Ukrainian soldier says Russians trying to sever 'road of life' supply route to Avdiivka

"Today the Russians are attempting to storm the town from the flanks in order to separate the

logistics corridor, the so-called ‘road of life’," he said. The Defense Forces receive everything they need through the "road of life". MS

U.S. releases Maduro ally in exchange for 10 Americans imprisoned in Venezuela

"The U.S. on Wednesday released a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in

exchange for Caracas releasing 31 people from prison, including 10 Americans, according to a senior U.S. administration official.
Driving the news: As part of the deal, a former U.S. Navy contractor who organized one of the largest bribery scandals in U.S. military history was arrested and returned to the U.S.
Leonard Francis, also known as "Fat Leonard," pleaded guilty in 2015 to doling out more than $500,000 in bribes in exchange for the ability to overcharge the Navy by at least $35 million for his services.
He escaped house arrest in San Diego in 2022 after cutting his ankle monitoring bracelet.
Details: In exchange for the prisoner releases and Leonard's extradition, the U.S. let go of Colombian businessman Alex Saab, who was accused of stealing $350 million as part of a bribe scheme against the Venezuelan government.
The U.S. has also accused him of being a financial fixer for Maduro.
Saab was arrested on money laundering charges in Cape Verde in 2020 while he was on his way to negotiate an oil deal with Iran as a representative of Maduro's government.
In response to Saab's extradition to the U.S. in 2021, Venezuela's government called off political negotiations with opposition officials and placed six U.S. oil executives under house arrest." MS

U.S. troops to be based in Denmark

"Denmark has reached a defense agreement with the United States that will allow American troops to be based in the European country, reports Reuters.

The agreement between the countries is reportedly for 10 years. Earlier this month, the United States signed similar agreements with Finland and Sweden." MS

Ukrainian attacks reportedly target Russian military base, space center in occupied Crimea

"The Center for Long-Range Space Communications of the Russian Aerospace Forces and a

military unit in the occupied Crimea were attacked overnight on Dec. 19-20, the Russian news outlet Astra reported, citing sources.
The local Telegram channel Crimean Wind, citing its subscribers, reported nighttime explosions in several areas of the peninsula. In particular, near Yevpatoria and Krasnoperekopsk.
There were two attacks on military units around this time, including in the village of Soniachnohirske near Alushta, Astra writes. An FSB border guard was reportedly injured and a satellite communications antenna was damaged." Pravada

U.S. suspected in drone attack on Russian plane in Libya, possible ties to Wagner Group

"Satellite images have confirmed the destruction of a Russian Il-76 transport plane stationed at the Al-Jufra base in Libya. This vast aircraft succumbed to an attack likely initiated by American forces using drones or missiles, with the intention of eliminating members of the Wagner Group. The Pentagon currently refrains from commenting on these reports." MS

6.2-magnitude midnight earthquake hit China's Gansu

"A 6.2-magnitude earthquake jolted China's Gansu-Qinghai border in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. The earthquake claimed the lives of at least 111 people and left more than 230 people injured. Hours after the Gansu-Qinghai border was struck by this midnight horror, videos of the moment when the earthquake hit Gansu as well as those showing people running to save their lives went viral on X formerly known as Twitter." BusinessToday

Sudan army chief al-Burhan faces calls to go after RSF gains

"The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has captured Sudan’s second-largest city, just a

day after the army and its supporters prematurely celebrated repelling an attack.
As army soldiers retreated from Wad Madani – once a hub for hundreds of thousands of displaced people – they left civilians behind. The army has released a rare statement acknowledging that its troops withdrew too quickly and promising an investigation, yet their supporters are calling for accountability.
Countless civilians like Arbab are calling for army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to step down in the hope that a new leader can thwart the RSF’s advances.
Al-Burhan’s subordinates are also furious with the way he is fighting the war, according to sources close to security forces. But experts warn that a change of guard could lead to a power struggle – or vacuum – fracturing the Sudanese army." MS

Russia shells Sumy region with artillery

"Esman community: artillery shelling (26 explosions) and MLRS attacks (15 explosions). As a result of the shelling, a civilian resident of the village of Esman was injured. He was taken to the medical facility. The Russians also fired with mortars (4 explosions)." Ukrin

UK Wants to Build Mini-Nuke Plants in Ukraine

"Ukraine can decentralize its power supply network by building a series of “mini nuclear power plants”, British engineering giant Rolls Royce believes.

