents can access their income inside the country as the government continues to clamp down on political opponents amid the war in Ukraine.

The State Duma, Russia's lower chamber of parliament, approved in its second and third readings a bill targeting "foreign agents," a controversial designation that stigmatizes those who receive it with a Soviet-era connotation and restricts their ability to exercise free speech.

The bill limits a so-called foreign agent's access to various forms of income sourced domestically, including proceeds from property sales, royalties for creative work, or investment returns by requiring all proceeds be placed in special blocked bank accounts.

Such funds would become available only in the event of the individual's foreign agent status being officially lifted -- a development critics say is all but impossible.

Human rights groups and international observers have denounced the legislation as another move in Russia's authoritarian squeeze.

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Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the State Duma, justified the move, however, describing it as a way to defend national interests.

"Those who betray our country will not enrich themselves at the expense of its citizens. Funds earned in Russia must not be used against it," Volodin stated on Telegram.

The law passed unanimously in the State Duma and now goes to the Federation Council, parliament's upper house, before going to President Vladimir Putin for a signature -- both of which are seen as a formality.

The designation of foreign agent carries Soviet-era overtones of espionage and betrayal and has become the hallmark of the Kremlin's efforts to muzzle dissent.

First introduced in 2012, the term has been applied to NGOs, independent journalists, opposition politicians, activists, and cultural figures accused of receiving foreign funding or engaging in activities perceived as politically hostile.

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The number of so-called foreign agents has increased to about 500 and includes prominent cultural and creative figures, most of whom had to flee Russia and are currently staying abroad.

The new law significantly enhances controls from which the already highly restricted designees have to suffer, including among other demands such requirements as compulsory disclaimers on everything they say or write publicly and even file activity and detailed financial reports regularly.

Later, other amendments banned advertisement collaborations with alleged foreign agents and significantly stiffened penalties, sending some to trials for noncompliance with the law.

The new legislation represents a new phase in the campaign by the Kremlin to choke off the voices of its opponents.

Royalties and earnings from intellectual property became an essential lifeline for musicians, authors, and artists whom the government placed on the list. Critics say the new measures will economically paralyze people whose work or public statements challenge government narratives.

The move could also exacerbate the cultural brain drain in Russia since the beginning of its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

With reporting by TASS and Interfax

KYIV -- Moscow's forces, bolstered by North Korean troops, have intensified their offensive against Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region, as Kyiv's outnumbered soldiers attempted to resist the onslaught there and elsewhere on December 17.

"For the third day, the enemy has been conducting intensive offensive operations on the territory of the Kursk region, actively using units of the North Korean Army," said General Oleksandr Syrskiy, Ukraine's top military commander, in an address broadcast online.

Pyongyang’s decision to send troops to Russia appears to have come at a high cost so far.

Ukrainian and U.S. officials on December 16 said North Korean troops have been fighting alongside Russian forces in Kursk and that some have been killed or injured.

On December 17, a senior U.S. military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told news agencies that North Korean forces have suffered "several hundred" casualties in the Kursk fighting -- from lower-level troops to those "very near to the top."

"These are not battle-hardened troops. They haven't been in combat before," the official added.

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RFE/RL has not been able to independently verify the claims. Russia has not commented on the reports.

Syrskiy said the situation all along the front line "remains difficult" after Russian troops had seized "the strategic initiative" in recent weeks.

He said Russian forces were continuing their drive to capture the strategic Donetsk city of Pokrovsk, which appears to be mostly deserted by civilians.

Local military commanders in the region said defense forces were "holding back the onslaught," although the overall situation in the Donetsk city -- with a prewar population of about 65,000 -- appeared perilous, according to many Ukrainian officials.

Over recent months, Russia has pressed its manpower advantage to push back against Ukraine's shock incursion into its Kursk region in August and to gain territory in eastern Ukraine, prompting Ukrainian officials to increase pleas to Western partners for additional military aid.

Elsewhere, Ukraine's SBU security service said it had uncovered a "large-scale network" of agents working for Russian military intelligence that had attempted to collect information on Ukraine's supply of Western-supplied F-16 warplanes, which are based at secret sites throughout the country.

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"As a result of the special operation, 12 Russian agents and their informants were exposed. Some of them are deserters who voluntarily left the units of the armed forces of Ukraine, and when they were hiding from justice, they were recruited by the Russian special service," the security office said.

On the political front, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Lviv, vowing his support for Ukraine's NATO membership hopes, while Zelenskiy urged Western allies to "urgently strengthen Ukraine" with additional aid.

On December 16, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump told a news conference that Zelenskiy and Russia's Vladimir Putin must be prepared to "make a deal" to end the "horrible" war in Ukraine.

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"He should be prepared to make a deal, that’s all," Trump said of Zelenskiy during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Putin must also "make a deal," Trump then added.

"Got to be a deal. Too many people being killed," he said.

