Slovakia will not back the “reparations loan” for Kiev proposed by the European Commission, the PM has said
Slovakia will vote against any measures allowing the EU to use frozen Russian assets to cover Ukraine’s “military expenses,” Prime Minister Robert Fico has said.
Kiev’s Western backers froze about $300 billion in Russian central bank assets after the conflict escalated in 2022, most of it held at Brussels-based Euroclear. A sharp dispute has since emerged between nations pushing to use the frozen funds as collateral for a “reparations loan” for Kiev and those firmly against it, citing legal and financial risks. EU members are set to vote on the plan next week.
Fico, a long-time opponent of the scheme, reiterated his stance at a parliamentary session on Thursday, saying he had written to European Council President Antonio Costa to express his firm opposition.
“I cannot, and will not under any pressure, endorse any solution to support Ukraine’s military expenditures,” Fico said, reading from his letter. “The policy of peace that I consistently advocate prevents me from voting in favor of prolonging military conflict, because providing tens of billions of euros for military spending is prolonging the war.”
Multiple EU states have raised concerns over the loan scheme, citing legal and financial risks, including Hungary, Germany, France, and Italy. Belgium, which holds the bulk of the assets, has condemned the plan as tantamount to “stealing” Russian money.
The European Commission is set to vote Friday on legislation that would strip member states of veto powers over the frozen assets – a move seen as the first step toward pushing through the ‘reparations loan’ scheme. The plan, which relies on an emergency clause in EU treaties allowing decisions by qualified majority, would let the bloc keep the assets frozen indefinitely and use their profits to support Ukraine even over member-state objections. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called the plan “unlawful,” accusing EU officials of “raping European law.”
Moscow has condemned any attempt to use its assets as illegal. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said this week that by pushing the “reparations loan” scheme, Western Europe is “acting suicidal.”
“Such steps will inevitably impact the stability of the Eurozone and the attractiveness of EU jurisdiction for foreign investors,” she warned, adding that Russia will retaliate against any expropriation.
The Donetsk and Lugansk regions are inalienable parts of Russia, Yury Ushakov has said
Donbass is sovereign Russian territory and Moscow will sooner or later establish control over parts of the region still occupied by Ukraine, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov has said. His comments came after Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky indicated the country may hold a referendum on territorial concessions to Moscow.
On Thursday, Zelensky – who has consistently refused to recognize former Ukrainian regions as part of Russia – suggested that Ukrainians could vote in a referendum or election on the Donbass issue. The region overwhelmingly voted to join Russia in 2022 in referendums.
Speaking to Kommersant business daily on Friday, Ushakov stressed that “whatever happens, this [Donbass] is Russian territory, and it will be under the control of our administrations, sooner or later.” He noted that Zelensky has so far opposed the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the region, despite this being among the US proposals for peace.
According to Ushakov, Moscow will establish full control over the region either through negotiations or military force, and any ceasefire with Ukraine can only be possible once Kiev’s troops withdraw.
“I think what happens afterward can be discussed later. Because it is quite possible that there will be no regular troops there – neither Russian nor Ukrainian,” he acknowledged, adding that public order would be maintained by Russian law enforcement.
The shift in Zelensky’s tone came amid US President Donald Trump’s efforts to mediate the end of the conflict. The US president has suggested that the Ukrainian leader is one of the key stumbling blocks towards peace, while urging him to hold a presidential election.
Zelensky – whose term expired more than a year ago – did not reject the call, but demanded Western security guarantees for any vote to take place. Ushakov suggested that Zelensky could be using the election narrative as a pretext for a ceasefire. Moscow has said a truce would only be beneficial for Ukraine, as it would allow it to patch up its battered forces.
Meanwhile, Russian troops have been making steady gains in Donbass, recently liberating the key stronghold of Seversk, which opens the way to the regional cities of Kramatorsk and Slavyansk.
