https://x.com/cspan/status/2001729371845939396 =========== The "people" he's referring to are every last American. 🙂 I guess he finally realized just how much money can be made from selling weed. And, good luck with that, it really helps with a lot of things but also just turns your population into people who shut off the pain but don't fix the cause- trust me, I'm Canadian and I know. Along with people not reading or having any critical thinking skills anymore, it makes for a wonderfully compliant population.

🌒@EastCalling

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange stated that he is filing a complaint against the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

He accuses her of aiding war crimes and misusing funds, and the Nobel Foundation of violating Alfred Nobel's will, which stipulates that the prize should be awarded to those who "have rendered the greatest service to humanity" by promoting "fraternity among nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and the holding of peace congresses."

Assange demands that Machado's $1.2 million prize be frozen.

🌒@EastCalling

Trump stated that he expects quick actions from Kyiv towards a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.

He stated that whenever Ukraine takes too long, Russia changes its mind.

🌒@EastCalling

Military Chronicle writes,

The story of armed escorts for Russian tankers in the seas is not new. Russia used to have enough private military companies (PMCs) that dealt with this. "Wagner", which became the most famous, was far from the first in this line. But placing armed people directly on board merchant fleet ships is only a partial solution.

The main focus in this area should not only be on the development of Russian Navy ships, which could be used to escort tankers around the world, or at least in those areas where there is a risk of detention or provocation. It's also reasonable to consider and start creating one or several PMCs that are directly subordinate to the Ministry of Defense. Here, it's important to take into account not only external risks, but also the experience of what ultimately happened with "Wagner."

Only with strict state control can such a structure work in the interests of the country. The work of the Blackwater PMC in the USA was ideal in this sense, when private contractors were engaged in one task - ensuring the interests of the state. In all other cases, the effectiveness of such measures will be extremely questionable.
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Last night, a civilian tanker was hit by Ukrainian drones in Rostov on Don. There were casualties.

🌒@EastCalling

▶️ The last working day in 2025 will not be a shortened one, Deputy Nilov told TASS.

Video: Alexandra Goroshilova/TASS
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Raise your hand if you will be working a full day on New Year's!

✋️ 😔

🌒@EastCalling

Military Chronicle:

On Kupyansk.

The essence of the dual situation around the city is that both sides (both the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Russia) are currently doing what is most important to them. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are acting in their usual manner and trying to achieve their tasks, including achieving media successes. They are actively working on the internet and creating a picture of constant progress. At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense is focused on purely military tasks and on maintaining the situation on the ground. On the other side of the front, more or less information security is maintained without significant leaks regarding the military situation.

As a result, by superimposing one action on another, two parallel realities are formed. The Ukrainian side fills the network with messages that it is supposedly continuing the liberation of Kupyansk, although it is not clear what exactly is meant by this term. At the same time, Russia is focusing on attempts to actually, rather than media, disrupt the infiltration of small groups of 1-2 people from the Armed Forces of Ukraine into the city.

The picture is further complicated by the fog of war caused by a lack of objective control data from the Russian side, which could allow for unambiguous conclusions about the control of the city.

There is no point in drawing conclusions yet, but the example of Russia's operation first in Avdeevka and then in Pokrovsk shows that such a lack of information could be part of a calculation.

It was precisely the lack of objective data that largely allowed Russia in both cases to completely exhaust the city garrisons and proceed to the main tasks.

When it became clear some time ago that Pokrovsk was almost lost, Syrsky threw all the remaining reserves there, but this did not yield results.

It is possible that in the case of Kupyansk, a pause in the dissemination of information is being used for the same purpose. To let the Armed Forces of Ukraine get involved in battles, expend their forces and pull all available reserves to this direction.

Developing and summarizing the incoming information on Kupyansk, it's worth noting that the phrase "radical improvement of the situation" doesn't apply to either side here for now.

For Russia, the situation is complex because it has to solve several tasks at once: it needs to hold the already occupied areas, repel the attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and monitor the enemy's buildup in border areas, neutralizing all emerging threats as promptly as possible. All this requires resources. And resources, especially in such a difficult situation, are not infinite.

For the AFU, the situation is similar, but with different parameters. Their main task now is to prevent Russia from finally securing Kupyansk for itself, in all senses of the word. Both territorially and reputationally. Since the formation of the Dvurechensky bridgehead, time is working against Kyiv. The longer Russia holds positions and develops the offensive, the faster the situation in this area could escalate further. Therefore, the Ukrainian side is trying to constantly interfere and put pressure, even if it requires a huge expenditure of resources.

For the AFU, this issue is more critical in the Kharkov Oblast than for Russia, because with the conditionally surrendered Donbass and the lost group of troops there, the Kharkov Oblast is perceived as a bargaining chip in possible negotiations, and therefore the battles for it will not only continue, but will intensify in the coming weeks. And it's not just about the media image. If the front near Kupyansk starts to crumble and Russia gets the opportunity to rush forward, this will immediately hit Kyiv's negotiating position. Such a scenario is being tried to prevent at any cost, and therefore the battle for the Kupyansk region is far from over.