Trump, who takes office on January 20, said he would speak with Zelenskiy and Putin on ways to end the war, but he did not answer directly when asked if Ukraine would be forced to cede territory to Russia.

President Joe Biden's administration has attempted to speed deliveries of aid to Kyiv ahead of the return to the White House of Trump, who has criticized the amount of assistance Biden has provided to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

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Meanwhile, in Tallinn, Estonia, leaders of the 10-nation Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) on December 17 vowed continued support for Ukraine.

"We reiterate that Ukraine’s victory is vital to all our security and the preservation of rules-based international order," a joint statement read.

"We call on all third countries, including [North Korea], Belarus, Iran, and China, which are directly or indirectly enabling Russia’s aggression, to cease offering the support Moscow requires to prolong the war and the suffering of the Ukrainian people."

The statement is signed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

The European Union has launched an investigation into the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok over accusations that it was used by Russia to influence the result of Romania's first round of presidential elections won by a far-right Moscow-friendly candidate.

Largely unknown independent Calin Georgescu scored a shock victory in the first round of balloting in a November 24 election with some 23 percent of the vote. He had been due to face pro-European center-right Elena Lasconi in a December 8 runoff.

However, following Romania's National Security Council's declassification of documents allegedly pointing to a "state actor" that wasn't named but appeared to be Russia, the EU and NATO member's Constitutional Court annulled the first round of the vote and ordered a complete rerun that would take place in the next few months.

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Incumbent Klaus Iohannis's term has been extended accordingly, although his second five-year term expired in mid-December.

"Following serious indications that foreign actors interfered in the Romanian presidential elections by using TikTok, we are now thoroughly investigating whether TikTok has violated the Digital Services Act by failing to tackle such risks," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on December 17.

"This decision to open an investigation takes into account information received from declassified intelligence reports by the Romanian authorities, as well as third-party reports," she added.

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The statement said the commission will continue to gather evidence, "for example by sending additional requests for information, conducting monitoring actions, interviews, inspections, and requesting access to algorithms."

Von der Leyen's announcement comes after the EU, issued a retention order to TikTok on December 5, ordering the platform to freeze and preserve data related to "actual or foreseeable systemic risks" concerning national elections in the 27-member bloc from November 24 to March next year.

TikTok will now have to provide data and documents retained under the December 5 order, von der Leyen said.

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EU Orders TikTok Data Freeze Amid Accusations Of Russian Meddling In Romanian Elections

The EU move comes after a group of senior U.S. senators issued a statement condemning alleged Russian influence in the Romanian elections.

“Vladimir Putin’s assault on Romania’s elections is yet another example of the hybrid war he is waging on our European allies and partners,” U.S. Senators Pete Ricketts (Republican-Nevada), Ben Cardin (Democrat-Maryland), Jim Risch (Republican-Idaho), and Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat-New Hampshire) said in a statement.

“As a strong NATO ally, we support Romania as it fights for the integrity of its elections. We condemn Putin’s manipulation of Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-controlled TikTok to undermine Romania’s democratic process," the senators said.

"The United States stands in support of Romania as it urgently moves to hold certifiably free and fair presidential elections," the statement said.

A Moscow court on December 17 fined lawyer Yeva Levenberg of the OVD-Info rights group for speaking to RFE/RL's Russian Service, known locally as Radio Svoboda. The court ordered Levenberg to pay 10,000 rubles ($96) after finding her guilty of cooperating with an "undesirable" organization. The charge stemmed from Levenberg's comments to RFE/RL regarding politically motivated charges of extremism faced by Russian activists. RFE/RL's Russian Service was labeled " undesirable " in February. Individuals found guilty of collaborating with "undesirable" organizations may face up to 15,000 rubles of fines and up to four years in prison if convicted of repeated cooperation with organizations labeled "undesirable" by Russian authorities. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Dozens of kilometers of Black Sea coastline in Russia's Krasnodar region have been covered in heavy fuel oil, local authorities and residents reported on December 17, after two oil tankers were heavily damaged during a storm in the Kerch Strait.

Regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said cleanup crews were being dispatched to the area as high winds helped spread large amounts of spilled oil along the coastline, raising concerns of an impending environmental disaster in the Black Sea.

Social media photos and video showed wildlife covered in dark liquid, the result of the December 15 incident involving two Volgoneft tankers that were carrying thousands of tons of mazut -- low-quality heavy fuel oil.

SEE ALSO:

Environmentalists Warn Of Disaster As Russian Officials Race To Grounded Tankers In Kerch Strait

The vessels reportedly ran aground in the ecologically sensitive waters off Ukraine's Moscow-annexed Crimean coastline. One of the tankers reportedly capsized and split into two during a severe storm. Waves as high as 3-4 meters, considered dangerous for such vessels, are believed to have caused the accident.

Reports of environmental degradation are mounting as more and more oil spreads across the sea and onto shores that are summer havens for families.

