Western sanctions have failed to turn the uber-rich into opponents, and Putin's policies have turned them into silent backers.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defence systems had intercepted and destroyed 111 Ukrainian drones in three hours over six Russian regions, including eight over Moscow.

Italian firms could lose up to €250 million after the EU renewed its ban on sanitary ware exports to Russia under the bloc’s 19th sanctions package.

President Emmanuel Macron has previously denied that Laurent Vinatier worked for the French state and has described his arrest as part of a misinformation campaign by Moscow.

The first draft essentially called for Ukraine’s surrender. The revised version includes the security guarantees Kyiv wants to prevent future Russian aggression.

Widespread aerial attacks marked Christmas 2025 in the Russia-Ukraine war, as Russian and Ukrainian forces exchanged drone and missile strikes on civilian and energy infrastructure in border regions. The escalation followed renewed international peace talks, with negotiators struggling to overcome divides between Moscow and Kyiv.

Russia has ordered a winter troop surge to break the stalemate in Ukraine, but Ukrainian drone attacks on logistics and resupply channels will undermine this offensive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will discuss territorial issues, the main stumbling block in talks to end the war, with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday, as a 20-point peace framework and a security guarantees deal near completion.