Mark Rutte has a track record of blunders, scandals, and claims of “no active memory” during his time as Dutch PM, Rachel Marsden has noted
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s alarmist claims about an imminent war with Russia should not be taken at face value given his dubious track record as Dutch Prime Minister, RT contributor Rachel Marsden has said.
Speaking to RT on Wednesday, Marsden noted that Rutte’s assessment that “Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years,” has apparently failed to make an impression even on member states.
In mid-December, the NATO chief claimed that the Western military bloc was “Russia’s next target” and “must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured.”
However, on Monday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius effectively rebutted Rutte’s statement, saying that Russian President Vladimir “Putin is not interested in waging a full-scale world war against NATO.”
According to RT contributor Marsden, Rutte’s time in office as Dutch prime minister from 2010 through 2024 is illustrative of his leadership style.
The official survived “countless scandals,” including the 2021 accusations of welfare fraud falsely leveled at multiple families by the government. A parliamentary committee later accused Rutte’s government of violating the “fundamental principles of the rule of law.”
Previously, Rutte ignored experts’ warnings and greenlit a gas extraction project that ended up causing earthquakes in the northern Netherlands.
Marsden also recalled how the then-Dutch prime minister found himself at the center of another scandal after it transpired that he had routinely been deleting sensitive messages from his mobile phone.
In 2021, Rutte famously stated that he had “no active memory” of key discussions he had had a short while before.
Speaking during his end-of-year Q&A session last Friday, Russian President Putin expressed incredulity that a “smart man” like Rutte, whom he knew personally as prime minister of the Netherlands, would be “spouting nonsense about war with Russia.”
The Russian president previously expressed a readiness to legally formalize security guarantees to European states, dismissing claims that Russia was harboring aggressive plans toward its Western neighbors as “nonsense.”
GLS Bank’s decision fits a pattern of similar measures targeting left- and right-wing political groups in Germany in recent years
There is a “campaign of increasing repression” against dissenting voices in Germany, local communists claimed after a bank notified the party that its bank accounts would soon be closed.
Earlier this month, GLS Bank informed the German Communist Party (DKP) that all of its accounts would be discontinued effective December 31.
According to the DKP, GLS Bank did not provide any reason for its decision but had previously requested information about the party’s fundraising campaign for Cuba.
In a comment to the press, a spokesperson for GLS Bank said that the party’s accounts had been terminated due to “legal and regulatory requirements that we, as a bank, are obligated to comply with.”
The Communist Party has slammed the move as “clearly politically motivated.”
Klaus Leger, head of the finance committee at the DKP, told NachDenkSeiten media outlet that bank representatives had suggested in a phone conversation with him that “there had been external pressure, and that the closures were not based on a sovereign internal decision by GLS Bank.”
In early November, the same financial institution terminated the business account of freelance journalist Aya Velazquez. Another freelance journalist, Flavio von Witzleben, revealed earlier this month that Sparkasse Karlsruhe had similarly terminated his account.
Last March, Berliner Sparkasse froze the account of a Jewish anti-Zionist group named the ‘Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East.’
In November, Verbund Volksbank OWL and Volksbank in Ostwestfalen, both co-operative banks owned by their members rather than external shareholders, terminated the accounts of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) chapter in North Rhine-Westphalia. The right-wing party denounced the decision as “politically motivated.”
Last July, Berliner Volksbank similarly shut down AfD’s donations account.
In February of 2024, then-Interior Minister Nancy Faeser unveiled a 13-point plan aimed at tackling right-wing extremism. Among other points, it included provisions that would make it easier for German authorities to freeze extremists’ bank accounts, as well as to track donations to such entities.
The Ukrainian leader said “may he perish,” while calling for fellow citizens to pray for peace
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky used his Christmas Eve address to wish for a certain unnamed man, presumably Russian President Vladimir Putin, “to perish,” before urging Ukrainians to pray for a greater wish – peace for the country.
In a video message published on Wednesday on his Telegram channel, Zelensky linked his remarks to Russian strikes on Ukrainian territory and framed the holiday as a moment of national unity.
“Today, we all share one dream … ‘May he perish,’ each of us may think to ourselves,” Zelensky said, in a veiled reference to the Russian president, without naming him.