Rolls Royce is exploring rolling out its proposed Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to Ukraine, using the technology to convert former coal-fired power stations to nuclear. While the British SMR concept of cheaper, smaller reactors has yet to be proven in practice, Rolls Royce hopes to be also to roll out the power stations quickly and at a cheaper energy-unit cost than conventional, larger stations and is attempting to build SMRs for the British government as part of the rush to ‘net zero’." Breitbart

Dozens Arrested After Pro-Palestinian Demonstrators 'Take' US Capitol Again

"A pro-Palestinian demonstration took place on Tuesday at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, where about 60 demonstrators were ultimately put in handcuffs and whisked away by police for not complying with orders to vacate." Sputnik

Food donated to IDF soldiers is making them sick

"IDF soldiers have been experiencing an uptick in intestinal diseases likely caused by some of the food donations sent to the troops on the front lines, an Israeli health official said.

"Since the war with Hamas began, soldiers have been receiving food donations, but unfortunately, there has been a concerning rise in intestinal diseases, likely caused by inadequate sanitation of some of the food. Additionally, many of the packages sent to soldiers contain ultra-processed foods such as cookies and salty snacks," warned Shir Alfi, a senior dietitian at Clalit Health Services." MS

US Army Facing 'TikTok Mutiny' as Soft Recruits Can't Handle Basic Soldiering

"The Army is facing a major recruitment shortfall, projecting it will sign up just 50,000 new

soldiers in 2023 -- 15,000 fewer than its target of 65,000, according to the U.K.'s Daily Mail.
The Navy and Air Force are confronting similar grim outlooks, expecting to miss their enrollment goals by 10,000 and 10 percent, respectively. This crisis highlights the military's profound failure to attract Generation Z. A flood of TikTok videos by Gen Z service members might give us further insight into why the numbers have dropped so drastically.
The videos trash life in the military and whine about the lack of sleep and the quality of the food. The Daily Mail described them as a "TikTok mutiny."
A clip posted in 2020 by Anthony Laster, who has over 950,000 followers, said the Army had "No Privacy, The Pay Sucks, S***ty Food, Disrespectful Leadership, NO SLEEP!" WJ

Hamas financier behind ‘tens of millions’ in funding killed

"Israel has claimed to have killed a prominent Hamas financier behind “tens of millions” of funding for the terror group.
Subhi Ferwana was killed by a fighter jet in an airstrike in Rafah, the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) said in a joint statement." Telegraph

Gaza Hospital Boss Admits He’s a Hamas Commander, Used Medical Facility as Terror Base

"Ahmed al-Kahlout, the manager of the Kamel Adnan Hospital in northern Gaza, admitted during an interrogation with Israeli security forces that Hamas used the medical facilities to advance its military operations.
“I know 16 employees in the hospital — doctors, nurses, paramedics and clerks — who also have different positions in the Qassam Brigades,” Kahlout told Israel’s Shin Bet in a video clip released on Tuesday afternoon, referring to the military of Hamas. “They hide in hospitals because, for them, a hospital is a safe place.”
Kahlout, whose hospital is located in the Jabaliya neighborhood of northern Gaza, explained to Israeli security officials, “They [Hamas] won’t be targeted when they are inside a hospital.” BI

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Warns U.S. of Possible Nuclear Attack

"North Korea revealed through the KCNA that it conducted a launch exercise of the solid-fuel ICBM Hwasong-18 on the 18th. While observing the exercise, Kim Jong Un emphasized, “When Washington makes a wrong decision against us, we are ready for any action and have clearly shown what choices we can make.” He threatened that he could attack the U.S. mainland with nuclear weapons in case of a similar situation." MS