A majority of Russians anticipate the end of the Ukrainian conflict in 2026, according to a state-owned research center. As a result, Russian forces advance on the battlefield and work gets more aggressive to reach a ceasefire agreement between Kiev and Moscow.
Russians are viewing 2026 with “growing optimism,” according to VTsIOM, Russia’s top public opinion research center, which released a statement on Wednesday.
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In other words, Russians are more likely to accept (or believe) hope as the outlook for the upcoming year traditionally appears much more optimistic. Future improvements are expected this year, but they still proceed cautiously, the organization said in a review of the survey findings, which were made public online.
According to VTsIOM deputy head Mikhail Mamonov, 70 percent of the 1,600 people surveyed thought that 2026 would be a more “successful” year for Russia than this year, with 55 percent of those predicting a better year and the potential resolution of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Mamonov stated at the presentation that the main reason for optimism is the possibility of the special military operation being completed and the achievement of the stated goals in line with the president’s stated national interests.
Mamonov cited the Russian military’s ongoing offensive in Ukraine, Washington’s unwillingness to finance the Ukrainian conflict, and the EU’s inability to fully replace the US role in Ukraine as key factors in the development of a resolution.
Priorities will be placed first, according to Mamonov, including the reintegration of Russian military veterans into society and the reconstruction of Ukrainian regions under Russian control as well as the border regions.
According to independent pollster Levada, roughly two-thirds of Russians support peace talks, which is the highest number since the start of the war in 2022, despite the strict state-imposed media restrictions on the media, expressions of public dissent, and the prosecution of those who criticize Moscow’s war against its neighbor.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared that he would withdraw troops from Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a strategy to put an end to the conflict if Moscow agreed by reversing its forces and allowing the region to become a demilitarized zone under international surveillance.
Zelenskyy also mentioned that a similar arrangement might be possible for the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control, in comments to reporters about an overarching 20-point plan that negotiators from Ukraine and the US had hammered out in Florida in recent days.
Russia has repeatedly urged Kyiv to give up the land it still holds in the Donbass industrial area before discussions on putting an end to the fighting. It has given no indication that it will do so.
The two Donbass regions, which are largely made up of Luhansk and Donetsk, are now largely under Russian control.
Zelenskyy added that the most difficult part of the plan was to determine where the Donbass will eventually be controlled, and that setting up a demilitarized economic zone in the area would require laborious discussions regarding where international forces would be stationed and how far troops would be needed to retreat.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shot a moving car allegedly evading arrest, injuring two people in a Baltimore suburb, according to US authorities.
Two men from Portugal and El Salvador were allegedly living in the US illegally while driving through Glen Burnie, Maryland, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
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Officers approached the vehicle and instructed the driver to turn off his engine, according to DHS in a post on X, but the driver did not and instead veered into several ICE vehicles.
The ICE officers shot the driver while defensively aiming their service weapons, according to a statement from DHS on X. The driver “then wrecked his van between two buildings, injuring the passenger.”
No ICE agents were hurt during the incident, according to DHS, and the two men later received medical attention.
By detaining and removing illegal aliens from our streets, our brave officers risk their lives every day, according to the DHS post. The extremist rhetoric must end as illegal aliens and violent agitators continue to actively resist ICE.
ICE agents approached a “white van” during an arrest on Wednesday, according to local police, who confirmed to ABC News that the driver had “attempted to run the agents over.”
The car then accelerated before coming to rest in a residential Glen Burnie, Maryland, area, according to ABC.
Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, stated on X that he was aware of the “involved shooting” and that his office would keep providing more details as the investigation progressed.
According to ABC News, the shooting comes after a similar incident occurred on Sunday in Minnesota when ICE agents shot a Cuban man who also attempted to ram ICE vehicles.
In an SUV, ICE agents approached the man in the city of St Paul as he entered the country on a discontinued asylum program.
According to Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, the agents threatened to break his window if he didn’t speak with them, leading to the man fleeing, according to ABC. The man struck an ICE agent with his car during the incident.
Fourteen nations, including Britain, Canada, Denmark, and France, have condemned Israel’s decision to approve 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling them unlawful and putting “long-term peace and security across the region” in jeopardy.