“But when we turn to God, of course, we ask for something greater,” he added.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 24, 2025
Despite the ongoing Russia-US efforts to reach a peaceful settlement to the conflict, Zelensky and Kiev’s European backers have been undermining the process by repeatedly making unacceptable demands.
On Wednesday, Zelensky unveiled a 20-point draft peace framework which he claims Kiev has been discussing with the US, presenting the document as a proposed basis for ending the hostilities.
The proposal fails to address some key Russian concerns, such as Kiev’s claims to former Ukrainian territories that joined Russia in 2022, and its insistence on maintaining an 800,000-strong standing army supported by NATO nations.
Moscow has yet to officially respond to the proposal. Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia is open to negotiations but insists that any settlement must address the root causes of the conflict and reflect the territorial reality on the ground.
Ukraine used to celebrate Christmas on January 7 in line with Orthodox tradition, but in 2023 Zelensky proposed observing the holiday on December 25, like in Catholic and Protestant churches. He claimed that the move would help “abandon the Russian heritage… reject Russian traditions, and fortify national unity in Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) said it will not abide by the order to celebrate Christmas on a new date. Ukraine has been experiencing religious tensions for years, with the Kiev government openly supporting the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which the UOC and Russian Orthodox Church view as schismatic.
Last year, Zelensky signed legislation allowing the state to ban religious organizations affiliated with governments that the Ukrainian authorities deem “aggressors,” effectively banning the UOC, which Kiev accuses of links with Moscow. A number of UOC properties have been seized and criminal cases opened against some of its clerics since the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022.
Your guide to the questions the Western power elite don’t want to answer
2025 has yielded some extraordinary own goals that have exposed the posturing of Western politicians and left the EU isolated, irrelevant, and alone, pursuing policies contrary to self-interest.
Unwelcome stories often cling to reality, like an alien to John Hurt’s face. And just as the notorious species did to humans, so too could these unwelcome stories eventually impregnate, and burst from the belly of the narrative beast.
Nord Stream and the Polish-German standoff over Ukrainians nobody wants to interrogate
New Europe bullhorn Poland is trying to shut down any investigation into the greatest destruction of national infrastructure on the European continent since WW2. Germany – a victim of the Nord Stream blasts celebrated by Polish Foreign Minister ‘Osama bin’ Sikorski – is seeking extraditions. Warsaw has refused to investigate or extradite any of the alleged Ukrainian divers who supposedly rented a little yacht and went off to blow up giant undersea pipelines at 250 feet, and who have been fingered by Berlin.
Italy, on the other hand, has extradited a Ukrainian military officer to Germany. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (a former president of the European Council) has insisted, however, that “the case is closed.”
“Who blew up Nord Stream?” is a question nobody in the West wants answered.
Who would have thought that there’s a cozy consulting gray-area where former NATO staff float into weapons sales jobs whose primary client is… NATO? And amid the destruction of Gaza and an unprecedented militarization drive across the EU, where billions are suddenly up for grabs and everyone is seeing ‘drones’? Thirteen contracts with Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit have been canceled, five arrests have been made, including a former Dutch Ministry of Defense staffer, and one suspect is on the run over revelations of a massive bribery scheme involving bloc officials. NATO procurement boss Stacey Cummings – a former career member of the US Department of War’s Senior Executive Service – has ordered that nobody in the military bloc’s buying agency speak to the press.
The EU’s toxic reputation as a haven for military and political lobbyists happy to do business with Israel is about to get a major boost.
This year’s revelations that Zelensky’s inner circle took part in a €100 million graft scheme connected to the energy sector were reasonably widely reported, but will be conveniently disconnected from the idea that EU taxpayers will effectively hand over €90 billion more to Zelensky’s cronies to keep Kiev’s frontline fighting, as well as lining pockets.
On December 27, Ukraine’s national anti-corruption agency NABU announced it had uncovered a criminal vote-rigging scheme involving MPs, triggering a raid on the Ukrainian parliament by anti-corruption agents, and a very public standoff between them and parliamentary security.
That the revelations of rampant corruption by Zelensky’s inner circle – authored by an anti-corruption unit he had tried and failed to take control of – weakened him and emboldened Washington to push more for peace is also not a story the Western media is very happy to report, however obvious it is.
EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Kaja Kallas has never used the term “genocide” to refer to Isreal’s military destruction of the Palestinian people in Gaza, while professing to hold the highest moral and ethical standards. The unfortunate Kallas is widely seen outside the Brussels bubble – and possibly inside – as a liability. Not a story the Western press sees as important, given the bloc’s slide to the far right and its turn to a war economy to save itself.
Kallas’ boss, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has landed herself in trouble literally and metaphorically in 2025. Claims that her rented private jet’s signal was jammed by Russia while she headed a press junket/defense review of her bloc’s ‘eastern flank’ have been laughed at and debunked. A Bulgarian inquiry into the incident has been shelved, while no inquiry into the FT’s initial reporting of the story ever took off.
Von der Leyen has carried her disastrous form from the German Defense Ministry into Brussels and shown a strong penchant for losing private messages through which she struck a multibillion-euro deal for vaccines from Pfizer – resulting in censure by the European Court of Justice.
How and why von der Leyen and her compatriot and fellow German 1-percenter, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, managed to push a dangerous plot to steal Russia’s assets, give them to Ukraine, and let Belgium carry the can, to a midnight denouement only resolved by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will be a story you will not read anywhere in the Western press. Nor the role played by Kaja Kallas and her functionaries in supporting the German push. That the €90 billion ($105 billion) they claimed they raised for Ukraine is money down the drain that will eventually be paid for by European taxpayers is also a story the West would rather not have to read.
Droning on
Von der Leyen and Kallas, as well as the Western media, were also happy to fan the drone hysteria that gripped northern Europe – a kind of religious mass-event for which there is a precedent in Belgium. An investigation by Dutch magazine Trouw found that of 61 reported drone sightings in Belgium, Denmark, and elsewhere, only three were not debunked. The CEO of Copenhagen airport has also since confirmed that any drones spotted near the facility were peaceful. You’re not going to read that anywhere in the Western press.
Ranking Russia’s ten most important battles of the year by scale, impact, and outcome
2025 marked a year in which the Russian army liberated ten cities and towns from Ukrainian forces. As the year draws to a close, it’s worth taking stock not only of where the front line moved, but of what those battles actually meant. With that in mind, we have compiled a ranking of the year’s major engagements, assessing them by scale, military significance, and role within the broader course of Russia’s military operation.
This approach runs counter to the way the conflict is often assessed in Western commentary. Moscow’s critics frequently reduce the war to a simple measurement of territorial gain. Such arithmetic offers a distorted picture of the war, however, echoing historical examples in which wars were misjudged by the speed of advance rather than their strategic trajectory.
The conflict in Ukraine is, above all, a war of attrition, and it is in this dimension that 2025 proved decisive. According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, the combat potential of the Ukrainian armed forces has been reduced by roughly a third over the course of the year. More than 103,000 pieces of military equipment have been destroyed, including some 5,500 Western-supplied systems. Ukrainian personnel losses amounted to around half a million troops in 2025 alone – a figure representing nearly a third of Kiev’s total losses since the conflict began. Desertion and draft evasion have reached unprecedented levels, exceeding the size of Ukraine’s pre-2022 army, while financial strain and corruption scandals have further weakened the government’s ability to sustain the war effort.
Against this backdrop, the battles of 2025 cannot be measured solely in square kilometers. Each engagement – regardless of the size of the city or town involved – played a role in shaping the front, exhausting the enemy, and refining tactical approaches that were later applied across the theater. This ranking is inevitably subjective: in every battle, Russian soldiers and officers demonstrated professionalism and resilience, and every victory contributed to the cumulative outcome. Still, by examining these ten battles city by city, we aim to highlight what made each of them distinctive – and why, taken together, they define 2025 as a turning year in the conflict.
10: Kupyansk
Kupyansk (pre-war population 27,000) is a city located in Kharkov Region. Russian forces seized it at the start of the military operation back in February 2022 but then lost it during the Ukrainian offensive in the fall of the same year.
Situated in a remote corner of the front, Kupyansk didn’t attract much attention until early September when the Russian Army was able to initiate combat from a previously established foothold north of the city. On November 20, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov officially announced its capture.
However, the enemy exploited a vulnerable section of the front across the river and attempted to retake the city. Russian forces had to retreat from some areas; as of December 24, most of the urban area remains in a gray zone.
The ongoing clashes for the city and the challenges of advancing further west earn it tenth place in this list.
