🇩🇪 German newspaper Bild's forecast for the country: the worst is yet to come?

This year turned out to be difficult for Germany, but these are still "flowers," Bild writes with reference to German experts. In general, the political forecasts of two political scientists for 2024 are gloomy: Germany will lag behind in almost all areas:

► There will be a "period of deep polarization and weakening of manageability" in domestic politics;

► The economy will fall into a "recession period" and financial policy into "very cloudy weather";

► There will be an increase in tension, discontent and indignation in the social sphere;

In European politics, Germany is becoming "an unpopular colossus with feet of clay,“ according to Bild.

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🇵🇱 Polish general staff claims that the missile that violated Polish airspace belonged to Russia. It offered no evidence.

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🇵🇱 Polish military scrambled jets to intercept, shoot down missile that flew from Ukraine, but did not manage to do so in time, Polish operational commander said

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🚁 MI-28N in action

📹 Russia's helicopters hit enemy positions around Donetsk. As a result of the combat, all the designated targets were neutralized.

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Putin, Biden & Zelensky: What are the results of 2023?

📹 Using deepfake technologies, Sputnik has created imaginary end-of-the-year speeches by the three presidents. Here's what we think they would say if they could speak completely unfiltered.

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Reports about CIA woes in China: ‘Pity ploy’ or smokescreen?

Recent revelations in US media about the CIA having troubles rebuilding its spy network in China may serve several purposes, according to geopolitical analyst KJ Noh.

For one, Noh noted, the US spy agency may actually be trying to “send mixed messages” in order to obfuscate efforts to “reconstitute their human intelligence networks.”

On the other, it could be a ploy meant to draw attention away from the CIA’s own incompetence and get more money from Congress.

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🇷🇺🪖 Key points of Russian MoD briefing on progress of special military op in Ukraine in a week:

▪️In the Kupyansk region, Russian troops repelled 27 attacks by Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian losses amounted to 265 soldiers and a tank;

▪️ In Krasny Liman, 13 Ukrainian attacks have been repelled. Ukrainian losses amounted up to 1,205 soldiers and six tanks.

▪️ In the Donetsk region, Maryinka was liberated, 27 Ukrainian attacks were repelled. Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 1,675 soldiers and seven tanks.

▪️In Zaporozhye, two Ukrainian attacks in the area of Verbovoye were repelled. Ukrainian losses amounted up to 475 people and one tank.

▪️In Kherson, attempts to transfer saboteurs of the Ukrainian forces to the islands and the left bank of the Dnepr were thwarted by the Russian troops.

▪️ Ten Ukrainian planes and two helicopters were shot down in a week.

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S Korean president tries to prevent provocations ‘by being provocative’ – expert

“I think the South Korean President, Yoon Suk Yeol, is much more willing to be a lapdog for the United States,” George Koo, a journalist, social activist, and international business consultant, told Sputnik.

He argued that Yoon thinks that siding with the US will “ensure his staying in office," a scenario that the journalist said would never see the light of day. Dwelling on the South Korean president’s recent remarks about the need for Seoul to retaliate first and report later, Koo insisted that “it’s a way of preventing provocations by being provocative," which he warned may have “a very terrible ending.”

During his visit to a frontline army unit on Thursday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered his country’s army to respond to enemy attacks by retaliating first and only then reporting.

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Formations of the Western Battlegroup stormed the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kupyansk region.

First-person footage from the Russian Ministry of Defense clearly shows the high accuracy of the 30-mm BMP-2 gun.

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📹 Meet Russia's Kh-101 long-range cruise missile – a marvel of military engineering.

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Was the US Space Force's X-37B brought to high elliptical orbit to spy on Russia?

"The recent launch [of X-37B] is special and stands out from the general picture," Ivan Moiseev, the head of the Russian Institute of Space Policy, told Sputnik. "It was sent into a High Elliptical Orbit, that is, to an altitude of somewhere around 40,000 kilometers and with an orbital period of 12 days."

Per Moiseev, the X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle is used by the US Space Force for military purposes in the first place. That is, it deploys small satellites that provide video reconnaissance, communications, and navigation to the US forces on the ground.