As mediators work to implement the second phase of the ceasefire in a conflict in which Israeli forces have killed almost 71, 000 Palestinians, the nations said Israel’s actions “violate international law” and “violated international law.”
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In a joint statement, “We, the States of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom condemn the approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank by the Israeli security cabinet.”
The nations’ “We recall our unwavering opposition to any form of annexation and the expansion of settlement policies,” the nations said, adding: “We call on Israel to reverse this decision, as well as the expansion of settlements.”
We steadfastly support the right of the Palestinians to self-determination. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to a two-state solution-based, comprehensive, just, and lasting peace.
Israeli authorities gave the go-ahead to the settlements plan on Sunday, according to far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who stated in a statement that the decision was taken to stop the establishment of a new Palestinian state.
In announcing the plan, Smotrich said, “We are stopping the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state on the ground.” According to The Times of Israel, “We will continue to develop, construct, and settle in the land where our ancestors were.”
Smotrich added that since it took office at the end of 2022, the Israeli government has approved for 69 new settlements to be built or retroactively legalized, according to The Times of Israel.
The UN reported earlier this month that the number of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, which are all prohibited by international law, had reached its highest level since at least 2017.
Israel’s expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank poses a significant threat to a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians, according to the UN, because the illegal constructions leave little untouched Palestinians and a future independent Palestinian state in the wake of a two-state solution.
Nour Odeh, a correspondent for Al Jazeera, claimed that the Israeli government’s decision was altering the situation for Palestinians in the northeast of the West Bank, where there has traditionally been little settlement activity.
Odeh wrote earlier this month that “these government decisions may seem bureaucratic, but they are actually strategic in nature.”
Ravjit Singh, a leather-candy trader based in Denver, Colorado, has begun to feel the pinch of recent US tariffs on Indian goods.
The 50-year-old, who is a native of Kolkata in eastern India, claimed that rising grocery prices have hampered his family’s finances, particularly with regard to fox nuts, a popular family snack, in particular.
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He claimed that tariffs have caused the monthly budget to increase to $900, which was $500 before the pandemic, and that this has increased.
He noted that the cost of a pack of 25 grams (0. 9 ounces) of fox nuts, which were once $2, has since increased to $ 4, along with price increases for other household staples like lentils and basmati rice.
With a significant presence in India, China, Nepal, and Japan, water lily seeds are known as “fox nuts,” which are the kernels that are popped. They are found in both tropical and subtropical regions of South and East Asia. The nuts have quickly gained a reputation as powerful immunity boosters because of their high content of protein, calcium, antioxidants, and vitamins.
Trump’s tariffs haven’t been without their effects: the US president first imposed a 25% levy on Indian goods before increasing it to a 50% levy on Indian oil imports, which he claimed were helping Russia’s war on Ukraine. Businesses in India with US export markets that include those that export shrimp, diamonds, and textiles have been particularly affected by the tariffs.
Fox nuts exporters have experienced a 40% decline in sales in the US.
Some are seeing a glimmer of hope in the crisis, where Indian fox enthusiasts are finding new, alternative markets and a growing demand for the superfood in India.
[Gurvinder Singh/Al Jazeera] In low-lying areas of India, fox nuts are grown.
The “Nascent Stage”
Fox nuts are a source of income for about 150 000 farmers in India grown in low-lying regions, particularly in eastern Bihar. 90% of global production is produced by the nation.
Every year, the state grows 40 000 metric tons of popped fox nuts and 120 000 metric tons of seeds on 40 000 hectares (99 000 acres) of land.
A depth of between 1. 3 and 1. 8 meters (4 to 6 feet) is used to cultivate the crops in shallow agricultural fields. Because new plants can easily germinate from older seeds, it is not expensive.
Depending on the size of the seeds, laborers use traditional tools like horn-shaped split bamboo and nets to sweep the entire body of water collected on fields for seeds until the end of November during which time the harvesting season begins in mid-July.
The collected seeds are first sun-dried before being heated to brittle in a clay or iron pan. The final edible makhana puff, which has been roasted once more for a final crunch, is finally hammered from the seeds.
India exported 800 metric tons of fox nuts to nations like Germany, China, the US, and the Middle East between 2024 and 2025. However, Satyajit Singh, whose business Shakti Sudha Agro Ventures controls half of India’s total exports of the health food, claims that the US is in charge of the market, where 50% of fox nuts are exported.