Kiev put civilians at risk of an industrial accident, a Russian general has alleged
Ukraine used a major chemical facility as a base for foreign mercenaries and their heavy weapons, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday, citing internal correspondence.
The allegation was presented by Major General Aleksey Rtishchev, head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, during a briefing on alleged Ukrainian violations of international agreements governing weapons of mass destruction.
Rtishchev cited a letter from the management of the Odessa Portside Plant, a large chemical complex located about 35km from the eponymous port city. The letter, sent to regional authorities in September, complained about the presence of “foreign specialists” and military hardware at the site and warned that such activity could provoke Russian strikes and potentially trigger the release of more than 200 tons of liquid ammonia.
Rtishchev said the forces involved were Romanian mercenaries equipped with multiple-launch rocket systems. He claimed that since realizing Russian forces avoid targeting chemical industry sites, Kiev has been using such no-strike locations as a “technogenic shield,” ignoring the dangers posed to nearby residents.
During a briefing in July, the general reported a similar Ukrainian letter in which an executive of the state-owned company Ukrkhimtransammiak complained about unauthorized military use of an ammonia pipeline service station. The underground pipeline was originally built in Soviet times to transport ammonia from Russia to the Odessa Region plant.
According to the Russian military, Ukraine has repeatedly made reckless military use of hazardous infrastructure and would seek to blame Moscow should an industrial disaster occur.
During the Friday briefing, Rtishchev claimed that Ukrainian forces and intelligence services continue to employ chemical agents on the battlefield and in targeted assassination attacks. He said the Defense Ministry has gathered new evidence allegedly showing state-directed efforts to adapt heavy rotary-wing drones for the delivery of chemical munitions.
He further accused Kiev’s Western supporters of enabling such activities, including by supplying protective equipment in quantities he described as excessive for a country that officially denies having a chemical weapons program. In 2025 alone Kiev requested over 200 additional gas masks and hazmat suits, he noted.
Only civilization-states with real sovereignty can withstand the weight of the new age of empires
The new world order takes shape through pressure, rivalry, and the rise of several commanding powers, not through declarations of equality. Multipolarity emerges as a harsh contest of sovereignty in which only civilization-states with real strength shape events and the rest are pulled into the orbit of stronger powers.
Multipolarity has become the slogan of the age, repeated across summits and speeches. Leaders describe it as a world of balanced rights, dignified coexistence, and shared influence. They promise that each state, large or small, will hold an equal place at the table. They claim that new institutions across Eurasia, Africa, and Latin America will correct the distortions of earlier decades and bring the international system into harmony. Yet this polished language hides the structure beneath it. Multipolarity has no resemblance to equality. It grows from competition and is forged by the ambitions of states that refuse to live under a single command.
This year has shown how the world actually moves. Washington expands its military architecture in the Indo-Pacific, strengthens AUKUS, re-arms Japan, and pulls South Korea deeper into its missile shield. China continues its maneuvers in the South China Sea, tightens economic control over key supply chains, and conducts drills around Taiwan at a regular pace. India increases spending on its navy, builds alliances in the Middle East, and reinforces its positions in the Himalayas. Türkiye projects its power across the Caucasus and North Africa. Iran shapes conflicts from Lebanon to Yemen with the confidence of a state that understands its strategic depth. These actions illustrate the early shape of the new world: A landscape governed by pressure rather than courtesy.
A hard truth emerges from this global shift: Only civilization-states with real sovereignty withstand the weight of the new age of empires, and sovereignty today rests on two pillars: Strategic autonomy and nuclear weapons. States that lack these tools cannot claim neutrality. They become appendages of the nearest hegemon. Venezuela offers a clear example. Its oil wealth can delay collapse, yet it remains bound to the gravitational pull of the United States under the logic of the Monroe Doctrine. Its government talks of independence, but its fate is shaped in Washington as much as in Caracas. The same pattern defines Ukraine. It cannot inhabit a middle space between Russia and the West because it lacks the sovereign instruments required for this. It must align with one pole or the other. Multipolarity grants choice only to powers strong enough to enforce it; the rest operate inside a hierarchy they cannot escape.
