Russian forces hit Kherson, damaging kindergarten and medical aid station

"Russian troops have attacked a critical infrastructure facility in Kherson using artillery. A kindergarten and an emergency medical aid station have also been damaged following the Russian attack." Pravada

Russian Troops Eliminate Composite Group Of Foreign Mercenaries In DPR

"Russian troops eliminated a composite tactical group of foreign mercenaries during offensive
operations in the Donetsk direction and defeated units of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade of Ukraine's armed forces in the area of the village of Rozdolivka in the DPR......Up to 60 Ukrainian military personnel and mercenaries, as well as four armored vehicles and three pickup trucks were irrevocably destroyed by Russian troops." UrduPoint

Explosions reported in Russian city of Engels, air-raid siren sounded

"An air-raid siren has been sounded over the Engels airfield, in Saratov Oblast of the Russian Federation; explosions have been reported." Pravada

US Spies Pushed Twitter to Censor ‘Anti-Ukraine Narratives’

"The Pentagon, CIA and other US intelligence and law-enforcement agencies became

increasingly “more aggressive” with takedown requests, the latest trove of Twitter files has revealed. The documents suggest the agencies were effectively pushing the platform to censor foreign-policy stories that ran against the Washington-approved narrative.

“The files show the FBI acting as doorman to a vast program of social media surveillance and censorship, encompassing agencies across the federal government – from the State Department to the Pentagon to the CIA,” journalist Matt Taibbi wrote in the Christmas Eve edition of the Twitter Files, released with the blessing of the social media platform’s owner, Elon Musk.

Thousands of censorship requests flowed to Twitter from what were termed OGA” in the documents, or “Other Government Organizations,” through the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force. 

Twitter executives often struggled to validate government claims, but were under constant pressure to find evidence to blame any foreign actor, Russia in particular.

“Found no links to Russia,” an unnamed analyst said in one of the emails, later suggesting he could “brainstorm” to “find a stronger connection.” Former Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth admitted in another instance that he’d found “no real matches using the info.” IW

New trade route helps Russia and Iran bypass sanctions

"Russia and Iran are building a new transcontinental trade route and are rapidly expanding supply chains, having stepped up mutual cargo deliveries across the Caspian Sea." RT

South Korean plane crashes while intercepting North Korean drones

"A South Korean KA-1 light aircraft crashed as it scrambled to intercept North Korean drones
that had intruded into South Korean airspace, Seoul’s military said, as cited by Yonhap news agency. Both pilots reportedly emerged unscathed. According to an official cited by Yonhap, the military detected multiple “unidentified objects,” suspected to be unmanned aerial vehicles, in the Gyeonggi-do province bordering on North Korea." RT

Taiwan describes scale of Beijing’s ‘strike drills’

"China has launched large-scale naval and aerial maneuvers around Taiwan, involving
dozens of aircraft, days after Washington’s pledge to provide additional military aid to Taipei.

A total of 71 jet fighters, anti-submarine planes, electronic warfare aircraft and reconnaissance drones, together with seven naval ships, have been spotted close to Taiwan in the last 24 hours, the self-governing island’s Defense Ministry said.

Taipei scrambled its own jets and Navy vessels, and also used land-based missile batteries, to monitor the movement of Beijing’s forces." RT

Putin 100% Sure US-Supplied Patriot Systems Will Be Destroyed In Ukraine

"Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to destroy the Patriot anti-air missile systems
that the Biden White House pledged to supply Ukraine days ago.He said that he's 100% certain that Russian forces will eradicate them when they appear inside Ukraine. "Of course, we’ll take them out, 100%!" he emphasized." ZH

Ukrainian air forces struck enemy positions - Russian troops shelled Ukrainian forces

"Ukrainian air forces have struck enemy positions twice, and Ukraine’s missile and artillery units have hit five Russian command posts and one enemy personnel cluster.

In the Siverskyi direction, Russian troops shelled the positions of Ukrainian forces near the Sumy region’s Vyntorivka, Manukhivka, Ryzhivka and Vorozhba." Ukrin

Russian forces hit centre of Kherson, killing 8 and wounding dozens of people

"Russian troops have hit the center of Kherson....eight people have been killed and 35
wounded." Pravada

Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group sneak into Ukraine, Sumy territorial defence engage in combat

"The Territorial Defence Forces of Sumy Oblast destroyed a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group that crossed the state border of Ukraine..... Territorial Defence Forces engaged in combat with the Russians in the area of Krasnopillia hromada." Pravada

Biden signs defense budget with $800M in aid for Ukraine

"U.S. President Joe Biden has signed into law an act that allocates funding for the U.S. national defense and which provides, among other things, $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine." Ukrin

The Washington Post broke story that even though Western leaders were quick to accuse Moscow of blowing up the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines, after months of investigation no evidence has been found to back the allegation

"The recent disclosure by The Washington Post that there is no evidence Russia is behind the
Nord Stream pipeline blasts is yet another example of the flimsy information war the West is desperately and recklessly waging against Russia, but at the same time losing," Scott Bennett, former US Army psychological warfare officer and US State Department counterterrorism analyst said." Sputnik

Kremlin assesses Zelensky-Biden meeting

"Washington seems intent on waging a proxy war against Russia using Ukraine as a tool,
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said. He added that the main takeaway from Wednesday’s meeting between the two countries’ leaders is that neither the US nor Ukraine is prepared to pay attention to Russia’s concerns." RT

Russia strikes Kramatorsk with missiles

"Russian military launched two missile strikes at the city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast."
Pravada