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"Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared “dead” the proposals to seize the $247 billion in frozen Russian assets within the European Union and use them to finance a reparations loan for Ukraine. Orban, a right-wing nationalist who has warm relations with Russia, and is also one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s closest political allies in Europe, made the remark to reporters on Thursday morning as he entered a European Council meeting for crunch talks on the assets issue."

European Union leaders begin two days of talks in Brussels with a momentous decision to be taken on whether to loan tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to Ukraine to fund its military and economic needs. Most of Russia's €210bn (£185bn; $245bn) worth of assets in the EU are held by Belgium-based organisation Euroclear, and so far Belgium and some other members of the bloc have said they are opposed to using the cash. Without a boost in funding, Ukraine's finances are set to run dry in a matter of months. One European government official described being...

The New York Times’ recent report about his government’s responsibility for the worst corruption scandal in Ukraine’s history suggests that the walls are closing in and his foreign media allies are jumping ship out of desperation to retain some of their credibility after years of deifying him. It was earlier assessed that “Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Investigation Is Turning Into A Rolling Coup” after it took down Zelensky’s grey cardinal Andrey Yermak, consequently weakened the already shaky alliance keeping him in power, and thus placed more pressure upon him to cede Donbass. The latest development concerns the New York Times’ (NYT) report...

In one of the last remaining cities under Ukrainian control in the country's eastern Donetsk region, once a powerhouse of industry, life gets more difficult — and dangerous — as Russian forces inch closer. Over the last month, local officials in Kramatorsk have reported dozens of Russian attacks on the city using strike drones, ballistic missiles, rockets and aerial bombs. Homes, gas stations and markets have all been hit, as has a nearby power plant, causing blackouts. "There was a recent strike on the house next to mine," said Olena Frolova, 20, who works in a shop that sells Donetsk-branded...

For those who understand the basics of attrition warfare, the outcome of the fight in Ukraine was obvious a long time ago. Russia's superior logistical position along with its grinding offensive tactics have worn down Ukraine's defenses and left the country with a desperate manpower shortage. The recent capture of the vital hub of Pokrovsk has now opened the door to an accelerating Russian advance. The Russian offensive is gaining significant ground from Pokrovsk to the north, all the way to Kupiansk. The strategic city of Siversk is now largely under control of Russia according to geo-location mapping. Myrnohrad, also...

The EU has agreed to indefinitely freeze Russia’s sovereign assets in the bloc, as Moscow stepped up its threats to retaliate against Euroclear, the keeper of most of the Kremlin’s immobilised money.The decision by the EU to use emergency powers to immobilise €210bn (£185bn) of Russia’s central bank’s assets marks a significant step towards using the cash to aid Ukraine’s defence.European Council president António Costa confirmed on Friday that EU leaders had delivered on a commitment, made in October, to “keep Russian assets immobilised until Russia ends its war of aggression against Ukraine and compensates for the damage caused”.Before this...

Military analyst Denys Popovych said on Radio NV that Russian troops are currently encircled near Kupyansk and explained how Ukrainian forces carried out a successful operation there on Dec. 13. There are now encircled Russian army units in the city that are clearly in the final stage of their presence there. Cleanup operations are ongoing, and it is impossible to predict when they will end. Why do the Russians make such statements about capturing Kupyansk? They are taking territory on credit. They need it to demonstrate that they are advancing and achieving success. They lost Kupyansk during our Kharkiv counteroffensive,...

In contrast to the warmongers, President Trump has continuously said, “I want everybody to stop dying.”So, what’s preventing peace? Russian President Putin offered peace December 25, 2022, January 6, 2023, and again on June 14, 2024, with TASS reporting Putin offered “another real peace proposal to Kiev,” stating, “These parameters were generally agreed upon by everyone back during the Istanbul talks in 2022.” Yet, all of these proposals were rejected by Zelensky, the Biden administration, and the Brennen-infested CIA.Remember, this mess started in 2014 with Biden and the CIA in Kyiv toppling the duly elected pro-Russian president of Ukraine, because...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the US has offered to create a "free economic zone" in the contested Donbas region of eastern Ukraine in a bid to push a peace deal over the line. The Donbas - an industrial and coal-mining area primarily made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions - has become one of the key sticking points in the US-proposed peace plan. The first draft of the plan, widely leaked last month, stipulated that Ukraine must withdraw from areas of the Donbas it currently controls, thought to be a minority portion, as a condition for peace. Ukraine considered that...

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday shared a video of himself rallying troops at Kupyansk, a city Russia claimed to have taken control of. In the video, the city limit sign for Kupyansk is visible in the background, with intermittent explosions audible. The Kremlin claimed to have captured the city in late November and invited journalists to visit it alongside Russian troops. Zelensky rallied troops and said battlefield gains could influence ongoing peace talks.