Local residents painted a dire picture of the shoreline, noting oil-covered birds that cannot fly and stray dogs covered in fuel oil roaming the shore.

They also noted the strong scent of oil in the air with many residents complaining of nausea and skin and eye irritations.

Almost 300 people, including volunteers and heavy equipment, are working to minimize the consequences of the accident, officials said.

Two municipalities have organized operational headquarters for cleaning. Environmentalists, however, warn that the spill's size may already be too big to handle.

The chairman of the region's maritime trade unions, Leonid Glushak, told the Kedr website that the overwhelming majority of the fuel oil has already seeped into the sea, exacerbating the eco-catastrophe.

According to Glushak, Volgoneft tankers, intended for river voyages, are inadequate for open sea water such as the Kerch Strait.

SEE ALSO:

Ukraine Live Briefing: Talking War Strategy In Brussels

Moscow has been using a so-called shadow fleet of tankers -- a group of old, uninsured oil vessels -- to bypass Western sanctions imposed over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The poor condition of these ships has raised concerns about environmental disasters.

Authorities have started criminal investigations into the accident, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned could be repeated in other areas of Europe.

"Our sea is facing yet another environmental disaster caused by Russia. But there are even larger and more dangerous Russian tankers operating in your seas. Stopping this fleet is not just about cutting off Russia’s war funding -- it’s about protecting nature," he said in a post on X on December 17.

Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

A high-ranking officer in charge of Russia's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces (RKhBZ) has been killed in an explosion in Moscow that sources told RFE/RL was carried out by Ukrainian intelligence operatives.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his assistant were killed by a bomb concealed in a scooter outside the entrance of a Moscow building early on December 17, Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement.

Kirillov, 54, is the highest-level Russian military officer to be killed in an apparent assassination since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

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While no individual or group officially claimed responsibility for the killing, a source at Ukraine's SBU security service told RFE/RL that the blast was the result of a special operation by the SBU.

The Kremlin blamed the attack on Kyiv and criticied Ukraine's Western allies for what it called a lack of reaction to the killing.

"The terrorist attack in Moscow was a continuation and development of the spiral of approval by the West of the war crimes of the militants of the Kyiv regime," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told a briefing that the United States was not involved in the killing or aware of it in advance.

But he added that Kirillov "was a general who was involved in a number of atrocities. He was involved in the use of chemical weapons against the Ukrainian military."

The SBU has said Russian forces used chemical weapons almost 5,000 times during the war in Ukraine under Kirillov’s leadership.

The claim could not be independently verified, but Kyiv has reportedly been behind a campaign of targeted assassinations of Russian officials and military officers involved in the invasion of Ukraine.

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The Ukrainian Fingerprints On A Shadowy Assassination Campaign On Russian Soil

The incident occurred a day after the SBU reported that Ukrainian prosecutors filed a charge against Kirillov, accusing him of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops during the war started by Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Kirillov is one of a number of Russian officers and pro-war figures to be killed in Russia and in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. His death came a week after a senior official from a Russian company that develops cruise missiles used by Moscow in the war was reportedly shot dead just outside the capital.

Kirillov figured in footage that was central to an RFE/RL Russian Service investigation which revealed details about a restricted facility outside Moscow that figures in the U.S. assertion that Russia maintains an offensive biological weapons program in violation of the UN Biological Weapons Convention.

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Inside A Secret, Expanding Russian Lab Site With A Bioweapons Legacy

The investigation focused on Russian state media footage that showed then-Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspecting the facility, which was known for its role in the Soviet Union's biological weapons program and has undergone a major expansion. Kirillov led Shoigu on his tour of the inspection of the facility, the 48th Central Scientific Research Institute.

The investigative committee said the explosion occurred outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt, an avenue in the Russian capital which starts some 7 kilometers southeast of the Kremlin.

Pictures posted on the Russian Telegram channel Astra showed what appeared to be two bodies lying in the snow outside the damaged door of an apartment building.

After analyzing images of a car parked near the apartment building, Astra reported that the vehicle was Kirillov's.

The RKhBZ are special forces who operate under conditions of radioactive, chemical, and biological contamination.

According to his official biography, Kirillov participated in the creation and adoption of the TOS-2 "Tosochka" heavy flamethrower system by the Russian Army, as well as in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kirillov and the RKhBZ were placed on Britain, Canada, and New Zealand's sanctions list in October for using riot control agents and numerous reports of the use of the toxic choking agent chloropicrin on the battlefield.

Kirillov and his forces were "responsible for helping deploy these barbaric weapons," Britain said at the time.

The Kremlin has called the accusations "baseless."

Kirillov, who according to Russian state news agency TASS was a graduate of Kostroma Higher Military Command School of Chemical Defense, had been appointed to head the RKhBZ in April 2017.

