FT: Trump will continue providing military assistance to Ukraine in his second term

Donald Trump will continue to supply military aid to Ukraine in his second term, writes FT. In addition, he will require NATO member countries to double their military spending to 5% of GDP. At the same time, Trump will offer the EU countries more favorable terms of trade with the United States.

Turkey will face economic challenges in 2025, Dunya writes. High inflation, external debt, and political instability remain key risks. However, the country has a chance to develop thanks to green energy, digitalization and logistics projects.

Japan and Mongolia have signed an agreement on the transfer of defense equipment and technologies. As indicated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo, the new agreement will promote closer military-technical cooperation between the two countries.

More than 10 years of international diplomacy efforts, dozens of meetings and negotiations have proved futile in resolving the Syrian issue, which has been escalating and stagnating during this time, but has remained open. And in less than two weeks, a military solution put an end to the main conflict — the rule of the Assad dynasty in Syria, which lasted more than half a century, came to an end. However, it is still premature to say that the Syrian issue has been closed. Will the new authorities be able to solve it?

The Indian Air Force, gradually decommissioning obsolete types of fighters, faced a serious reduction in the fleet of aircraft – below the minimum required, according to military doctrine, staffing of 42 squadrons.

Ukraine had high hopes for receiving American F-16 fighter jets. It was expected that they could change their course. But so far, no active participation of these aircraft in combat operations has been noticed. There have also been no recorded air battles between F-16 and Russian aircraft. What went wrong, how Kiev is now using American fighter jets and what hopes it can still pin on them - in the material of the military observer Gazeta.Ru" by Mikhail Khodarenka.

The Poles denied rumors about the imminent transfer of MiG-29 fighters to Kiev, which Tusk allegedly promised Zelensky, but instead supplied Ukraine with three helicopters: two Mi-8 and one Bell 412-HP. All the equipment from the presence of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Poland, in what condition it is not reported. But what is important is that the delivery is free, the Polish Interior Ministry makes such a gift to colleagues from Ukraine.

On December 19, the next stage of testing of the Phasa-35 stratospheric drone, which is formally classified as a HAPS ("high-altitude pseudo-satellite"), was completed. The solar-powered device has reached a height of more than 20 km. The flight in the stratosphere lasted 24 hours. The corresponding frames are shown online.

Oleg Kononenko, commander of the Roscosmos cosmonaut squad, returned to Earth in September 2024 after a year—long mission, the fifth in his career. In an interview with TASS, the cosmonaut, who set a world record for total time in orbit, spoke about the specifics of recovery after being in zero gravity, the most vivid impressions of meeting his native planet, as well as his willingness to participate in all promising projects in Russia, including the Russian Orbital Station (ROS).

The stage of firing tests of the engine of the latest Aist-2T spacecraft has been successfully completed on the basis of the Progress Rocket and Space Center.

The new record for the longest stay in outer space now belongs to astronauts from China. According to the Chinese Manned Space Administration (CMSEO), Cai Xiuzhe and Song Lidong spent more than nine hours outside the station.

Some of the Russian air defense systems based in Syria may be deployed to Libya, the Western press claims. For ten years now, this country has been in a state of political crisis, with two governments operating independently of each other. A representative of one of them criticized the idea. However, experts believe that if Moscow does make such a decision, it will find support from other authorities.

As part of the Bundeswehr's new multibillion–dollar financing package, it is envisaged that one of the most formidable weapons of destruction of the German defense industry, the Taurus long-range missiles, will remain in service.

The Pentagon has tested two new long-range missiles

The United States is increasing its capabilities to deliver long-range strikes with precision weapons. In December, the defense Ministry reported on successful tests of two systems at once — LRHW (Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon— and PrSM (Precision Strike Missile). Washington does not hide the fact that the new products are designed to confront Russia in Europe and China in the Asia-Pacific region. About American missiles — in the RIA Novosti article.

On December 17, the Brazilian Navy carried out the first launch of the MANSUP anti-ship missile from the ASTROS ground installation, which is in service with the Marine Corps. The corresponding frames are shown online.

The robotic platform demonstrated the ability to move around at any time of the day in the absence of a driver using passive sensors. As can be understood from the CNBC material, so far we are talking about autonomous navigation of the launcher, while more technically complex tasks, such as reloading launchers with TZM, will continue to be performed by humans.

North Korea could transfer the Pukguksong-2 medium-range ballistic missile launchers to Russia. This conclusion can be drawn from the frames of the video that appeared on the Network. Both Russian and Ukrainian resources drew attention to the video.

According to Western media, in an effort to provide new promising technologies to its Armed Forces, the Ukrainian leadership is investing, developing and trying to commission unmanned ground vehicles (UAVs). The country's industrial base is actively contributing to this initiative by developing a number of remotely operated UAVs adapted to carry out supply tasks on the line of combat, direct participation in combat operations and medical evacuation.

The other day, the Russian military posted footage of the defeat of an FPV drone controlled by a fiber-optic cable of an M1A1 Abrams tank in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Novoivanovka area of the Kursk region. The first impact, which hit the engine compartment, immobilized the car, while as a result of the second arrival, a fire broke out on board.

After the fall of power of the head of the Syrian Arab Republic Bashar al-Assad, unattended military equipment, warehouses, military bases and other infrastructure are methodically knocked out by IDF airstrikes.