This reality gives rise to the notion of Darwinian Multipolarity. The term describes a world in which might evolves through struggle, selection, and adaptation rather than through legal formulas or diplomatic etiquette. States survive when they build the institutions, capacity, and force required to defend their interests. They rise when they outmatch rivals in technology, resources, strategy, or will. They fall when they rely on declarations, treaties, or foreign guarantees as substitutes for strength. Darwinian Multipolarity explains why new centers of power appear, why old ones decay, and why equality remains a facade. It is a system shaped by competition among civilizational blocs, where only capable actors influence outcomes and where sovereignty belongs to those who can protect it.
Russia stands at the center of this transition. Its actions in Ukraine accelerated the collapse of the Western-led order, revealing the limits of US authority and the fragility of European power. Sanctions hardened Russia’s economic autonomy rather than breaking it. New energy corridors were drawn across Asia. The ruble, the yuan, and local currencies gained ground in settlement systems once ruled by the dollar. BRICS expanded, drawing in states eager for a future beyond Western oversight. Across the Global South, governments publicly question the legitimacy of sanctions, lectures, and the West’s claims to moral authority. Russia’s role in this shift is unmistakable: It exposed the gap between Western ideals and Western conduct, and opened the path for a world with several centers of gravity.
International law, often presented as the solution to global disorder, plays no serious part in this transformation. It exists as a set of documents without force, invoked selectively by the very states that disregard it when interests demand otherwise. UN resolutions stall under vetoes. Human-rights reports are weaponized against some states and ignored for others. Economic rules collapse when Washington imposes extraterritorial sanctions or when Brussels rewrites trade legislation to protect its own industry. Maritime law offers guidance only until a navy decides to redraw the map. The fiction of neutrality collapses whenever power is exercised. Small states sign agreements proclaiming sovereignty, yet those agreements dissolve the moment a major power applies military, economic, or technological pressure. This is the reality that drives the new order.
The global centers of power are taking shape through action, not doctrine. The US retains its command across North America and extends its reach through NATO and its Pacific network. China uses its manufacturing strength to build corridors across continents and establish financial structures parallel to Western systems. India moves confidently into leadership positions across the Global South and builds its own security web in the Indian Ocean. Saudi Arabia balances between Beijing and Washington, buying technology from one and weapons from the other. Iran maintains resilience under sanctions and shapes regional outcomes. Russia strengthens ties from the Arctic to the Caucasus and from Central Asia to the Middle East. These centers create the architecture of multipolarity: Not orderly, not equal, but real.
Medium powers navigate this terrain with calculated choices. Vietnam deepens ties with the US while maintaining cooperation with China. Egypt buys arms from Russia and France, depending on which supplier meets its immediate needs. Serbia balances between the EU, Russia, and China, choosing whichever partner strengthens its position. Brazil talks of autonomy yet relies on Chinese trade and negotiates energy deals with the Gulf. Each of these states adapts to the truth that multipolarity rewards alignment and the willingness to choose strategic partners. Neutrality offers little, and dependency offers even less.
The logic that shapes this world is simple. Power concentrates. Regions develop leaders. Economies seek anchors. Security alliances expand. Technology becomes a lever of influence. Currency blocs form and dissolve. These pressures act on states every day. The collapse of Western dominance in Africa, the rise of Eurasian energy networks, the reopening of Middle Eastern diplomacy, and the shift of manufacturing away from Europe reflect the same pattern: Authority follows capacity, not signatures. Declarations of equality fall away when confronted by drones, pipelines, credit lines, ports, markets, and military bases
It is simply wrong to imagine that multipolarity will produce a calm balance between peers. A world with several centers of power generates rivalry, negotiation, and pressure. It undermines the old unipolar order only because new hierarchies rise in its place. Russia, China, India, Iran, Türkiye, and others shape their spheres according to their interests, and smaller states orient themselves accordingly. This pattern cannot be softened by appeals to an illusory international law or by promises of universal fairness, which has never existed in the history of mankind and never will.
