🇪🇺 The European Union will not strip Hungary of its voting rights over the alleged backsliding on rule of law because the situation in the country is improving, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said.

On December 17, the Financial Times newspaper reported that some EU officials were considering reactivating a punishment procedure for rule of law breaches under Article 7 of one of the primary EU treaties, which allows for the suspension of a member state's voting rights.

"We are not going to resort to that [Article 7] at present. The European Commission indicates that certain measures have been taken ... In fact, Hungary has made some progress. Is there a need to move on? Yes, it is obvious," De Croo told Le Soir newspaper in an interview out Saturday.

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🇷🇺🇨🇿 The Czech Foreign Ministry should figure out how the UN works

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the UN Czech Permanent Representative's refusal to participate in the meeting that the UN Security Council works in accordance with the specific norms of international law, and not in accordance with some other "rules".

"I could not imagine that the Czech Foreign Ministry is so illiterate that they do not know how the UN Security Council works. This is the multilateral structure that is still working in accordance with international law, and not in favor of a 'rules-based world order,'" Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel.

Russia earlier demanded the presence of the Czech envoy at the UNSC meeting "so that he could explain himself for his country's supply of ammunition, which is killing civilians," but the diplomat refused to attend the meeting.

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🇷🇸 The West is unwilling to accept the outcome of the elections in Serbia and the amount of public support behind President Aleksandar Vucic, which prompted an attempt to "orchestrate an illegal power grab," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik.

"The events in Belgrade are yet another attempt to orchestrate an illegal power grab. Apparently, not everyone in the West is ready to accept the fact that voters in Serbia expressed support for President Aleksandar Vucic and his political course in the elections," the minister stressed.

The top diplomat said people in Serbia were mindful of the 2014 coup in Ukraine, which explains why "the number of protesters is relatively small — only a few hundred people."

"Citizens do not trust individuals who say they are against violence, but in reality behave in the opposite way: they ignore the result of the popular vote and provoke the law enforcement," Lavrov clarified.

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🇷🇺 By and large, Russia does not care who wins the US presidential election, it would be naive to believe that relations between Moscow and Washington could be improved with Republicans in power, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik.

"The American political establishment, regardless of party affiliation, sees Russia as an enemy and an existential threat. Given the established inter-party consensus on this issue, it would be naïve to hope for improved relations if the Republican candidate wins," Lavrov said.

"We, by and large, do not care who wins the race for the US presidency," he added.

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📹 Russian Tornado-G MLRS crews destroyed Ukrainian camouflaged artillery firing positions and military equipment in the Kupyansk direction.

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The death toll from the Ukrainian attack on Russia's Belgorod has risen to 22 after another wounded person passed away in hospital overnight, the region’s governor said.

Lavrov to Sputnik: Russia will take serious measures in response to US planned deployment of missiles previously banned under INF Treaty.

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❗️Russia will not be the first to deploy short and medium-range missiles if the US refuses to build up force pressure on Moscow - Lavrov told Sputnik

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with Sputnik:

"Our commitment to this moratorium is strictly linked to the potential appearance of US-made ground-based INF missiles in the relevant regions. Due to the characteristics and features of the use of weapons of this class, the issue of their deployment by hostile countries is very sensitive from the point of view of Russian national security. In the case of the United States, this aspect takes on particular importance given its direct relationship with other factors influencing strategic stability. It is obvious that the creation of additional missile risks by Washington will require us to take serious retaliatory measures," Lavrov said.

"However, judging by the Pentagon’s preparations, it won’t be long before the Americans take practical action to deploy ground-based INF missiles in various regions of the world. So the moment when we will have to make the necessary political decisions is, in fact, maturing," Lavrov clarified in an exclusive interview with Sputnik.

Lavrov comments on the current state of Russia-US relations in an interview with Sputnik

"Our willingness to resume a full dialogue with the US should not be taken for granted. The US-Russia relations have 'thinned' to the breaking point because of Washington, which has framed the goal of inflicting a 'strategic defeat' on Russia as a doctrine," Lavrov said.