He previously served in the Directorate of the Chief of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said a deal allowing transit of Russian gas through his country wouldn't be extended into 2025, but he said he's ready to discuss other methods of providing supplies to Western Europe. "If the European Commission officially approaches Ukraine about transit of any gas other than Russian, we'll naturally discuss it and are ready to reach an appropriate agreement," Shmyhal said on Telegram. "Ukraine's agreement with Russia on gas transit comes to an end on January 1, 2025, and won't be extended." When Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU was largely dependent on Russia for gas but has since sought alternative supplies. Shmyhal previously said no extension was planned, but some countries, including Slovakia, had expressed hopes for additional time. Ukraine has said discussions have taken place on the possibility of shipping gas from Azerbaijan to Europe through Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.

Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he only left the country in the late hours of December 8 after a Russian air base allegedly came under attack by rebel forces and officials in Moscow ordered "an immediate evacuation."

In what appear to be Assad's first public comments since the fall of his regime in war-torn Syria, a post on the Syrian presidency Telegram social media page on December 16 said the departure from the Hmeimim air base "was neither planned, nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles."

Russia had intervened in the 14-year civil war between government forces and rebels to help keep Assad in power.

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How Russia Is Spinning Its Syria Debacle, And Why

But the strongman leader fled Syria as the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies -- some of whom are linked with Turkey -- overran government forces in a blitz offensive.

Assad's whereabouts were unknown for a brief period before officials in Moscow said on December 9 that he had been granted political asylum in Russia by President Vladimir Putin after more than five decades of iron-fisted rule by his family.

In the post, Assad said he "never considered stepping down or seeking refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any individual or party."

SEE ALSO:

Assad's Fall Is A Blow To Russia. Here's What It Means For The War In Ukraine.

Reuters reported last week that Assad's departure from the country took even relatives and senior officials by surprise.

The HTS has since moved quickly to establish an interim government, and its leader, Riad al-Asaad, has said he is confident the factions that helped topple Assad will unite as one force. HTS and the transitional government have insisted the rights of all Syrians will be protected.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on December 16 that Russia and another of Syria's staunch allies, Iran, shouldn't have influence over the country's future.

"Many foreign ministers emphasized that it should be a condition for the new leadership to eliminate Russian influence [in Syria]," Kallas told reporters at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, adding the bloc would raise the issue of Russia's military bases in the country.

The future of Russia's bases -- the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia and the Tartus naval facility -- have been thrown into question with the fall of Assad.

• Amos Chapple

Photographs taken during the rule of Syria's deposed president, Bashar al-Assad, show life inside Russia's air and naval facilities in the Middle Eastern country.

Reuters quoted Syrian military and security sources in contact with the Russians as saying that Moscow was pulling back its forces from the front lines and withdrawing some heavy equipment from the country.

The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry (HUR) said on December 15 that Russian military personnel still in Syria are experiencing a lack of food and drinking water as an evacuation of troops and equipment continues.

It added that Russian personnel are experiencing these problems at the bases in Tartus and Hmeimim and on ships anchored offshore in the Mediterranean Sea.

Hungary and Slovakia – both with populist, pro-Russian leaders -- on December 16 blocked a proposed package of European Union sanctions against leading Georgian officials for that government's violent crackdown on pro-West protesters over recent weeks.

EU foreign ministers, who are planning for a December 19 Brussels summit, moved forward, however, on a plan to suspend visa liberalization for diplomatic passport holders of the South Caucasus nation.

Anti-Government Protests Continue In Tbilisi

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The expected moves on December 16 by Hungary and Slovakia prevent the implementation a series of measures against Georgian officials that would have included visa bans and asset freezes.

The move would have required unanimous support by the 27-member bloc.

However, the suspension of visa-liberalization procedures for Georgian diplomatic passport holders requires only a majority vote, meaning 55 percent of member states comprising 65 percent of total EU population.

The European Commission has begun planning for the suspension, and the proposal could be sent to member states this week.

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovakian premier Robert Fico have been a thorn in the side of fellow EU leaders seeking to punish Georgia for its violent crackdowns on dissent and its increasingly pro-Russia policies.

Both have opposed sanctions on the Kremlin for its war against Russia and have expressed support for the Georgian Dream-led government in Tbilisi.

The EU has never sanctioned Georgian politicians, but earlier this year it froze more than 100 million euro ($105.1 million) of EU funds going to Georgia and halted EU accession talks with Tbilisi.

Earlier in the day, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc had set a list of Georgian leaders to sanction following a violent crackdown on protesters angered by the ruling Georgian Dream party's decision to delay the Caucasus country's negotiations to join the EU.

"We have proposed the list for sanctions for these people who are...using really force and violence against the opposition," Kallas said before a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

"But everybody needs to agree to the list, and we are not there yet."

"All the developments that we are seeing right now in Georgia are not going in the right direction where the candidate countries should be," Kallas told reporters.