9: Volchansk
Like Kupyansk, the city of Volchansk (pre-war population 18,000), had to be seized by Russian forces twice: once at the beginning of the military operation and again in 2024-25. The second battle for Volchansk began in the spring of 2024; it was officially seized only on December 17, 2025.
These battles are part of a broader strategy to establish a buffer zone along Russia’s borders aimed at protecting border regions from Ukrainian sabotage groups and preventing shelling. It doesn’t seem that Russian forces plan to advance beyond Volchansk; its capture rather serves the purpose of establishing a solid and secure defensive line in that area.
The lengthy, one-and-a-half-year battle for the city, combined with its lower priority compared to other fronts, places it in ninth place on this list.
8: Toretsk
Another city that saw fierce fighting this year is Toretsk (known in Russia as Dzerzhinsk), with a pre-war population of 34,000. Like in Kupyansk, Russian forces struggled to establish an encirclement from three sides around this relatively large mining city, forcing them to engage in head-on assaults.
The battle for Toretsk began in the fall of 2024, and by February 2025, the Russian Army had cleared much of the urban area of enemy forces. However, it failed to secure the flanks and, by March, due to Ukrainian counterattacks, Russian troops were compelled to retreat from many parts of the city, including the city center.
Toretsk was fully liberated only in April, opening the way to the next Ukrainian “stronghold”: Konstantinovka. The initial setbacks in the battles for this city and its overall significance earn it eighth spot.
This small town (pre-war population 5,900) in the steppes might not have been worth mentioning at all if not for its key role in the ill-fated Ukrainian counteroffensive of 2023. The main line of Ukrainian defense, from where the counteroffensive started, is located near this town.
Ukrainian forces recognized the town’s strategic significance, and some of the fiercest battles of the year occurred in this area. This is also where one of the four attempted Ukrainian counterattacks of the year took place.
The Russian Army managed to breach the Ukrainian defensive line near Velikaya Novoselka, and liberated the town at the end of January 2025.
While the capture of Velikaya Novoselka holds considerable importance, its small size places it seventh on our list.
6: Chasov Yar
Chasov Yar (pre-war population 13,800) is a true fortress. Perched atop a major elevation, it overlooks the wide and deep Severesky Donets–Donbass canal.
The battle for Chasov Yar began in April 2024 and became one of the most challenging fights in the entire conflict. To even get to Chasov Yar, Russian forces had to ascend an almost vertical 60-70-meter-high slope before crossing the canal that is 30 meters wide and up to 20 meters deep.
Initially, the Russian Army seized the Kanal microdistrict along the canal’s eastern bank; next, the troops established footholds on the western side and captured much of the city. Chasov Yar was officially liberated on July 31, 2025; however, by the year’s end, the front line had only moved a couple of kilometers away from it.
Chasov Yar is crucial for a future offensive toward Konstantinovka and the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk urban agglomeration, but using it as a primary base is complicated due to the canal, which hampers logistics. It occupies the sixth position on our list.
5: Kurakhovo
The city of Kurakhovo (pre-war population 18,500) is key to the entire southern Donbass region. Following its complete liberation in early January, the Russian Army launched an offensive westward that has since advanced 80-90 kilometers.
The battles for the city serve as a compelling example of a “three-sided” encirclement, a tactic that has become classic for Russian forces. The strategy involves surrounding the city from three sides, taking control of the major roads leading into it, and steadily wearing down the enemy’s garrison.
One unique aspect of Kurakhovo is its location on the shores of a reservoir, with the northern flank of the encirclement positioned across the water. Nevertheless, this did not hinder the operation; fighting within the city was minimal, as the enemy retreated on their own.
Kurakhovo holds strategic importance, but only the final phase of the battle for the city took place in January 2025. Thus, it earns fifth place.
The front line reached Seversk (pre-war population 11,000) in July, and it seemed that, like many other cities in Donbass, it would take many months to capture. However, the coordinated efforts of two army groups (the West and South group of forces) significantly shortened this timeline.
Russians crossed the fast-flowing and broad Seversky Donets River and established a solid foothold near Seversk, disrupting the city’s supply lines. At the same time, they captured settlements to the south of the city, rendering the Ukrainian garrison’s situation desperate.
