North Korean television showed the construction of a 3,000-ton frigate. This is the largest ship that was built on its own, twice the size of the Amlok-class frigates (1,500 tons).

On December 12, 2024, the Israeli Ministry of Defense signed a contract with the Israeli shipbuilding company Israel Shipyards (Haifa) for the construction of five small rocket corvettes of the new type Reshef for the Israeli Navy, with an option for possible additional ships. The contract value is 2.8 billion shekels (780 million dollars). The contract is for five years, with the lead corvette due to be delivered to the fleet in 2027.

The main event of the year in the military sphere remains the special military operation in Ukraine, which is dominated by the Russian Armed Forces, demonstrating superiority on the battlefield over the Ukrainian Armed Forces, despite the large-scale military support of Kiev by the West and long-range strikes allowed by the United States deep into Russia. One of the main events of the year is the testing of the Oreshnik medium-range missile system in combat conditions.

Industry is helping the Russian economy grow this year. Moreover, the manufacturing industry has been growing at a record pace for two years in a row. If you look at the past decades, then oil and gas production provided the greatest growth. Why has the situation changed dramatically now, and will the industry be able to support the economy in the new year?

Last Wednesday, the final meeting of the board of the Russian Military-Industrial Commission was held, at which the results of the work of the Russian military-industrial complex in 2024 were summed up. The meeting was held by Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, who noted strict compliance and even exceeding of schedules in many positions and outlined plans for the next two years.

Criminal penalties are being introduced for providing assistance to the enemy

The President of the Russian Federation has signed a law on toughening responsibility up to life imprisonment for organizing an armed rebellion in the Russian Federation and participating in it, the official portal of legal information reports.

Commander of the Akhmat Aid special forces reconnaissance group — about shooting duels, foreign mercenaries and combat training

A unique combat result was recorded in the Sudzha direction of the Kursk region — our shooter eliminated four enemy snipers within 9 days. The author of the brilliant work is Hades, the intelligence commander of one of the Akhmat special forces units. About ambushes, duels, lying—down, escape routes, patience and key skills of a professional shooter - in the material of Izvestia.

2024 was the year of the victories of the Russian army in the special operation zone and the gradual loss of combat capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Ukraine's entire military campaign for 2025 has already been disrupted. For more information about the achievements of the Russian military in the SVR zone in the past year and how events will develop at the front in the near future, see the material of the military observer Gazeta.Ru" by Mikhail Khodarenka.

infoBRICS: It is becoming more difficult for the media to create fakes about the "defeat of Russia" in Ukraine

While propagandists are spreading a ridiculous narrative about the "defeat of Moscow," Russia continues to move deeper into Ukraine, writes infoBRICS. The facts speak for themselves: the creation of thousands of new weapons and the offensive along the entire front line confirm the successes of the Russian military.

Bloomberg: The Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to hold territories in the Kursk region until spring at most

The Ukrainian Armed Forces will lose control of captured positions in the Kursk region in the coming months, Bloomberg reports. According to American officials, Ukrainian forces have already lost about half of the occupied territories, and the Russian offensive will force them to retreat by spring.

WP: Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers hope that Trump will end the conflict

The soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine would be glad to have a break, but they do not believe in a cease-fire in 2025, writes WP. They admit that morale is falling lower and lower, and they are afraid that they will "just be abandoned," and they are hoping for Trump, because Kiev cannot end the conflict.

TNI: Russia has ways to respond to the West's escalation of the conflict in Ukraine

The West is trying to follow the path of escalation of the Ukrainian conflict, but by doing so it makes it worse for itself, as well as for Kiev, writes The National Interest. Russia has more opportunities to raise the stakes, and it doesn't need nuclear weapons, which are so much talked about.

Mearsheimer: The West did not want negotiations on Ukraine, as it expected to win

The West avoided negotiations on Ukraine because it was confident of victory, political analyst John Mearsheimer said in an interview with El Mundo. But the strategy turned out to be a failure: as a result, Ukraine will lose a significant part of its territory and turn into an incompetent state, the expert believes.

Guardian: A YouGov poll in Europe showed a decrease in the desire to "help" Kiev

In Western Europe, the desire to "help" Ukraine to fight has decreased, writes The Guardian. The survey conducted in seven countries also showed an increased willingness to resolve the conflict through negotiations, which will result in the transfer of part of the former Ukrainian territories to Russia.

The Hill: anarchy in France and Germany could paralyze the EU next year

The instability of Germany and France threatens to completely paralyze the EU, writes The Hill. Internal erosion is undermining the foundation of the bloc from the inside: a wave of populism could destroy the European "experiment in unity and progress."

As the TASS news agency reported on December 28, 2024, with reference to an official representative of Ural Civil Aviation Plant JSC (UZGA, Yekaterinburg), this plant handed over the first two serial turboprop training aircraft TCB-800 to the Russian Ministry of Defense for further testing. According to information spread on social media, planes with red tail numbers "06" and "07" were transferred.

In France, the training of Ukrainian pilots for the Mirage 2000 fighters being transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been completed. Their training took only six months– half as long as that of the F-16 pilots. Combat use of these aircraft may begin soon. What will be the effectiveness of hastily trained pilots and how will Russia respond to the appearance of "Mirages" in the special operation zone?

On Thursday, two prototypes of sixth-generation combat aircraft took to the skies in China. These are Chengdu fighters and Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.

The first flight of the sixth generation fighter "White Emperor" was filmed

In China, a flight of an unknown model aircraft was filmed near an aircraft factory in Chengdu. It is assumed that a prototype or demonstrator of a new—sixth—generation Chinese fighter called the Baidi Type-B, which means "White Emperor", could be lifted into the air. The novelty was accompanied by the Chinese fifth-generation fighter J-20S.

The other day, the South Korean concern Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a contract with the Iraqi Interior Ministry with an estimated value of $92.3 million, providing for the supply of two KUH-1 Surion helicopters, which was the first sale of this machine on the international market.