Western leaders have been alarmed at what they say are increasingly violent measures against protesters and a growing pro-Russia tilt within the Georgian Dream-led government.

SEE ALSO:

The Bitter Standoff Over Georgia's Next President

The United States earlier this month imposed more visa restrictions on Georgian officials for "undermining democracy" and on December 16 indicated that further measures are imminent.

"We have been greatly concerned about the state of Georgian democracy, the actions that Georgia Dream has taken to undermine [Georgian] democracy," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

"We have other sanctions that we are preparing to unfold in the coming weeks," he added.

Protesters have also called for fresh elections following allegations of electoral fraud during the October parliamentary poll whose results the opposition has refused to recognize, claiming Georgian Dream rigged the vote to cling to power.

In power since 2012, Georgian Dream, the party founded by Russia-friendly billionaire and ex-Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has been accused by critics of becoming increasingly more authoritarian.

Pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili, who has sided with the protesters, has said the elections were manipulated with the help of Russia.

With reporting by AFP

Serbian authorities have been using sophisticated digital surveillance technology to access mobile phones used by journalists and activists, Amnesty International said on December 16.

In a new report titled A Digital Prison, Amnesty detailed how Serbian officials have been using a locally developed spyware system called NoviSpy and technology developed by the Israeli firm Cellebrite to "unlawfully" target reporters and members of civil society.

"Amnesty International uncovered forensic evidence showing how Serbian authorities used Cellebrite products to enable NoviSpy spyware infections of activists' phones," the report said.

The report includes testimonies from a journalist and an activist who alleged that the authorities, including the police the Security Intelligence Agency, installed spyware on their devices while in custody and during an interview.

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"Our investigation reveals how Serbian authorities have deployed surveillance technology and digital repression tactics as instruments of wider state control and repression directed against civil society," said Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International's deputy regional director for Europe.

"It also highlights how Cellebrite mobile forensic products -- used widely by police and intelligence services worldwide -- can pose an enormous risk to those advocating for human rights, the environment, and freedom of speech when used outside of strict legal control and oversight."

Amnesty said NoviSpy can steal sensitive personal data and turn on a phone's microphone and camera remotely. Celleberite tools unlock a target's phone to allow infection by spyware and enable the extraction of data.

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In response to Amnesty, Cellebrite said its products "are licensed strictly for lawful use, require a warrant or consent to help law enforcement agencies with legally sanctioned investigations after a crime has taken place."

"Over the past years, state repression and a hostile environment for free speech advocates in Serbia [have] escalated with each wave of anti-government protests. The authorities have engaged in sustained smear campaigns against NGOs, media, and journalists and have also subjected those involved in peaceful protest to arrests and judicial harassment," the report said.

European Union foreign ministers have adopted a 15th package of sanctions against Russia targeting tankers transporting Russian oil as the bloc looks to curb the circumvention of previous measures aimed at hindering Moscow's ability to wage war against Ukraine.

"This package of sanctions is part of our response to weaken Russia’s war machine and those who are enabling this war, also including Chinese companies," Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, said in a statement on December 16.

"It shows the unity of EU member states in our continued support to Ukraine. Our immediate priority is to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position. We will stand by the Ukrainian people on all fronts: humanitarian, economic, political, diplomatic and military. There can be no doubt that Ukraine will win," she added.

The European Council said it agreed on a significant package of measures against 54 individuals and 30 entities "responsible for actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine."

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It sanctioned the military unit responsible for the striking of the Okhmadyt children's hospital in Kyiv, senior managers in leading companies in Russia's energy sector, individuals responsible for the deportation of Ukrainian children, and two "senior" North Korean officials.

Moscow's so-called shadow fleet of tankers is a group of old, uninsured oil vessels used to bypass Western sanctions and maintain a source of revenue. The poor condition of these ships has raised concerns about environmental disasters.

Separately, 12 Western nations announced measures on December 16 designed "to disrupt and deter Russia’s shadow fleet vessels."

“Russia uses its shadow fleet to circumvent sanctions and mitigate their impact on Russia. The 12 countries agreed to disrupt and deter Russia’s shadow fleet to prevent illegal operations and increase Russia’s costs of its war against Ukraine,” a statement said.

Five of the nations – Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Finland, and Estonia -- have ordered their maritime authorities to request relevant proof of insurance from suspected “shadow” vessels as they pass through bodies of water under their jurisdiction, the statement added.

The statement was issued by the government of Estonia, where leaders of the 10-nation Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) were scheduled to meet on December 17.

A draft of a statement of conclusions being prepared for an EU summit later this week and seen by RFE/RL said that efforts "to further limit Russia's ability to wage war must continue."

The draft, which is still subject to revision, adds that the European Council "strongly condemns" Iran and North Korea for helping to sustain Russia's "war of aggression against Ukraine."

