December 24:
Is Russia giving up on Crimea? Ukrainian website JOINFO reports that Moscow - progressively squeezed by sanctions and low world oil prices - is preparing to scale back its economic assistance to its newest territorial holding. According to the news source, Russia's State Duma has drafted a law that, if adopted, would transition the Crimean local government to "complete self-sufficiency," absolving the Kremlin of the need to keep bankrolling the Peninsula. "It is clear that because of the deteriorating situation in the economy we will not be able to provide Crimea with money, as it was with some Russian regions," State Duma deputy Mikhail Bryachak has admitted. "So we have to come up with an original idea and put it into practice."
The trade war between Moscow and Kiev continues to heat up. The Moscow Times reports that Ukraine's parliament has approved a trade embargo against Russia. The restrictions will come into force as soon as they are signed into law by President Petro Poroshenko in a move that represents a response to Russia's recent announcement that it will suspend free trade with Kyiv.
December 25:
Since its intervention in Syria back in September, Russia's military has carried out more than 5,000 aerial sorties against assorted enemy targets, a top Russian commander has said. "Since September 30 Russian aviation has conducted 5,240 sorties in Syria, including 145 sorties by long-range aviation," Sputnik cites Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy, chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, as saying. These bombing runs have succeeded in hitting 189 terrorist strongholds and encampments in Syria to date, according to Rudskoy.
December 26:
A Russian air strike is believed to have killed Zahran Alloush, the leader of one of Syria's most powerful rebel groups. Pan Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat reports that the airstrike in question targeted a secret meeting of the Islamist group Jaysh al Islam near Damascus. Hamza Bayraqdar, a speaker for Jaysh Al-Islam, was reportedly also killed in the same raid.
December 27:
According to Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper, Jerusalem and Moscow are continuing their coordination over Syria. Russia's special envoy on Syria is said to have secretly visited Israel to hold talks with senior officials there about a potential diplomatic agreement to end the Syrian civil war. The visit follows a UN Security Council resolution to launch negotiations between Syrian President Bashar al Assad and members of Syria's opposition. Lavrentiev's visit to Israel appears to have been part of an extensive effort by the Russian government to drum up support for negotiations over the future of the Syrian government, the paper notes.
December 28:
The comparatively rosy outlook on the Russian economy being propounded by the Kremlin doesn't comport with reality, a top economic heavyweight has said. "We are seeing some further deterioration in November economic data," Forbes reports former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin as telling the Interfax news agency. "To me, this means that the situation is unstable. When you add the sharp decline in oil prices... it makes for an unstable environment. If (oil) prices remain at this level for another six months or a year, we will see the continued fall of the Russian economy."
December 29:
A new threat assessment from the Office of Naval Intelligence is raising the alarm over what it terms a new Russian naval build up. "Following decades of neglect, Russian naval forces are being modernized with advanced submarines and increasingly lethal ballistic and cruise missiles," the Washington Free Beaconreports the study as saying. The build up includes a variety of new submarines and warships, which cumulatively "provide a flexible platform for Russia to demonstrate offensive capability, threaten neighbors, project power regionally, and advance President Putin's stated goal of returning Russia to clear great power status."
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