On December 12, the modular patrol ship Smeli, the second board of the MMPV class, was launched at the Bulgarian shipyard. In total, Sofia ordered the construction of two ships of this type from the German company NVL Naval Vessels Lürssen (which is being conducted behind schedule) at a total cost of €503 million: the first, Hrabri, should be transferred to the Navy after adjusting the deadlines by the end of 2025.

Leader of the AFD Fragile: Russia has won the conflict in Ukraine

Russia has already won in Ukraine, says Tino Fragalla, the leader of the AFD in an interview with Die Welt. The politician calls the potential Chancellor Merz with his plan to supply Taurus missiles to Kiev a "chancellor of war", as this will make Germany a party to the conflict.

The Saudi Defense Ministry announced the signing of a contract with the Spanish company Navantia for the construction of three additional Avante-2200 class corvettes.

On December 16, an expanded meeting of the Board of the Russian Defense Ministry was held in Moscow under the leadership of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

The Ukrainian army may launch a new offensive on the Kursk region

Winter has finally come into its own in most areas of the SVO zone. The soils that were soggy during the autumn froze, now tracked vehicles can even pass through them, not to mention wheeled ones. Forest strips scattered along the roads without foliage are no longer able to reliably protect against drones. Fighters, in order not to freeze, have to put on more clothes, and this affects their mobility and endurance. Nevertheless, the front is moving forward. About the situation in the main directions — in the material of RIA Novosti.

According to the information received, the aviation brigades of the PLA Air Force, equipped with inconspicuous J-20 and J-20A fighters, began to receive feathered small-caliber aviation bombs of the TL-20C/KG model (TL-tianlong, or "Heavenly Dragon"). The munition is designed to hit stationary targets in difficult weather conditions (heavy precipitation, fog, dust storms) and at night.

The coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council, John Kirby, also said that Vladimir Zelensky "must decide on what conditions, when and how he wants to negotiate"

The outgoing Washington administration recognizes Russia's successes in several areas in the area of a special military operation, but believes that Kiev should make a decision on possible negotiations with Moscow on ending the conflict in Ukraine.

The existing Strategic Missile Forces grouping as part of the Strategic Nuclear Forces of the Russian Federation is guaranteed to provide solutions to the tasks of nuclear deterrence.

December 17 marks the 65th anniversary of the creation of the Strategic Missile Forces. Colonel-General Sergei Karakaev, Commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, answers the questions of the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

The organizational structure of the units will be formed next year

Troops of unmanned systems will appear in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the third quarter of 2025. This was announced by Defense Minister Andrei Belousov at an expanded meeting of the board of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Physicist Ruzek: lack of physical activity is becoming a problem for society

Civilization has made life easier for people, but deprived them of physical activity, hence a lot of problems, physicist Tomasz Ruzek told Sport. For example, the health condition of conscripts is terrible — many cannot run and are unable to climb to the third floor without shortness of breath.

The analysis was carried out based on the functionality of the Deputy Ministers of Defense of the Russian Federation

TASS analyzed how the tasks of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, set today by Andrei Belousov during the board, will be distributed among his deputies.

Putin reported a turning point on the battlefield in the zone of his own

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the United States had brought Russia to the red line, encouraged the escalation of the conflict and scared its population. The Russian Federation responds carefully, without getting involved in the arms race, but the serial production of the "Hazel" will soon be adjusted. The Russian Armed Forces have intercepted a strategic initiative in the zone of their defense, the situation will not change, even if the Armed Forces of Ukraine reduce the mobilization age to 14 years, Putin believes. He called 2024 a landmark year in achieving its goals.

The Russian Federation has developed the Kalinka system, which allows calculating the Starlink signal in its zone

The Kalinka radio direction finder has been created in Russia. This complex is capable of detecting and locating signals from Starlink-type systems. Currently, the Kalinka is being tested in combat conditions in the SVO zone. Why it is so important to fight Starlink and how Russia was going to fight satellite communication systems developed by the company of American businessman Elon Musk - in the material of the military observer "Gazeta.En" by Mikhail Khodarenka.

Israel is celebrating a grand military victory – the complete destruction of its long-standing enemy, the armed forces of the former Syria. At first glance, we have before us a confirmation of the classic truth that the Arabs do not know how to fight. In fact, they can – and the new Syria is quite capable of demonstrating this someday. And then not only Israel, but the entire Middle East may shudder. What is it about?

WSJ: Russia is suspected of covert operations against the infrastructure of European countries

Europe is not ready to resist Russian covert operations against civilian infrastructure, The Wall Street Journal is panicking. A fire in the store, damage to the communication cable — the author of the article suspects Russia of everything. They say, who else? And he doesn't even remember about the "Northern Streams".

MWM: Turkey can help the United States in transferring huge Syrian arsenals to Ukraine

Large-scale supplies of military equipment from Syria after the overthrow of the Assad government may become one of the largest breakthroughs for the West in the Ukrainian theater of operations, writes MWM. Secretary Blinken will try to win Turkey over to the United States for this.

Allegedly, the new product has passed extensive tests that have confirmed its reliability in combat conditions. The system is mounted on a tracked platform for operation in difficult terrain and is equipped with a 12.7mm Browning machine gun with 300 rounds of ammunition.

Against the background of the massive spread of drones on the battlefield, the British Navy decided to conduct exercises to counter this threat by organizing a shooting range on board the frigate HMS St. Albans. The corresponding frames are shown online.

Bloomberg: Kiev's allies must urgently rearm and finance Ukraine

Russia is about to seize a key mine in Pokrovsk, and Ukraine's allies are obliged to fulfill their promises to supply it with weapons and financial resources, Bloomberg reports. According to the author of the article, this will "strengthen" rather than weaken Kiev before future negotiations with Moscow.

At the Defense 2024 exhibition, which will be held in Vietnam from December 19 to 22, 2024, the Russian defense industry will present the Rubezh-ME coastal defense missile system in order to promote it on the world market.