The bloc said growing military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran and the deployment of North Koreans to the battlefront have "serious consequences for international peace and security" and called on both countries to stop helping Russia.

SEE ALSO:

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The EU will continue aiding Ukraine financially to stave off the Russian invasion, with plans to disburse a total of 18.1 billion euros ($19 billion) to Kyiv in 2025 starting in January.

On developments in Syria, the bloc welcomed the fall of the "criminal regime" of Bashar al-Assad and called for an "inclusive and Syrian-led political process" to install a government that protects the rights of minorities.

It added that the bloc's foreign policy chief would be asked to "prepare options for measures to support Syria."

On the Gaza War, it called for "an immediate cease-fire" and the unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the EU and the United States.

It also reiterated its stance on a two-state solution to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and establish "just and lasting peace."

The EU summit will take place in Brussels on December 19.

Environmentalists are warning of a potential disaster posed by two Russian oil tankers that ran aground in the ecologically sensitive waters off Ukraine's Moscow-annexed Crimean coastline as local media reported thousands of tons of low-grade fuel has spilled into a major Black Sea shipping lane.

The incidents, which occurred on December 15, left one sailor dead and forced the evacuation of 26 crew members from the vessels Volgoneft-239 and Volgoneft-212.

Officials have said crew error during stormy conditions was to blame and that there was no evidence of any links to Russia's war on Ukraine.

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Both tankers were laden with large cargoes of fuel oil. The Volgoneft-212 is said to have been carrying more than 4,000 tons of the heavy pollutant, leaving the potential for one of the largest environmental disasters ever in the Kerch Strait, which is a key shipping lane.

Russian state news agencies on December 16 quoted sources as saying some 3,700 tons of mazut, a low-quality heavy fuel oil, had spilled into the water.

Social media video verified by RFE/RL showed one of the tankers splitting in half. It was not immediately clear what, if anything, had leaked from the vessels.

"Any oil or petrochemical spill in these waters has the potential to be serious. It is likely to be driven by prevailing wind and currents...and in the current weather conditions is likely to be extremely difficult to contain. If it is driven ashore, then it will cause fouling of the shoreline, which will be extremely difficult to clean up," Dr. Paul Johnston, head of Greenpeace Research Laboratories in the United Kingdom, said in a statement.

"In consideration of likely significant impacts, the efforts, after saving the crew, should be to prevent or minimize further spillage as feasible. If the ships sink, then there is potential for releases of oil and petrochemicals over longer periods."

The vessels were were about 7 kilometers from the shore in the Kerch Strait between mainland Russia and Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, when they issued distress signals.

In 2007, the strait, which links the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea, saw the Volgoneft-139 tanker split in half during a storm while anchored nearby, spilling more than 1,000 tons of oil.

Greenpeace called on the Russian authorities "to take all efforts to mitigate or reduce environmental impact of the oil spill, and withdraw the navy ships, and stop militarization of the region, returning Crimea under rightful control of Ukraine."

Isaac Levi, a London-based expert on Russian energy sanctions at the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said that, although the scale of the situation caused by the two tankers' sinking remains unknown, "the environmental impact is very likely to be astronomical."

The cost of cleanup could be upwards of $112 million if the two tankers spilled all their oil products, and $64 million if only the one that broke apart did so, Levi said in a phone interview with RFE/RL.

"It’s a very old tanker, and it does show some degree of negligence to set sail in those conditions, putting the environment at risk, as well as the crew members," he said of the vessel that broke apart. "It looks like a classic case of negligence or too high risk taken on to sail in stormy conditions."

Russia uses "shadow tankers" -- vessels that are not Western-owned or Western-insured, to skirt sanctions that prohibit it from selling oil and oil products at rates that exceed a set price cap, which varies for crude and different kinds of oil products.

"Shadow tankers that transport Russian oil often undertake dangerous practices that enable Russia to increase its oil export earnings used to fund its war in Ukraine at the expense of maritime ecosystems," Levi said, "as well as putting crews of the vessels at risk and taxpayers in countries that could end up footing the bill for a cleanup if the tanker has insufficient insurance coverage."

"It’s warning that these tankers are old, have poor insurance…and frequently engage in dangerous practices such as ship-to-ship transfers and turning off the AIS transponders" that show their location, putting the maritime ecosystem at risk, he added.

According to the Telegram channel Krymsky Veter, the vessel that broke up, Vologneft-212, had not had its Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder on since December 3. The system provides positioning, identification and other information about the ship to other ships and to coastal authorities.

Evidence indicates the other tanker, Vologoneft-239, had not turned its AIS transponder on since December 11.

Andriy Klymenko, project director at the Kyiv-based Institute of Strategic Black Sea Studies, wrote on Facebook that the vessels are "not seagoing vessels" but are river vessels that are permitted to travel in coastal waters.