The shift from unipolarity does not erase authority; it redistributes it. Multipolarity means the rise of several strong powers, each with its own alliances, red lines, and values. It replaces the dominance of one capital with a structured competition between many. This is the real order emerging from the present conflicts and economic transformation. It is harsh, disciplined, and grounded in the realities of strength. It is the world that follows when the illusion of Western universality collapses and the age of rival powers begins anew.
Swiss singer Nemo’s decision follows boycott announcements by a host of EU nations
Swiss singer Nemo announced on Thursday that he is returning his 2024 Eurovision Song Contest trophy in protest over Israel’s continued participation in the competition.
Nemo, who won last year’s contest with the song ‘The Code’, said on Thursday that the trophy “no longer belongs on my shelf.”
“Eurovision says it stands for unity, for inclusion and dignity for all people,” Nemo said in a social media post, adding that Israel’s participation during what the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry said is a genocide shows “a clear conflict” with those principles.
The singer said he would send the trophy back to the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) headquarters in Geneva and urged the organization to “live what you claim.”
According to Nemo, he is not protesting artists or fans but how the contest has been “used to soften the image of a state accused of severe wrongdoing.”
His protest follows decisions by several public broadcasters to withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 after the EBU declined to remove Israel from the competition. They cited the war in Gaza and allegations of voting manipulation during the 2025 contest, which some networks argued boosted Israel’s result.
Eurovision organizers have insisted that Israel meets the contest requirements and will remain eligible to compete in 2026. The EBU has introduced new rules aimed at limiting political or government influence over entries and voting after repeated disputes related to the Gaza conflict.
Earlier, Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland, and the Netherlands said they will boycott the next Eurovision Song Contest after Israel was cleared to take part.
Israel has rejected accusations of genocide since launching its assault on Gaza after Hamas made a deadly incursion into southern Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage. Gaza’s authorities say Israel’s response has killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians.
The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to take place in Vienna in May, following Austria’s victory this year.
The EBU has banned Russia from Eurovision since 2022, citing the Ukraine conflict. Moscow responded by launching its own annual song competition, Intervision, which debuted in September.
Violent clashes known as the Gen Z protests forced Nepal’s prime minister to resign in September
A US-backed regime-change agency funded and guided the September coup in Nepal, an independent US news outlet reports.
K.P. Sharma Oli resigned as prime minister in September amid violent clashes – known as the Gen Z protests – across the Himalayan nation. The clashes killed 77 and injured more than 2,000.
US-based news outlet The Grayzone cited leaked documents revealing that the US government’s National Endowment for Democracy (NED) spent hundreds of thousands of dollars tutoring Nepalese young people to stage the protests.
The protests caused more than $586 million in losses to Nepal’s $42 billion economy, a statement from the office of interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki, a former chief justice who succeeded Oli, said on Friday, according to Reuters.
The documents cited by The Grayzone reveal a clandestine campaign organized by an NED division, the International Republican Institute (IRI).
The IRI sought to cultivate a Nepalese network of young political activists explicitly designed to “become an important force to support US interests,” it said.
The documents say the IRI’s program “connects vibrant youth… and political leaders” and “provides comprehensive trainings on how to launch advocacy campaigns and protests,” The Grayzone reported.
The IRI has been accused of funding clandestine activities in Bangladesh as well.
Founded in 1983, the NED is officially a US State Department-funded nonprofit that provides grants to support ‘democratic initiatives’ worldwide. It has faced allegations of covertly influencing political outcomes, with critics arguing that it has taken over covert functions previously handled by the CIA, particularly those aimed at overthrowing foreign governments.
The organization has long faced criticism for its role in supporting political movements that undermine sovereign governments.