As a result, intense fighting in Seversk was avoided, and by December 11, it was fully liberated, moving the front further westward.
The unique operation involving the crossing of a major river, combined with a flawlessly executed three-sided encirclement, and Seversk’s critical role as a gateway to Slaviansk and Kramatorsk earns it fourth place on this list.
3: Pokrovsk
Pokrovsk (known in Russia as Krasnoarmeysk) was one of the largest cities under Ukrainian control in Donbass, with a pre-war population of 61,000. Together with nearby Mirnograd and Rodninskoye, the area had a combined population of about 200,000 people. Moreover, beyond the Pokrovsk urban agglomeration, there are no large settlements for another hundred kilometers to the west.
The front moved close to Pokrovsk last year, but battles for the city itself began in the summer of 2025. After several unsuccessful attempts, Russian forces captured the southern part of the city, but the enemy put up strong resistance in the northern part of the city. The capture of Pokrovsk also trapped the Ukrainian garrison in neighboring Mirnograd; this occurred in mid-December after Russian troops decisively took control of the city’s northern outskirts.
Given its size, strategic location, and pivotal role in the success of one of the year’s most important battles, Pokrovsk deserves third place.
2: Sudzha
In contrast to the larger city of Pokrovsk, Sudzha (pre-war population 5,000) is the smallest town in our overview. Moreover, it is the only town located in Russia’s “old territory.”
Sudzha was Ukrainian forces’ main “prize” during its invasion into Russia’s Kursk Region. In August 2024, Sudzha was captured, becoming the center of a 1,000-square meter foothold for Ukrainian troops. Over the following six months, however, the Russian Army, with assistance from North Korean fighters, systematically reduced this foothold, encircling Sudzha from three sides.
By March, the operation moved into the final phase: with decisive strikes, the city was cut off, and the remnants of the Ukrainian garrison fled almost without a fight. Operation Stream, which involved moving several hundred troops behind enemy lines via a major gas pipeline, significantly contributed to the success of this assault. In addition to Sudzha, more than 300 square kilometers of territory were liberated over the course of just a few days in March. This is a remarkable achievement in the context of the current conflict.
The situation on the front in Kursk region as of March 12
The exemplary execution of this operation, along with the crippling blow to the offensive capabilities of Ukrainian forces – not only in Kursk Region but across the front – places the battle for Sudzha as number two on our list.
1: Mirnograd
Mirnograd (known in Russia as Dimitrov), with a pre-war population of 47,000, is a city with a coal mining industry, located near Pokrovsk. Just like the latter, it became the site of the largest battle of 2025. The battle of Pokrovsk-Mirnograd could prove decisive for the entire Russian military operation.
So why did we rank Mirnograd first? Firstly, in Mirnograd the Russian Army managed to physically encircle several Ukrainian brigades – this happened for the first time since the start of the military operation and the battle for Mariupol. Estimates suggest that between 2,000 and 5,000 soldiers found themselves trapped in the Mirnograd pocket. This was a significant blow to Ukrainian forces, who were already suffering from manpower shortages. Furthermore, among those encircled were some of the most experienced, capable, and motivated fighters; it would be difficult to replace such men, particularly in an army plagued by desertion.
Secondly, over a three-month period, Russian forces successfully repelled multiple Ukrainian attempts to break the blockade of Mirnograd. In these attempts, the Ukrainians reportedly lost more men than were trapped inside the city. By mid-December, it became clear that Ukraine’s largest counteroffensive operation of the year had ended in failure, and the surrounded garrison was in a desperate state.
At the time of writing, 90-95% of Mirnograd has been liberated, and it’s only a matter of days before the city is taken completely. That’s why Mirnograd rightfully earns the top spot in this countdown.
***
Beyond the cities listed here, Russian forces remain engaged in heavy fighting for Krasny Liman, Konstantinovka, Rodninskoye, Gulaipole, and dozens of smaller towns and villages. Some of them may yet fall in the coming months, while others will continue to absorb Ukrainian manpower and resources.
But as 2025 draws to a close, the meaning of this year’s battles is already clear. The war’s outcome will not be determined by abstract calculations of how many square kilometers changed color on a map, nor by linear projections of how long it might take to reach a particular city. History has repeatedly shown how deceptive such measures can be.