According to Klymenko, neither of the tankers was authorized to sail in seas where waves are higher than 2.5 meters, while he said the waves in the Kerch Strait were reaching 3.5 meters on December 15.

Russia's government said in a post on Telegram that Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has ordered a working group be set up to coordinate cleanup, while Natural Resources and Environment Minister Aleksandr Kozlov arrived at the site on December 16 along with other officials to assess the situation.

With contributions from Steve Gutterman and RFE/RL's Crimea.Realities

Ukrainian intelligence said at least 30 North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia have been killed or wounded in the western Russian region of Kursk, the first time Kyiv has given such a detailed report on North Korean losses since Pyongyang sent troops to help Moscow.

The remarks were partially backed up by the Pentagon, with a spokesman on December 16 saying Washington has indications that North Korean troops have fought alongside Russian forces in Kursk and that some have been killed or injured, without speculating on numbers.

"We do assess that North Korean soldiers have engaged in combat in Kursk...we do have indications that they have suffered casualties, both killed and wounded," Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told reporters in Washington.

The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian military (HUR) said in a statement on December 16 that North Korean units had suffered "significant losses" near the villages of Martynovka, Plekhovo, and Vorozhba.

On December 15, Skhemy (Schemes), an investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, received photos from Ukrainian military sources purportedly showing the bodies of dead soldiers in Kursk, including what was said to be North Korean fighters.

RFE/RL has not been able to independently verify the claim. Russia has not commented on the report.

Separately, the United States and nine other Western allies on December 16 issued a statement condemning “in the strongest possible terms” the increasing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.

Direct North Korean “support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine marks a dangerous expansion of the conflict, with serious consequences for European and Indo-Pacific security,” it said.

The statement was signed by the U.S. secretary of state along with the foreign ministers of Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, as well as the high representative of the European Union.

Washington on December 16 also hit Russia and North Korea with new sanctions that the Treasury Department said targeted Pyongyang's financial activities and military support for the Kremlin, echoing similar moves made by the EU earlier in the day.

The sanctions target North Korean banks, generals, and others, along with Russian oil shipping companies.

“Since October, [North Korea] has supplied Russia with more than 11,000 troops -- which are now training for deployment against Ukraine -- and sent significant quantities of missiles and ammunition to the Russian military to replenish its dwindling stockpiles,” the Treasury said.

Ukrainian troops began their incursion into the Kursk region in August and still control some areas. Russia began deploying thousands of North Korean troops in the region in October.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on December 14 that Moscow had started involving more North Korean troops in an effort to push back Ukrainian forces in Kursk.

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With estimates by some analysts saying Russian casualties exceed 600,000 and President Vladimir Putin looking to avoid a politically unpopular second mass mobilization, reports suggest more than 11,000 North Korean soldiers are in southwestern Russia.

Meanwhile, an informed source at Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) told RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service that Kyiv used drones last week to target and destroy a Russian ammunition depot in the village of Markyne in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

Russia launched 49 Shahed-type drones against Ukraine in the early hours of December 16, Kyiv said. It added that 27 were shot down but it lost track of 19. Three remained in Ukrainian air space.

The Ukrainian military said none of the drones made impact and there were no reports of damages or casualties.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on December 16 that both Zelenskiy and Putin must be prepared to “make a deal” to end the “horrible” war in Ukraine.

“He should be prepared to make a deal, that’s all,” Trump said of Zelenskiy during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Putin must also "make a deal," Trump then added.

“Got to be a deal. Too many people being killed,” he said.

Trump, who takes office on January 20, said he would speak with Zelenskiy and Putin on ways to end the war, but he did not answer directly when asked if Ukraine would be forced to cede territory to Russia.

With reporting by AFP and AP

Kyrgyz Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov submitted his resignation on December 16 amid an unfolding scandal surrounding the detention of senior officials from the State Tax Service.

The resignation ended Japarov's three-year tenure, which, despite notable reforms, has been overshadowed by controversy and increasing scrutiny.

The administration of President Sadyr Japarov, no relation to the prime minister, officially confirmed the move, saying it came as he is due to "transition to another position." It did not elaborate.

Akylbek Japarov, who is active on social media, hasn't said anything about the circumstances surrounding his resignation, which was termed a "rotation" by the deputy chairman of the cabinet in charge of social policy, Edil Baisalov.

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Until the appointment of a new prime minister, First Deputy Prime Minister Adylbek Kasymaliev will serve as interim head of the cabinet.

Japarov's resignation came amid an unprecedented corruption scandal within the State Tax Service, angry public protests, and lawmakers' calls for Japarov's responsibility and resignation.

While authorities have not confirmed his resignation is related to the scandal, the timing raises many questions. Several times, Japarov publicly said he knew about the political pressure but was confident in his position, saying he would serve as long as the president trusted him.

Akylbek Japarov's three years -- substantial in a country where few prime ministers serve even two years -- were marked by vital reforms. Before Japarov, Apas Jumagulov was the only politician in Kyrgyzstan who served longer, holding the post for over four years in the 1990s.