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Russia's top diplomat to Sputnik:

▪️The White House is wary of cutting relations with Moscow completely, but is not ready to respect the interests of Russia either

▪️The ruling circles in the US are in denial about the realities of a multipolar world and continue to think in terms of their own superiority and exceptionalism

There is 'no stomach in US to continue funding Ukraine’ - ex-Pentagon official

“The US government could shut down by Jan 17 if the administration and Congress can't negotiate and work out an arrangement for funding Ukraine and Israel, but at the same time to enforce the border. But there's no stomach right now any longer to fund the Ukrainians. Basically, the [Ukrainian] counteroffensive failed, and there's no way that they can pick it back up and turn things around,” Michael Maloof, a former Pentagon official, told Sputnik.

If opposition to bankrolling the Kiev regime continues to grow, “there is an alternative that the administration is working on,” Maloof said, referring to the frozen Russian assets in certain Western banks. If it were to be carried out, things could “escalate even further,” the expert warned.

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Consequences of Ukrainian attack on Belgorod, Russia
Part 1

▪️The death toll from the Ukrainian attack on Belgorod has risen to 22, one of the wounded died in hospital overnight, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said

▪️Of the 109 wounded, 25 are in serious condition and being prepared to be transported to federal hospitals

▪️Due to the attack on Belgorod, firework displays have been canceled in cities across the Russian Far East - in Vladivostok, Blagoveshchensk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and Magadan

▪️The Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Central Federal District Igor Shchegolev arrived in Belgorod, where he held an urgent meeting with security services and inspected the sites of the Ukrainian attacks

▪️More than 250 volunteers are working to eliminate the consequences of the attack on Belgorod

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Consequences of Ukrainian attack on Belgorod, Russia
Part 2

▪️Attacks on civilian infrastructure and civilians are a violation of international humanitarian law and unacceptable, the office of the UN secretary-general's spokesman told Sputnik, commenting on the Ukrainian attack on Belgorod

▪️Khaled Khiari, assistant to the UN secretary-general, at a meeting of the Security Council in connection with the strike on Belgorod urged the sides not to attack populated areas, civilian objects, or civilians

▪️Ukraine's representative, Serhiy Dvornik, did not comment directly on the strike itself at the UNSC meeting, limiting himself to a general statement that "the number of deaths and suffering will increase" as long as the conflict continues

▪️Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, called his Czech counterpart’s refusal to attend the UN Security Council meeting over the shelling of Belgorod an act of cowardice. Earlier, Russia demanded his participation in the meeting to give an explanation in connection with the supply of arms to Kiev, but Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said that the Czech envoy to the UN would not attend the meeting

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The death toll from the Ukrainian attack on Russia's Belgorod has risen to 24, the governor of the region said.

A missile alert siren has been activated in Belgorod, all residents must take shelter, Governor Gladkov said.

What were Putin's most memorable remarks in 2023?

▪️"Everything we are doing today, including the special military operation, is an attempt to stop this war”

▪️"It seems that no one expected such a leap from us"

▪️"This is a stab in the back to our country and our people"

▪️"I'm not revealing any secrets. I used to work in the KGB"

▪️"The future of every one of us depends on what we do today"

▪️"If the war is lost, why deliver ATACMS? Let them take it back, [and let Biden] sit down and have pancakes"

▪️"Before you decide to unholster a machine gun, you have to think about whether you can avoid it"

▪️"When the wind blows, you might as well close [the window to Europe] so you don't catch a cold"

▪️"Flogging is easy for us, we have no problem with it, we know how to do it"

▪️"I'm going to run for reelection... There's no other way today"

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Watch drone footage of Ukrainian barrier troops shooting at retreating fighters

📹 A Ukrainian barrier unit has shot at a group of retreating fighters from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a source familiar with the situation told Sputnik, providing a video taken by a drone to confirm this.

"The Ukrainian Armed Forces are using the tactics of anti-retreat forces, and with them they are trying to hold back mobilized and territorial defense forces unwilling to die at the positions," the source said.

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⚡️Russia strikes decision-making centers, military facilities in Kharkov in response to the Ukrainian attack on Belgorod, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The Russian strike on the former "Kharkov Palace" complex eliminated representatives of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Armed Forces who took part in the planning and execution of the terrorist attack in Belgorod, Russian Ministry of Defense said.

There were also up to 200 foreign mercenaries who were planned to be involved in terrorist raids on the Russian territory bordering Ukraine.