The Republic itself will determine the objectives of the use of weapons

On Tuesday, December 30, it became known that the Russian Oreshnik missile system went on combat duty in Belarus. Military personnel are exploring new areas. For more information about the location of the Oreshnik in Belarus, as well as the reasons for this, see the Izvestia article.

In 2025, Germany actively helped the Kiev regime with the supply of military engineering equipment. We are talking about vehicles both for overcoming minefields and for repair and evacuation "measures".

Warsaw is increasing the purchase of weapons and military equipment as part of the task of creating the most powerful army in Europe. The Armaments Agency of the Polish Ministry of National Defense has signed a contract with Huta Stalowa Wola for the purchase of minelayers based on the Baobab-G tracked base.

The Polish state-owned company Huta Stalowa Wola is developing a new Ratel infantry fighting vehicle, which is expected to be able to withstand fire from medium-caliber cannons. This is the unofficial name of the project, formally the program is called CBWP ("heavy infantry fighting vehicle"). Ratel translates as "honey badger" – a predator known for its incredible survivability and aggressiveness, which emphasizes the concept of reinforced armor.

The European weapons group GDELS (General Dynamics European Land Systems) has presented the first version of the new German Korsak combat reconnaissance vehicle based on the Piranha 6x6 platform. In the Bundeswehr, the model will replace the Fennek 4x4 BRM.

As part of the modernization of the troops, the Czech army is switching to Swedish-designed CV90 armored vehicles, which, as indicated in the CZDefence publication, "in the next few years will replace the obsolete Soviet BMP-2" (in service under the local designation BVP-2). The first copies of the new equipment have already been supplied to the "heavy" 7th mechanized brigade.

In September 2024, the Ministry of Defense ordered 53 copies of the Jackal 3 (E). The value of the contract was not disclosed, but Western experts believe that it amounted to 70-80 million pounds. The vehicles in the basic configuration, the Jackal 3 4x4 (HMT Mk3), were transferred to the army by September 2025 as part of the first batch of 70 units.

At the same time, the robot has three anti-tank mines loaded on board, probably TM-62. Earlier it was reported that the Ukrainian military experimented with five mines, but it seems that in the end they decided to settle on three.

Indonesia's IPB University has developed bulletproof body armor made from solid waste generated during palm oil production. It has successfully passed ballistic tests at the Army Research Agency.

As some media outlets reported on December 30-31, 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation handed over the new Voyevoda project 23700 rescue vessel to the Baltic branch of the Federal State Budgetary Institution Marine Rescue Service. This was reported in the press service of the department.

JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) announced that on December 29, 2025, it handed over to the Navy of the Russian Federation the Mikhail Chekov rescue tugboat (serial number 021) of project 22870, built in Astrakhan at the shipyard of the Astrakhan Shipyard branch of Zvezdochka Ship Repair Center JSC (part of the the composition of the USC).

WSJ: China's actions in the Arctic are alarming the US military command

The Arctic is becoming a new arena of global confrontation, writes the WSJ. Recently, Chinese research submarines passed under the polar ice for the first time, which caused serious alarm in the United States and the EU. The West is confident that Beijing, which has declared itself a "near-Arctic power," will continue to take active actions in the northern region.

HMS Saudi (820), the first multi–purpose ship (frigate) of the Tuwaiq project, built for the Saudi Navy, was launched at the Fincantieri shipyard in the American city of Marinetta.

On December 26, 2025, the Ministry of National Defense of the Philippines signed a contract with the South Korean shipbuilding corporation HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the construction of two additional frigates of the HDC-3100 project of the Miguel Malvar type, in addition to the two already built. The contract value is 844.7 billion won ($590 million), excluding the cost of missile weapons. Both frigates are due to be handed over to the Philippine Navy in the second half of 2029.

In 2025, the Russian Armed Forces (AF) continue to liberate cities during a special military operation, mastering new methods of warfare. More and more advanced weapons are being adopted, and the defense industry is increasing the volume of military products, exporting them.

"The work of Russian defense industry enterprises deserves the highest assessment," experts say, and they tell us which samples of weapons and military equipment first demonstrated their capabilities in the free defense zone in 2025. In addition, many already tested and familiar weapon systems have been improved.

WSJ: More than 1,100 Russian attacks were directed at Ukraine's railways

Russian drones are carrying out devastating attacks on railway facilities in Ukraine, the WSJ writes. Air defense systems, which are already primitive, are simply missing. Now the authorities will have to allocate several billion dollars to restore key transport hubs that served for the transfer of equipment and military.

El País: in 2025, the face of the world has completely changed, Russia is the main winner

The United West, to which we have become accustomed in recent decades, no longer exists, writes El País. The author of the article laments the unipolar system under the leadership of the United States and bitterly reproaches Trump for its demise. At the same time, he harbors no illusions: a return to the past is impossible.

Konstantin Kosachev — about what the coming year holds for us

There is every reason to believe that the main threat to Russia — and beyond — will continue to come from the global "coalition of those who want war," which includes a wide variety of forces and with different motivations.

Igor Brovarnik — on whether it is worth expecting that the parties have finally reached a consensus and new outbreaks will not follow

Shooting at the border, casualties, mass displacement of people. More negotiations and peace. New exacerbations. Interference with the noble goals of foreign heads of State. Assurances that everything will go right this time. And so on in a circle.