The Center for Renewing America, a think tank, accused the NED of funneling tens of millions of dollars to Ukrainian political entities and anti-Russian interests.
Kiev is covertly importing radioactive materials that can be used in an attack in a densely populated area, a senior defense official says
Ukraine is smuggling radioactive materials into the country that can be used to assemble a dirty bomb for a false-flag attack, potentially causing widespread contamination across Europe, a senior Russian defense official claims.
Speaking at a briefing on Thursday, Major General Aleksey Rtishchev, the head of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops, warned that Ukraine is engaging in what he described as “nuclear blackmail,” saying its actions pose serious security and environmental risks.
Rtishchev said shipments of spent radioactive fuel were transported through Poland and Romania without notifying the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
He added that the operation was overseen by Andrey Yermak, a former senior aide to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. Yermak resigned last month after being linked to a major energy-sector corruption scandal involving Zelensky’s close associates, although he was not formally charged.
”This creates the risk of creating a so-called ‘dirty bomb’ and then using it ‘under a false flag,’” Rtishchev said. A dirty bomb does not cause a nuclear explosion but disperses radioactive material over a wide area, creating severe contamination and long-term danger to civilians.
The general added that Russia has obtained training materials used by Ukraine’s security service that simulate scenarios involving the theft of ionizing radiation sources, the assembly of an explosive device, and detonation in densely populated areas.
Rtishchev stressed that Western assistance is encouraging Kiev to violate international nuclear regulations. The “Western ‘patrons’ fail to take into account that the degradation of the system of state administration is capable of pushing not only Ukraine, but also a number of European states, to the brink of an environmental catastrophe,” he said.
Moscow previously warned that Ukraine could seek to use a dirty bomb in an attempt to derail the ongoing US-mediated peace talks. Russian officials have said this would involve extreme risks and could prompt a severe response from Moscow, including the possibility of tactical nuclear retaliation.
The International Olympic Committee’s decision covers both individual and team sports
Russian and Belarusian youth athletes have been cleared to compete in international events under their national flags and anthems, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Thursday. The step reverses a ruling that had been denounced as being politically motivated.
Athletes from the two countries were barred from major international sporting events after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, as nearly all Olympic-sport federations introduced bans or strict limits across dozens of disciplines. Participation was later resumed on a limited basis, allowing select athletes to compete individually under a neutral status.
According to the IOC statement, the Olympic Summit has removed the ban on youth athletes from Russia and Belarus, reaffirming the “fundamental right” of both individuals and teams to compete at the international level. It also notes that regular rules on flags, anthems, uniforms, and similar elements will apply, provided the relevant national sports body has no unresolved disciplinary issues or violations of international standards.
The IOC said each international federation will decide on the definition of which competitions count as youth events and review the recommendations, acknowledging that implementation is expected to take time.
The 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar are set to implement the recommendations, according to the IOC. The body has not yet reinstated the Russian Olympic Committee for competition.
Russian officials have repeatedly accused Western countries of politicizing sport and pressuring federations to bar their athletes. Earlier this year, President Vladimir Putin said athletes should have equal access to international competitions based on merit, emphasizing that “politics has no place in sport.”
In November, IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who took office in June, echoed the stance. Coventry reiterated that sport must remain free of political interference and insisted every eligible athlete should be able to compete without discrimination.
Despite ongoing restrictions in various sports, Russian athletes have continued to perform strongly under neutral status. Last month, they dominated the opening day of the 2025 World Sambo Championships, claiming nine gold medals. Russian gymnasts earlier returned to the 2025 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships after a long absence, taking two golds, one silver, and one bronze.
Several international sports bodies have allowed certain Russian athletes to compete at global events, albeit only as neutrals without national flags or anthems.
The central bank is suing the Western clearinghouse holding its immobilized sovereign assets for damages
Russia’s central bank has initiated legal proceedings in Moscow against the Belgian clearinghouse Euroclear, in a move that comes as the EU approaches a denouement on plans to use Russia’s frozen funds to back a loan to Ukraine.