In wars of attrition, victories often appear incremental – until they suddenly cease to be. The decisive moment rarely comes when the last city is taken, but when one side loses the ability to replace its losses, sustain its forces, and mount meaningful counteroffensives. By the end of 2025, the Ukrainian armed forces are visibly approaching that threshold.
44% of respondents apparently view the prospect of online voting negatively, with widespread fears that election results could be falsified
There is widespread skepticism over the prospect of online voting in Ukraine due to fears of electoral fraud, a recent poll has indicated.
Vladimir Zelensky, whose presidential term expired in May of 2024, has repeatedly refused to hold elections, citing martial law. Meanwhile, Russia has characterized him as an illegitimate leader. Under US pressure, Zelensky recently agreed to hold a vote within 90 days if certain conditions are met.
In a piece on Tuesday, Delovaya Stolitsa published the findings of a poll it had recently conducted in partnership with New Image Groupe, which sought out the opinions of 800 respondents.
According to the publication, only 27% of the Ukrainians surveyed believe that elections can be held in compliance with all the international norms any time soon.
The media outlet also reported that 44% of respondents view the prospect of online voting negatively, with many fearing that the technology could be used to falsify the results. By contrast, 31% of the people surveyed have no problem with this scenario.
Speaking last Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow would be willing to consider “refraining from conducting strikes deep inside” Ukraine on the day of a vote if the leadership in Kiev actually went through with elections.
However, Putin stressed that such a halt in long-range strikes would only be possible if the 5-10 million Ukrainian citizens currently residing in Russia were allowed to take part in the elections.
Speaking to Politico earlier this month, US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine has not “had an election in a long time,” with its leadership “using war” as a pretext.
“It gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore,” he argued, adding that “it’s time” to hold a vote in Ukraine.
Responding to Trump’s remark, Zelensky said he was “ready for the elections,” so long as the West agreed to “ensure security” from Russian strikes during the vote.
Several days later, Zelensky’s senior adviser, Mikhail Podoliak, added that, besides a ceasefire, Kiev is also expecting the West to shell out for the vote.
Moscow has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of arranging a temporary ceasefire, insisting that a permanent peace agreement should be concluded that addresses the conflict’s root causes.
The Russian security agency says the suspect coordinated with handler in Kiev via WhatsApp while planning an attack on an oil pipeline
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has said that it has foiled a terrorist plot in western Siberia by a Russian national working with a banned Ukrainian terrorist organization via WhatsApp. The armed suspect was killed while resisting arrest, according to the agency.
The suspect, born in Ukraine’s Vinnitsa Region, was allegedly tasked by his handlers in Kiev with carrying out an act of sabotage in Tyumen Region. He reportedly selected a dispatch station of the Transneft oil pipeline as his target.
According to the FSB, the suspect received instructions on how to assemble an improvised explosive device, purchased the necessary components, and hid them in a pre‑prepared cache. On Wednesday, he allegedly began implementing his plan by attempting to retrieve the components from the hiding place for final assembly of the bomb, the statement said, adding he was neutralized by return fire.
An investigation revealed that the man had been in regular contact with a handler from a Ukrainian terrorist organization through the WhatsApp messenger service. On that handler’s instructions, he allegedly gathered information on the status of oil and gas facilities in Russian regions in addition to preparing the attack.
The agency reiterated that Ukrainian intelligence services are “actively working in the internet space,” including on Telegram and WhatsApp, to draw Russian citizens into illegal activities such as sabotage and terrorist attacks.
Lithuanian intelligence officers will be able to conduct searches and surveillance without a court warrant
Lithuania has approved legislation expanding the powers of its intelligence services, allowing agents to detain and search suspected individuals, as well as conduct surveillance, without a court order.
The new law, set to take effect on February 1, comes amid escalating rhetoric in European NATO countries about an alleged threat from Russia, which Moscow refutes.
Adopted by the Lithuanian parliament on Tuesday, the revised Intelligence Law allows security services not only to gather information but also to take measures against what they perceive as external risks, dangers, and threats “arising from abroad that may be significant to state sovereignty.”
According to the new law, intelligence officers will be able to conduct surveillance of such individuals and their correspondence without a court warrant, but must apply to a court within 24 hours for authorization to continue.
