16:18 Eleven new Russians receive a military discharge immediately after their naturalization ceremony

Immediately after their naturalization, eleven men in Russia have received their call for military service, according to official information. During the ceremonial handover of the naturalization certificate, representatives of the authorities handed the new Russians in St. Petersburg a written request to register with the local registration offices as soon as possible. This was announced by the police in the metropolis and a video was published. In the video clip, several men can be seen and heard first swearing an oath to the Russian constitution - and then holding the draft notice in their hands. At the end, they all sing the Russian national anthem. The migrants, who reportedly come from neighboring countries, had sworn to "defend the freedom and independence of Russia" in order to obtain citizenship, it said. "In this spirit, the representatives of the district military replacement offices present at the ceremony (...) handed over the summons for military registration."

15:44 Russia warns of "escalation" if German brigade is stationed in Lithuania
Russia criticizes the planned stationing of a German brigade in Lithuania from 2027. This will lead to an "escalation of military tensions" between Russia and NATO, says a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry. The agreement provides for the stationing of a German brigade of around 4,800 soldiers in Lithuania.

15:19 Latvia buys six multiple rocket launchers from the USA for 164 million euros
Latvia continues to arm itself against the backdrop of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine: The Baltic EU and NATO country is purchasing six US Himars multiple rocket launchers with ammunition and equipment. A purchase contract worth around 180 million US dollars (approximately 164 million euros) has been signed, according to the Ministry of Defense in Riga. Delivery of the first missile systems is scheduled for 2027. Latvia borders Russia and its close ally Belarus. The war in Ukraine is seen as a direct threat to national security in the Baltic state. The Baltic republic in north-eastern Europe has therefore massively increased its military spending and is arming its armed forces.

14:58 In Russia, 16 candidates are running for the presidency - Putin will still win
According to the election authorities, 16 candidates have registered for next year's presidential election in Russia. "So far we have received applications from 16 candidates for the presidential election," the state news agency RIA Novosti quotes the chairwoman of the central election commission, Ella Pamfilova, as saying. Candidates have until December 27 to submit their applications. The candidates must then collect thousands of signatures from supporters in order to actually be able to run in the election, which is scheduled for three days in mid-March. Moscow has excluded opposition members from elections and political life for years; a development that has been accelerated since the Russian offensive in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin recently confirmed his candidacy and is expected to win a fifth term with ease.

14:21 "All-time high": Russia and China celebrate their partnership
China's head of state Xi Jinping describes the close relations between his country and Russia as a "strategic decision" by both sides. This is based on the "fundamental interests of both peoples", Xi told Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin during his visit to Beijing, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Both countries should "deepen cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, energy, connectivity and other areas", Xi said. According to reports, Mishustin said at a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday that relations between Moscow and Beijing had now reached an "all-time high". Mishustin's two-day visit to China comes two months after one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's now rare trips abroad, during which he met his Chinese counterpart Xi in Beijing.

13:54 Russians helped with looting and attacks: Ukraine sentences two collaborators
Ukraine sentences two collaborators who worked for the Russian military during the occupation of the Kharkiv region to prison. This was reported by "The New Voice of Ukraine " with reference to the Ukrainian secret service. One of the collaborators, who received a prison sentence of ten and a half years, supported the Russians after the occupation of Tsyrkuny in searching and looting the houses of local residents. He is said to have helped the Russian forces steal food, vehicles, generators and other items. The second person is a resident of the Kupjansk district who passed on information about the Ukrainian armed forces to Russian intelligence services. In particular, she collected data on the locations of weapons and ammunition depots to help the Russian armed forces better plan their missile, artillery and drone attacks.

13:29 More and more Ukrainians want swift punishments for corrupt politicians and officials
The majority of Ukrainians (55 percent) want corrupt politicians and officials to be punished as quickly as possible, even if this means breaking the law. This is the result of a survey conducted by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology. 42 percent believe that it is necessary to punish corruption in accordance with the law, even if this takes longer. According to the director of the institute, Anton Hrushetskyi, the results should be viewed against the backdrop of extremely low trust in courts and prosecutors. "The less respondents trust the courts, the greater the demand to punish as quickly as possible." The proportion of those in favor of swift punishment of corrupt politicians and officials has risen since the start of the war.

12:58 British intelligence believes major Russian breakthrough unlikely
According to the British Ministry of Defense, the fighting in Ukraine is unlikely to change the course of the front. Russia is continuing to try individual attacks. "A major breakthrough by Russia is unlikely and the front is generally characterized by stagnation," the ministry in London told X. Ukraine has made efforts to strengthen its fortifications in recent weeks, the British write. Ukrainian forces are adopting a more defensive posture along a large part of the front line.