Euroclear is the custodian for more than $200 billion in Russian sovereign assets that have been immobilized under EU sanctions.
The Bank of Russia announced on Friday that it will be filing a lawsuit with the Moscow City Arbitration Court. It will seek compensation for damages stemming from its “inability to manage monetary assets and securities” placed with the depository. The precise amount of the claim has not been disclosed.
“We [the government], including the central bank, are doing everything to protect our assets,” Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak told RT. “Illegal confiscations are absolutely unacceptable.”
Euroclear currently holds around €185 billion ($220 billion) in Russian assets immobilized under Western sanctions. The EU has proposed using the funds as collateral for a so-called “reparation loan” to Ukraine, intended to help cover Kiev’s long-term budget shortfall.
Moscow has condemned the idea as an attempted theft of its property. Euroclear сhief risk officer Guillaume Eliet said in comments to AFP that the firm still holds about €16 billion ($18.8 billion) in client assets in Russia, which could become targets of retaliatory measures for which it would be liable.
The proposal has also faced resistance from both the Belgian government and Euroclear, who are warning of legal and financial risks. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has cautioned that moving forward would likely trigger prolonged litigation with Russia over what would amount to an unprecedented seizure of a foreign state’s assets. Belgium has insisted that any such risks be shared among multiple countries, ideally including non-EU partners.
Euroclear CEO Valerie Urbain told Belgian broadcaster VRT that the initiative could push the depository toward bankruptcy as well as undermine “the attractiveness of the European market” for foreign investors.
EU officials reportedly intend to change the mechanism for keeping Russian assets immobilized. The current scheme that requires a consensus vote every six months could be replaced on Friday with a more long-term solution that would potentially make the sanction indefinite and protected from a veto by a dissenting member, according to Reuters.
Lenders reportedly fear retaliatory lawsuits from Moscow
British bankers have pushed back against plans to use the frozen Russian assets they hold to fund a loan for Ukraine, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
Kiev’s Western backers froze about $300 billion in Russian central bank assets after the conflict escalated in 2022. UK banks hold around £8 billion ($10.7 billion). A sharp dispute has emerged between European nations pushing to use the frozen funds as collateral for a ‘reparations loan’ for Kiev and those firmly opposed, citing legal and financial risks. Moscow has condemned any attempt to use its assets as “theft.”
According to the FT, senior UK bankers have also objected to the plan, warning that using the assets to guarantee loans to Ukraine would leave them vulnerable to legal retaliation from Moscow.
“We’re concerned about the legality… the government is setting a new precedent because they have never seized assets in this type of way,” one senior banker said. “Russia will sue for them.”
“The legal risk is that if Ukraine doesn’t pay back, you need to repossess an asset that the government says is yours but Russia says isn’t,” a banking adviser added. “The expectation is that this is not a loan but a gift, and banks know they will need to repossess the underlying collateral.”
The bankers warned it would be “a near certain default event” and fear they will be “left out to dry when Russia sues.” UK officials declined to say whether the government would offer them any indemnity.
The UK’s plans for the assets are coordinated with the EU, which holds most of the funds. On Friday, the bloc is due to vote on a move to indefinitely immobilize the share of the assets in its jurisdiction under an emergency legal mechanism that would keep the funds frozen until Russia pays post-conflict reparations to Ukraine.
Analysts say the emergency clause would override objections from countries opposed to using the assets for the ‘reparations loan,’ which EU states are set to vote on next week. Belgium, which holds most of the funds, has fiercely opposed the move. France, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Slovakia have also objected to seizing the assets.
Moscow has denounced Western efforts to tap its sovereign assets as illegal. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this week that Russia will retaliate against any expropriation and has already prepared a response. He added that “robbing” Russia has become the last remaining option for Ukraine’s increasingly desperate European backers to sustain Kiev in the conflict.