According to the plan of the European Commission, this step is the first phase in further expropriation of Russian assetsBRUSSELS, December 12. /TASS/. The Council of the European Union made the decision on the indefinite freeze of Russian sovereign assets, the Danish presidency in the EU Council said. "EU governments agree to indefinitely freeze Russian Central Bank assets held in Euro," the presidency said. According to the plan of the European Commission, this step is the first phase in further expropriation of Russian assets.

KYIV, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces said they had retaken parts of the northeastern town of Kupiansk and had encircled Russian troops there as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the area and praised the operation, saying it strengthened Ukraine diplomatically. With U.S.-backed peace efforts underway, Moscow has said it is advancing on all fronts and that it has seized Kupiansk and the strategic city of Pokrovsk in the east. Kyiv has denied this, saying that the fighting is continuing.

WTF? BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is now directly involved in Ukraine negotiations alongside Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Source: Bloomberg. We’ve gone from a moneyproxy war to a privatized reconstruction racket, and now to global asset managers and Trump’s inner-circle real-estate cronies literally inserting themselves into diplomatic negotiations over a live war zone. BlackRock has already positioned itself to manage Ukraine’s postwar “rebuilding” aka a $400+ billion fire-sale of national assets. Now Fink is reportedly sitting at the table with Twink Kushner and Real Estate Agent Witkoff, because to them Ukraine’s fate is a business venture, not a sovereign crisis....

The US House of Representatives voted to pass a negotiated version of the National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday, sending the Pentagon spending bill to the Senate for final approval. This bill was negotiated with Democrats in the House and the Senate, resulting in a bipartisan vote that some MAGA firebrands opposed.Per Fox:An earlier procedural vote on the legislation just barely passed 215–211 at the 11th hour after four Republicans: Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla, Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., all changed their votes from no to yes. All Democrats voted no on the procedural...

Ukraine delivered its response to the latest US-drafted peace proposal aimed at ending the war with Russia to the Trump administration on Wednesday, US and Ukrainian officials told CNN, as the contours of a tenuous potential deal take shape and the US president continues to make clear he wants the conflict resolved quickly. Efforts to end the yearslong war have sharply accelerated in recent weeks. President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested a solution could soon be “figured out,” telling reporters at the White House that “a lot of people say it’s closer than it’s ever been.” He said he “discussed...

President Donald Trump's envoys have given Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy only days to respond to a proposed peace deal that would require Ukraine to accept territorial losses in exchange for unspecified U.S. security guarantees, with one person familiar with the timeline saying Trump wants an agreement "by Christmas." Zelenskyy told European leaders that he was pushed during a two-hour phone call with Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, to make a quick decision, reports the Financial Times on Tuesday. Officials familiar with the talks said that the Ukrainian leader told Witkoff and Kushner that he...

Ukraine and its European partners will soon be ready to present the U.S. with "refined documents" on a peace plan to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday, following days of high-stakes shuttle diplomacy. Kyiv is under pressure from the White House to secure a quick peace but is pushing back on a U.S.-backed plan proposed last month that is widely seen as favorable to Moscow. Ukrainian officials are also seeking strong security guarantees from partners... In a statement, Zelenskyy said new components of the deal hashed out with the British, French, and German leaders in...

A member of the UK armed forces has been killed in a 'tragic accident' whilst observing the testing of new defensive capability in Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence has said. The MoD said in a statement that the accident occurred on Tuesday morning away from the front lines of Ukraine's defence against Russia's invasion. The ministry said the man's family has been notified of his death, adding: 'Our thoughts are with them at this sad and difficult time.' Prime Minister Keir Starmer said following the announcement of the soldier's death: 'My deepest sympathy and condolences to the family of the...

After weeks of peace talks and high-level meetings, Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on an issue central to bringing the war to an end: Territory. The Kremlin has made clear that it wants to absorb all of an eastern area of Ukraine known as the Donbas. That includes a 2,500-square-mile area of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that Russia has not been able to capture after nearly four years of fighting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated on Monday his longstanding opposition to ceding territory to Russia. More than 200,000 Ukrainians live in the area of Donetsk that Ukraine still...

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said he was ready for elections, appearing to bow to pressure from President Donald Trump, who has been upping the pressure on Ukraine to hold a national vote during the war with Russia. While there are serious challenges to holding elections in a country at war, Zelenskyy said that he was prepared to organize them as long as he got his parliament's OK and the U.S. and other allies helped ensure security. “I am ready for elections; moreover, I am now asking — and I state this openly — for the United States to help...