12:25 Abramovich suffers defeat in EU court
The Russian oligarch and former owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovich, suffers a defeat before the EU court. The court declares the EU sanctions imposed on him to be lawful and dismisses his case in Luxembourg. The EU has so far imposed sanctions on almost 2,000 individuals and organizations due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. In March 2022, it also froze Abramovich's assets. The reason given for this is that he has long-standing and close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the EU, he is active in economic sectors that serve as an important source of income for the Russian government.

11:54 Putin calls for "stern" response to acts of sabotage in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling for a "stern" response to efforts by foreign agents aimed at destabilizing Russia. Kiev has taken the "path of terrorist methods" "with the direct support of foreign special services", Putin says in a video message. Specifically, the Russian head of state mentions "acts of sabotage against civilian facilities, transport and energy infrastructure, attacks on civilians and representatives of authorities". Since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, numerous acts of sabotage on Russian railroads and drone attacks attributed to Ukraine have been reported.

11:20 Russia has its own soldiers threatened by the FSB
Women in Russia are publicly demanding the return of their husbands from the war in Ukraine. Their actions and appeals are attracting the attention of the authorities. But instead of responding to their demands, their husbands and sons at the front are being harassed by the secret service, as ntv correspondent Rainer Munz reports.

10:44 Kuleba: UN calls on Moscow to end forced deportations
According to Ukrainian sources, the UN General Assembly adopts an updated resolution condemning Russia's human rights violations in the occupied territories of Ukraine. "The updated UN General Assembly resolution explicitly calls on Russia to end forced deportations and ensure the safe return of all Ukrainian children and civilian hostages," said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. "These are some of the most heinous crimes and they must be stopped." Earlier this year, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine found that Russia had committed numerous war crimes in Ukraine, including attacks on energy infrastructure, the forced abduction of children to Russia, and the detention, torture, rape and killing of Ukrainians.

10:09 German authorities want to recover 720 million euros from Russian bank
The German authorities want to confiscate 720 million euros in assets from a Russian bank. According to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe, so-called independent confiscation proceedings have been initiated for the assets located in Frankfurt am Main. The reason for the planned confiscation is an attempted violation of the existing sanctions against Russia - the bank tried to withdraw the money to Russia.

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09:47 Leading telephone provider Kyivstar: disruptions "in a number of cities"
Ukraine's leading telephone provider Kyivstar is reporting outages in cities in the west and south of the country, as "Ukrainska Pravda " writes. "Now there are communication difficulties in a number of cities in the west and south of Ukraine. The company's specialists are working to restore services," says a spokeswoman for the company. She did not comment on the cause of the disruption. Ukraine was the victim of a massive cyber attack just a few days ago, which targeted Kyivstar and one of the country's largest banks, Monobank. People across the country reported internet and network outages as well as problems with air raid warnings. Kyivstar has more than 24 million mobile phone customers.

09:19 Wladimir Klitschko: "It will be even more complicated to recapture the occupied territories"
Former world boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko believes that the "free world" must be better prepared for war. "Because evil always comes back. And then we have to be able to fight it," he tells the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. His country is facing a difficult winter. "Overall, it will be even more complicated to recapture the occupied territories," says the native Ukrainian. "It's like a boxing match at the moment. We're past the halfway point. But there are still many rounds to go. I believe that the war will last longer than we all expect."

08:44 CNN: Ukraine accuses Russia of using corrosive gas
Ukrainian soldiers are accusing Russia of using gas in attacks in southern Ukraine, according to a report. In recent weeks, there have been cases in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhya near Orikhiv in which a corrosive and flammable gas was dropped from drones onto Ukrainian lines, reports the US television station CNN, citing several soldiers from a Ukrainian frontline unit and an intelligence officer. The Russians apparently used the gas to cause panic among the Ukrainian soldiers before they were fired upon, according to the report.

08:03 Should Germany reintroduce compulsory military service?
The debate about compulsory military service continues. SPD leader Saskia Esken rejects considerations by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to return to compulsory military service. "I don't think much of the reintroduction of compulsory military service, of an obligation for adults, based on my view of humanity," says Esken in an interview. "I believe that the Bundeswehr is now well positioned as a professional army and needs to be developed further." Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told "Welt am Sonntag" that he was examining models of compulsory service in view of the shortage of personnel in the Bundeswehr and was looking at the Swedish conscription model. And what do you think?

07:40 USA imposes sanctions against Iranians
The US has placed three Iranians and one Indonesian on the sanctions list because they supplied "Western" parts and components for the manufacture of Iranian drones. This was announced by the US Treasury Department. The sanctions list also includes four Iranian companies, four organizations registered in Malaysia, one company from Hong Kong and one from Indonesia. According to the US Treasury Department, the sanctions are imposed on individuals and organizations associated with the supply of parts manufactured in the US and other countries for the production of drones in Iran. Since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion in 2022, Iranian Shahed drones have become one of the main weapons of Russian airstrikes.

