Russia's ability to continue fighting in the war with Ukraine may be in jeopardy as it suffers highest rate of military personnel losses in the Ukraine war.

The patriarch of Russia's Orthodox Church, celebrating Christmas alongside Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, said on Tuesday that the Western world despised Russia and its "alternative path of civilised development".

The new, interim leader of Austria's conservatives demanded assurances from the far right on Wednesday that they want to keep Austria free from Russian interference, laying out potential flashpoints as they head into coalition talks.

The claim, which drew no response from Ukrainian authorities, came a day after the Russian Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces had pressed new attacks in Russia’s Kursk border region.

Russia may be close to sharing advanced satellite technology with North Korea after the isolated nation supplied troops to help bolster Moscow’s war in Ukraine, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Monday.

In the crash’s aftermath, Azerbaijan has unleashed rare and stinging criticism of Russia, with the country’s president saying Moscow’s response has caused “surprise, regret and rightful indignation.”

Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that his troops were ‘actively destroying Russian military potential’ in the Kursk region of Russia

Lithuania said on Wednesday it has ramped up security around the country's electricity link with Poland ahead of a planned decoupling next month of the Baltic region's power systems from a Soviet-era grid shared with Russia and Belarus.

Ukraine has launched a counterattack in the southern Russian border region of Kursk, warning that Russia is “getting what it deserves.”

Ukraine has largely been driven out of Kurakhove, a battered but strategic town in the Donbas, Russia said. Kyiv’s forces were pressing a renewed offensive in southern Russia.

Under Vladimir Putin's orders, Russia and China will work together on AI development, and this could further power Moscow's war.