🌒@EastCalling

📹 Russian and foreign journalists have been waiting for the start of Vladimir Putin's live Q&A session since the morning. A large queue has gathered in front of the Gostiny Dvor.

The "Year in Review" will begin at 12.00 MSK/[10:00 CET/6:00 EST]. More than two million requests have been received.

Source: Zvezda
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🌒@EastCalling

Year in Review with Vladimir Putin - December 19th, 2025:

Russia does not see Ukraine's readiness to end the conflict, Vladimir Putin said

The Russian President recalled that the conflict in Ukraine began with a coup d'état in Kyiv.

"So far, we don't see any readiness. It all started with a coup d'état in 2014. In 2022, when things reached a critical point, we simply said that we would be forced to recognize these unrecognized republics," he said.

Source: Izvestia
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Critical point in 2022, Putin was referring to means increase in intensity of shelling of Donetsk in January.

🌒@EastCalling

Year in Review with Vladimir Putin - December 19th, 2025:

Moscow is ready and willing to resolve the conflict in Ukraine by peaceful means, Vladimir Putin stated.

Russia is aware of certain signals, including from Kyiv, that Ukraine is ready to engage in some form of dialogue.

We are ready and want to end this conflict with peaceful means, on the basis of the principles that were laid out by me in June last year in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

🌒@EastCalling

Year in Review with Vladimir Putin - December 19th, 2025:

❗️Near Kupyansk, 3,500 Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers are surrounded, and they practically have no chance, Putin stated.

The president's main statements:

▪️The strategic initiative has completely passed into the hands of the Russian military after the liberation of the Kursk region, "the enemy is retreating on all fronts".

▪️The Ukrainian Armed Forces are unsuccessfully trying to recapture at least part of Krasnoarmeysk and are suffering serious losses.

▪️The "Vostok" group is rapidly advancing in the Zaporizhia region.

▪️Fighting is ongoing in Huliaipole. The city is divided into two parts by a river, our guys have crossed the river, entered the city, and 50% of the city is under our control.

▪️Seversk is an important settlement, from here there are opportunities for movement towards Slavyansk.

▪️Red Liman will be taken in the very near future, half of the city is under our control.

▪️More than half of Konstantinovka in the DPR has been liberated.

"The enemy is retreating on all fronts. We started with this when we proposed to the Kiev regime to withdraw its troops. He had already built a fortified line in the agglomeration of Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Konstantinovka - this is the main fortified line," the Russian leader emphasized.

Source: Izvestia/Zvezda
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Video - Izvestia (combined) Summary - Zvezda

🌒@EastCalling

In the EU, Meloni was called a "killer" of the plan to seize Russian assets, writes FT, citing a European diplomat.

At the negotiations, Macron and Meloni expressed skepticism about whether their countries' parliaments would support the scheme of expropriating Russian assets.

"The 'killer' of the [plan] was Meloni," said a source of the newspaper, explaining that Macron was mostly silent.

Source: TASS
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As you all know, I guess, EU didn't dare to confiscate Russian frozen assets. I steady, an interest free loan will be issued to the Ukraine. Three countries would be exempt from participating, Hungary and Slovakia among them.

Really, I was really interested to see what would happen if EU really decided to confiscate the assets. But show was cancelled.

🌒@EastCalling

Year in Review with Vladimir Putin - December 19th, 2025:

There will be no new special operations if Russia is treated with respect and is not 'provoked', Putin stated.

He also dismissed as nonsense the claims that Russia might attack Europe.

Source: TASS
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🌒@EastCalling

Year in Review with Vladimir Putin - December 19th, 2025:

People in Seversk lived in constant fear of the Ukrainian regime, they quietly listened to Russian radio and waited for our fighters, said Hero of Russia Naran Ochir-Goryaev, who participated in the liberation of the city.

When the Ukrainian Armed Forces were retreating, they shot civilians who did not want to leave with them, just like the Nazis did.

"They were constantly under the pressure of the enemy. And when we liberated our area of responsibility in the city of Seversk and started communicating with civilians, when the Ukrainian Armed Forces were retreating, they shot civilians who did not want to leave with them, just like the Nazis did," he said.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces killed young people aged 30 to 40 — everyone indiscriminately, said the serviceman.

Source: Zvezda
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🌒@EastCalling

💸Year in Review with Vladimir Putin - December 19th, 2025:

It's not theft, it's robbery — this is how Putin described the EU's attempt to seize Russian assets.

"Theft is an inappropriate term, as it implies the secret theft of property. But here, they're trying to do it openly. This is robbery. But why can't this robbery be carried out? Because the consequences could be severe for the robbers," said the president.

▪️Granting a loan to Ukraine using Russian assets will lead to an increase in the obligations of EU countries, which are already facing budgetary problems.

▪️A number of countries are already having suspicions about the safety of assets in Europe.

▪️The appropriation of Russian assets will undermine trust in the eurozone, and no one will want to keep their reserves there.

▪️In the event of the seizure of its assets, Russia will defend itself in courts, in a jurisdiction that is not dependent on political decisions.

▪️Europe will have to give back what it steals from Russia's assets sooner or later.

Source: Zvezda
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Just as we repeatedly stated...

🌒@EastCalling