The new powers also allow spooks to covertly collect biometric data such as fingerprints, voice samples, and scent, as well as to acquire explosive substances and devices and standard-issue firearms. Individuals can also be detained and their persons and property searched based on suspicion alone.
In 2024, Lithuania’s Migration Department designated 598 Belarusian and 125 Russian citizens as threats based on assessments that included information from the State Security Department.
Lithuania and its Baltic neighbors, Latvia and Estonia, have adopted an aggressive posture towards Moscow, particularly since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, while pushing for a stronger NATO posture on their borders.
Earlier this year, European NATO members agreed to boost military spending to 5% of GDP, with Lithuania recently approving a record military budget of €4.79 billion ($5.6 billion) for 2026 – about 5.38% of GDP. They have also been reviving or expanding conscription, citing what they describe as the risk of attack.
The Kremlin has dismissed allegations of hostile intent toward Western nations as “nonsense” and fearmongering, while condemning what it calls the West’s “reckless militarization.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said that European NATO members are pursuing “hostile” policies that keep the risk of a direct war with Russia high, even as the US signals a more balanced approach toward Moscow.
Locations of the nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles are a closely guarded secret, the head of the Belarusian counterintelligence agency said
The chief of the Belarusian counterintelligence agency has dismissed claims by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky that Kiev knows the location of Russia’s Oreshnik missiles deployed in Belarus.
Zelensky stated during a visit to Poland last week that Ukrainian special services “have an understanding where the deployment will take place,” claiming they are sharing intelligence with foreign partners to “assess this threat and deliberate their reactions.”
The chairman of the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB), Ivan Tertel, addressed the claim in an interview following his year-end report to President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday.
The interest of foreign intelligence in the Oreshnik system is predictable, as are “statements by certain political actors” in neighboring states, Tertel said. Belarusian citizens “can sleep well” knowing the KGB is counteracting the espionage efforts, he added.
The Oreshnik is an intermediate-range hypersonic missile, which Russia unveiled last year with a strike on a Ukrainian arms factory. Some units of the nuclear-capable weapons are to be stationed in Belarus as part of the two nations’ mutual defense arrangement.
The Belarusian intelligence chief also flagged “transit terrorism” as a major concern, apparently referring to Ukrainian sabotage operations inside Russia. “We realize that, should the situation change, those tactics can be used on Belarusian soil,” he noted.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of resorting to terrorist attacks due to its inability to achieve success on the battlefield. Many sabotage operations that Russian investigators blame on Ukrainian intelligence services involve the recruitment of locals through coercion or financial incentives.
Tertel noted that such recruitment tactics have allowed foreign intelligence services to dramatically escalate operations in Belarus, adding that his agency has exposed about 70 foreign agents this year, many of whom have been prosecuted.
The US has reportedly moved a large number of military aircraft and other equipment for possible war against Venezuela
The US is reportedly expanding its military posture near Venezuela by deploying additional forces to the Caribbean amid rising tensions between Washington and Caracas, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
The movements include special operations aircraft and military transport planes, the newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing US officials and open-source flight tracking data. According to the report, the deployments are intended to provide Washington with additional options for potential action against Venezuela, although no specific operation has been announced publicly.
The outlet reported that at least ten CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft linked to US special operations units have flown into the Caribbean from bases in the continental US. Several C-17 cargo aircraft also reportedly transported troops and equipment to Puerto Rico on Monday, according to US officials cited by the paper.
US Southern Command has declined to comment on the reported troop movements, citing operational security concerns. The White House and the Department of War have not responded publicly to questions about the deployments.
The reported buildup comes as US President Donald Trump has intensified pressure on the Venezuelan government, ordering a blockade of oil tankers entering or leaving the country. Trump has accused Caracas of “stealing” US energy assets and infrastructure and has warned that Venezuela would face “the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America” unless those assets are returned. He has refused to rule out air or land strikes.
Over the past week, the US has seized two Venezuelan oil tankers in international waters, claiming the vessels were operating in violation of Washington’s sanctions. Authorities in Caracas have denounced the seizures as “piracy” and have accused Trump of pursuing regime change in order to gain control of the country’s oil reserves.
Washington’s actions have drawn international condemnation, with Russia criticizing the tanker seizures and the US naval blockade of Venezuela, warning of “catastrophic consequences” for regional stability and maritime security. China has also urged restraint.