07:08 Lithuania has "huge financial problem" because of German brigade
Contributing to the costs of permanently stationing a German combat brigade in Lithuania is apparently causing considerable problems for the Baltic state. This was reported by the German newspaper "Der Spiegel", which refers to confidential correspondence from the German embassy in Vilnius to the German government. According to the correspondence, infrastructure financing in the next two years alone represents "a huge financial problem" for Lithuania. The military attaché of the German embassy in Lithuania is quoted as saying: "Behind closed doors, Lithuanian government circles are expressing financial concerns in connection with the stationing of a German brigade in Lithuania." The Lithuanians are convinced that they will only have to pay for military infrastructure. They would only contribute "proportionally" to living quarters for Bundeswehr forces, as the facilities for the Germans were "significantly" above the standard for Lithuanian soldiers.

06:33 Czech president expects "new situation" in 2024
Czech President Petr Pavel is pessimistic about the war in Ukraine. He told the Czech portal Seznam Zpravy that he expects "a new situation" next year that could favor Moscow. The former military general cites the 2024 US presidential elections, in which former President Donald Trump could return to power, and the geopolitical deterioration in the Middle East, which could divert Western resources away from Ukraine, as reasons.

06:08 Ukrainian fighter pilots to start training in France soon
France plans to start training Ukrainian fighter jet pilots in early 2024. "The first pilots will arrive in early 2024. After their initial training in France, they will continue their training on fighter jets through training provided by our partners," reads a statement from the Ministry of Defense in Paris. The training program for the Ukrainian military will also be extended to other areas, such as the navy, it continues. The ministry adds that the number of Ukrainian soldiers trained in France will reach 8,000 by the end of 2023.

05:30 Intelligence: Russian troops near Kupjansk suffer from fever after rat bites
The Russian troops in the Kupjansk front area are increasingly suffering from fever caused by rat and mouse bites. This was reported by the Ukrainian secret service HUR on Telegram. Symptoms include severe headaches, high fever, skin rash, low blood pressure, bleeding eyes, nausea, vomiting and severe pain in the lower back. In the early stages, the disease resembles a common flu, they say. Later, the disease affects the kidneys. The command ignores the complaints of its own soldiers and regards them as an attempt to evade the war. As a result, the Russian units are now considerably weakened.

03:47 Heavy blow for Ukraine: US Congress postpones agreement on billions in aid until 2024
The US Congress will not approve any new military aid for Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia, this year. The leaders of the ruling Democrats and the opposition Republicans in the Senate, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell, concede this in a joint statement. According to Schumer and McConnell, the negotiators from Congress and the government will continue to work on outstanding issues in the coming days. The hope is that action can then be taken "swiftly" at the beginning of next year. The failure to reach an agreement on new aid for Ukraine before the end of the year comes as no surprise, but is a symbolic blow for Ukraine.

02:27 Russian airstrikes on Kiev
According to the military, the Ukrainian capital Kiev has been the target of Russian airstrikes for the fifth time this month. "According to preliminary information, there were no casualties and no destruction in the capital," said the head of the Kiev military administration, Serhiy Popko, via Telegram. The Ukrainian air defense destroyed all missiles.

01:25 Putin confiscates shares of Wintershall Dea and OMV
According to a presidential decree, the German company Wintershall Dea and the Austrian company OMV are to formally lose their shares in gas production projects in the Russian Arctic. All activities with Russian involvement, including Wintershall Dea's stake in the Nord Stream gas pipeline and the joint ventures with Gazprom, are to be legally separated by mid-2024, according to a decree signed by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

00:25 Kiev: plans to produce one million drones by 2024
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has announced the production of one million drones next year. "We will produce one million drones next year," said Zelenskyi at his end-of-year press conference in Kiev. In the war against Russia, his country is relying on modern weapons from its own production: "Our soldiers will receive Ukrainian-made drones in their units."

23:25 Selenskyj against a divided Ukraine joining NATO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejects the idea of Ukraine joining NATO without the Russian-occupied territories. Ukraine would not agree to a divided accession, he said in Kiev. "We have not received such a proposal from any of our partners. I also find it difficult to imagine what that would look like." The strongest security guarantee for Ukraine would be its accession as a whole country. Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has suggested that Ukraine could be accepted into the Western military alliance, even if it does not control its entire territory. This would deter Russia from attacking Ukrainian territory in NATO.

22:03 Hyundai sells its only Russian plant for a symbolic price of 77.74 euros
The South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai Motor announces that it is selling its only Russian plant. The company will sell the plant in St. Petersburg for a symbolic sum of 7,000 rubles (77.74 euros), a Hyundai official told Reuters. The move adds the company to the list of major carmakers leaving Russia following the invasion of Ukraine and a wave of sanctions, including Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Toyota and others. "Hyundai Motor Company approved a plan to sell its entire stake in Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus (HMMR LLC) to Art-Finance LLC at a board meeting today," the company said in its statement.

You can read all previous developments here.

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Source: www.ntv.de

16:18 Eleven new Russians receive a military discharge immediately after their naturalization ceremony