Zelensky:

I really count on pressure from the United States.

More pressure on Russia, because Putin doesn’t want to stop this war, but Trump can.

If the United States will pressure more, President Trump can be successful in this.

NEW: Azerbaijan is seeking a life sentence for former Karabakh official Ruben Vardanyan, accusing him of war crimes, terrorism, and crimes against humanity.

Sudan Doctors Network:

Death toll among medical personnel during the war rises to 234, with more than 507 injured, over 59 missing, and 73 detained.

U.S. Navy’s littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32) successfully conducted the first-ever launch of the LUCAS loitering munition from a U.S. Navy ship in the Arabian Gulf.

LUCAS is U.S.-developed drone designed as a direct counterpart to Iran’s Shahed-136 drone.

Kremlin:

Russia is preparing contacts with the United States to understand how Trump’s peace plan has changed after being coordinated with Ukraine.

Belarusian President Lukashenko:

‘Oreshnik’ is going on combat duty in Belarus.

NATO's Rutte:

A couple of allies are saying that they will not give their consent to Ukraine entering NATO.

Countries like Hungary, Slovakia, the United States, and a couple of others.

NATO's Rutte:

Putin has to know that after a peace deal, if he tries to attack Ukraine again, the reaction will be devastating.

This is exactly how we are designing the security guarantees.

Farmers drove tractors into Brussels on Thursday, blocking roads and clashing with police outside an EU leaders’ summit to protest a proposed free-trade deal with South American nations.

Marco Rubio:

Today, the Trump Administration is sanctioning two International Criminal Court judges directly engaged in politicized and illegitimate actions against Israel.

The United States has been clear: we will continue to respond with significant and tangible consequences to protect against the ICC’s lawfare, abuse of power, and blatant disregard for the sovereignty of the U.S. and Israel.

UK Halts Ajax Vehicle Trials After Injuries

The UK has halted all Ajax trials after another injury, drawing a firm safety red line as noise and vibration risks persist across testing and training.

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U.S. official to Reuters:

Steve Witkoff will meet Friday with Qatari, Egyptian and Turkish officials in Miami on the Gaza deal.

Turkish President Erdogan:

No matter how hard the Israeli government tries to silence them, true journalists continue to reveal the reality in Palestine, even at the cost of their lives.

Lukashenko:

Listen, they accuse us of oppressing Jews, but in Belarus, for example, half of the government are Jews.

Where are we oppressing anyone?

Turkish President Erdogan:

Neoliberal culture, with its ever-changing new idol called “trend,” is destroying many of the beautiful things that make us human.

Ukrainian forces lost a Mi-24 helicopter with its crew during a combat mission.

The helicopter belonged to Ukraine’s 12th Army Aviation Brigade and was likely shot down while on an anti-drone sortie against Russian Geran-2 loitering munitions.

Russia’s Foreign Spy Service Chief Naryshkin:

U.S. now realizes that prolonging the war will inevitably lead to Ukraine’s defeat.

Syrian, Kurdish and U.S. officials are racing ahead of a year-end deadline to revive a stalled deal to integrate the SDF into Syria’s state institutions.

Damascus has proposed allowing the SDF to reorganise its roughly 50,000 fighters into three divisions, provided it cedes some command authority and opens its territory to other Syrian army units.

Talks have accelerated in recent days, though officials caution a full breakthrough is unlikely.

Any near-term announcement is expected to fall short of full integration and may mainly serve to extend talks and avert instability.

Source: Reuters