Japarov's tenure as head of the government saw extensive tax reforms in Kyrgyzstan aimed at taming the shadow economy.

If official reports are accurate, the measures brought a significant part of the previously unregulated economic activities into the country's formal system, increasing state revenues.

The changes, however, have also been met with criticism, while some business leaders have expressed dissatisfaction with some of the new regulations.

His time in office also has been tainted by complaints from businesses and accusations of corruption within state institutions, which have yet to be proven.

Iran closed government offices and shifted school classes online on December 16 due to freezing temperatures and a severe gas shortage. Northern provinces have experienced temperatures plunging to -20°C (-4°F) in recent days, accompanied by widespread gas supply disruptions. President Masud Pezeshkian called on citizens last week to lower their thermostats by 2 degrees Celsius to conserve energy. Other government officials have made similar pleas online. Despite sitting on the world’s second-largest proven gas reserves, Iran’s aging infrastructure has struggled to meet increasing demand during winter. To read the full story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.

Four men suspected of planning terrorist attacks have been arrested in western North Macedonia, Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said on December 15.

Toshkovski said the arrests were made during raids on several locations in the towns of Struga and Gostivar.

The four men are suspected of planning to organize events that could jeopardize the security of North Macedonia and other countries, Toskovski told reporters.

He added that they were suspected of being “part of terrorist organizations [and] have been under surveillance for a long time.” Those arrested are linked to religious extremist groups, he said, but did not specify what groups they were part of or what actions they planned.

“We have reasonable suspicion that they are connected to groups supporting certain extremist and religious organizations,” he said.

According to Toskovski, the goal of the four-member terrorist cell was to "indoctrinate and co-opt other individuals in the Balkans who could act accordingly toward the realization of their plans."

He added that the National Security Agency (ANB) of North Macedonia and the services of friendly foreign countries also participated in the antiterrorist operation.

The action was carried out in cooperation with partner international organizations, the minister said.

All four men are citizens of North Macedonia and were expected to face an investigating magistrate on December 15. The suspects face up to eight years in prison if convicted of planned terrorism charges.

With reporting by AP

Russian military personnel still in Syria are experiencing a lack of food and drinking water as an evacuation of troops and equipment continues, according to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry (GUR).

The Russian personnel are experiencing the problems at military bases in Tartus and Hmeimim and on ships anchored offshore in the Mediterranean Sea, the press service of the GUR said in a statement on Telegram on December 15.

The GUR also said that the remaining Russian service members were waiting for military transport planes involved in the evacuation that were supposed to deliver food.

The statement said Russia continues to withdraw its contingent from remote areas of Syria.

"At the same time, on some routes, the Russians are accompanied by armed groups opposing the Assad regime," the GUR said.

The statement added there are rumors circulating among Russian soldiers that Moscow has agreed to maintain its presence at the two bases, where the number of military personnel is up to 3,000.

RFE/RL was unable to verify the information from open sources. Russian authorities have not commented on this information.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Telegram that it had evacuated part of its diplomatic staff from Syria on December 15. It said the withdrawal was carried out by a special flight of the Russian Air Force from the Hmeimim air base.

Russian transport planes have departed the Hmeimim air base in recent days as part of the evacuation following the fall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. The longtime ruler was overthrown last week following a lightning offensive led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Assad fled to Russia, which was his regime's main backer.

Satellite images taken on December 13 by the space technology company Maxar appeared to show Russia preparing for the withdrawal of military equipment from the Hmeimim air base. The images showed what appear to be at least two Antonov An-124 cargo planes on the tarmac with their nose cones open.

Russia also has sent several landing ships and civilian vessels to Syria, according to open-source information.

In Damascus, HTS has appointed an interim government, and its leader, Riad al-Asaad, told AFP on December 15 that he is confident the factions that helped topple Assad will unite as one force. HTS and the transitional government have insisted the rights of all Syrians will be protected.

SEE ALSO:

How Russia Is Spinning Its Syria Debacle, And Why

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with spoke with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy about the situation in Syria, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on December 15.

Blinken and Lammy discussed the situation "and the principles endorsed by the United States and countries in the region that should be upheld during the transition process and formation of a new government," Miller said in a statement.

Blinken on December 14 attended an emergency meeting in Jordan of foreign ministers from the Arab League, Turkey, and top officials from the European Union and United Nations.

He said afterward the United States had made "direct contact" with the HTS and other parties. He declined to discuss details of the contacts but said it was important for the United States to convey messages to the group about its conduct and how it intends to govern in a transition period.

Blinken said a joint statement had been agreed at the meeting in Jordan that sets out the principles that other countries want to see in Syria's political transition, including inclusivity and respect for minorities and women and ensuring that terrorist groups do not take hold in the country.

With reporting by AFP