The expert does not rule out that the abrupt change in the spacecraft's altitude could be related to possible spying on Russian regions and the Arctic. He stressed that this hypothesis could be confirmed or dismissed after the parameters of the spacecraft's orbit are specified.

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🇷🇺 Russian anti-aircraft missile systems Pantsir-S have shot down 10 guided bombs and 3 cruise missiles launched by the Israeli air force towards Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria said on Friday.

"The air defense forces on duty shot down 10 guided bombs and three cruise missiles, using Russian-made Pantsir-S systems. As a result of the Israeli air strikes, military infrastructure was damaged. There were no casualties," Vadim Kulit, deputy head of the center, told a press briefing.

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🇵🇱 The Polish Foreign Ministry said on Friday it summoned Russian Charge d’Affaires Andrey Ordash in connection with a missile that had flown into Polish airspace from Ukraine.

"This evening, Deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski summoned Russian Charge d'Affaires Andrey Ordash and handed him a note, in which the foreign ministry demanded explanation on the case of violation of Poland's airspace by a cruise missile and an immediate cessation of such actions," the ministry said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, the Polish armed forces said that an unidentified aerial object flying from Ukraine had violated Polish airspace. The Polish military stated later that it was a missile, which performed a maneuver in Polish airspace and then returned to Ukraine. Chief of the Polish General Staff Wieslaw Kukula told reporters that, according to Polish radar control systems, the missile belonged to Russia, adding, however, that information was yet to be verified.

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Latest updates on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

▪️UN chief calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza and unconditional release of all hostages;

▪️Israel plans to relocate large number of Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt under pretext of ensuring security, a source told Sputnik;

▪️Humanitarian convoy comes under fire from Israeli military in Gaza, staff not injured, according to UNRWA chief;

▪️UAE UN envoy says there must be international presence to monitor ceasefire in Gaza.

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💰 American lawmakers are failing to reach a deal on security at the US border with Mexico and on providing additional aid to Ukraine, US Senator Chris Murphy said on Friday.

Members of Congress are still "working through the text" of a potential agreement, Murphy stated, as reported by Politico.

The lead negotiators took a brief Christmas break but held meetings on the matter as recently as Friday morning, Murphy was quoted as saying.

The US Congress adjourned for the winter holiday break without reaching a deal on border security and additional aid for Ukraine. Republican lawmakers have insisted on the inclusion of more stringent border security measures in the Biden administration’s $106 billion supplemental funding request, which includes more than $60 billion in aid for Ukraine.

Negotiators hope to have a deal to present to senators by the time they return on January 8, Murphy added.

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The Biden administration has approved a possible $147.5 million foreign military sale of M107 155mm projectiles and related equipment, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on Friday.

“The Secretary of State has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Israel of M107 155mm projectiles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $147.5 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today,” the statement read.

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🇹🇷Turkiye’s self-produced ANKA-3 flying wing drone made its maiden flight Thursday, representing another milestone for the country’s increasingly sophisticated national aerospace industry.

“Hopefully, our aircraft will make a strong contribution to the defense of our country with its advanced technologies, design and features,” said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a social media post.

The sleek drone is designed to carry out missions requiring stealth, such as strike and surveillance missions, electronic warfare, and the disabling of enemy air defenses.

The development of the unmanned vehicle places Turkiye in a select group of countries able to produce such sophisticated aircraft.

👉 Check out the full article for a rundown of the plane’s capabilities

❗️Russian air defenses have destroyed 13 rockets over the Belgorod Region, the Defense Ministry reported.

“On December 29, at about 11 p.m., an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack on targets on the territory of the Russian Federation using multiple launch rocket systems was stopped. The air defense systems on duty destroyed 13 rockets over the Belgorod Region,” the ministry said.

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❗️ The air defense systems destroyed two drones over Bryansk and Bryansk region and no injuries were reported per preliminary information, Governor Alexander Bogomaz said.

Earlier in the day, Bogomaz said that air defenses destroyed four Ukrainian drones in the Bryansk region during the day.

"Over the city of Bryansk and the Bryansk region the air defense of the Russian Defense Ministry is working. Two unmanned aerial vehicles of airplane type were destroyed. According to preliminary information, there are no casualties," Bogomaz wrote on his Telegram channel.

Later, the governor added that four more drones were shot down over the region. No injuries were reported per preliminary information.

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