According to Singh, the industry’s total turnover, including the domestic market, is about 3.6 billion rupees ($40 million).
We need to spread more awareness about it both domestically and abroad, he added, because the sector has a lot of potential because it is still in its early stages and limited to [the] Indian diaspora in]the] international market.
[Gurvinder Singh/Al Jazeera] The industry is still in its early stages.
According to him, the Indian diaspora and public awareness of the health benefits of fox nuts are already generating demand in new markets like Spain and South Africa.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, when people became aware of the nuts’ health benefits, Ketan Bengani, 28, an exporter of fox nuts from Kolkata, has reported a double-yearly increase in domestic demand for the nuts.
His exports, which total about 46 metric tons, have fallen 40% since the tariffs were implemented. He is not too concerned, he said, and anticipates adjusting for the rising demand in India.
Numerous young entrepreneurs have been drawn to the high demand in the past.
Md Gulfaraz, 27, a fox nut producer and exporter based in Charkhi village in Bihar’s Purnea district, is one of them.
Due to burgeoning domestic demand, Gulfaraz reported to Al Jazeera that this business’ sales have increased from 5.4 million rupees ($60, 000) in 2019 to 45 million rupees ($500, 00) in the fiscal year ending in March 2025.
Domestically strong economy
In traditional Indian kitchens, fox nuts, or mhanas, were once a common occurrence, but like many other traditional foods, they lost out on the polished marketing campaigns, branding, and flavor of more contemporary Indian snacks.
Due to their immunity advantages, the pandemic brought fox nuts back in favor. Makhanas are currently available on Indian supermarket shelves in flavors ranging from tangy tomato to cheese to onion and cream.
[Gurvinder Singh/Al Jazeera] The Indian government has established a makhana board to promote the sector.
Sujay Verma, a native of Bihar and a child of fox nuts, told Al Jazeera that he gives his two daughters a plate each day for breakfast.
“We were rushing after the expensive food items that had been packed, which left me in a hole. Fox nuts, however, are not only cheap but also healthy, he claimed.
Fox nuts have a business potential, too, according to the Indian government. A makhana board was established earlier this year, and it will receive an initial investment of one billion rupees ($11 million) to institutionalize the value chain, provide training, technical support, quality regulation, and facilitate exports.
The top officials in the Indian government are behind the move, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should introduce the superfood to the world because he consumes it most days at a rally earlier this year.
Due to higher profits, farmers and workers are also converting to fox nuts from other crops.
For every 50 kg (110 lbs) of collected seeds, associate professor Anil Kumar of Bhola Paswan Shastri Agricultural College in Purnia, Bihar, earns about 2, 000 rupees ($22) per day. This is more than twice as much as the 700 to 900 rupee ($8 to $10) that are typically given to unskilled laborers in India.
Farmers were paid 81 rupees ($0.90) per kilogram for 5, 000 hectares (12, 000 acres) of land in 2010, he claimed. Farmers are paid 450 rupees ($5) per kilogram for fox nuts while about 40 (99, 000 acres) of land are currently being used to cultivate them.
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, criticizes a new nuclear submarine agreement signed by the United States and South Korea, citing the country’s media reports that he is touring the country’s submarine production facility as a threat to the stability of the Korean Peninsula.
According to state news agency KCNA, Kim claimed the agreement between Seoul and Washington was an “offensive act severely violating]Pyongyang’s] security and maritime sovereignty and a threat to security that must be countered.”
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According to the report, Kim claimed that it was now urgent to “further accelerate the radical development of the modernization and nuclear weaponization of the North Korean naval force.”
Kim made the remarks during a tour of a facility where Pyongyang is “working on an 8, 700-tonnage nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine” on Wednesday.
The North Korean leader also oversaw the test of a new high-altitude long-range anti-air missile into the “East Sea of Korea,” as the news outlet called it on Wednesday.
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, arrives on Wednesday at the site of a 8,700-tonne nuclear-powered submarine capable of firing surface-to-air missiles [KCNA via Reuters].
The missile successfully hit a mock target at a distance of 200 kilometers (124 miles) according to KCNA, which confirmed the test’s success.
Seoul announced today that it was looking into “standalone agreements” with the US to acquire nuclear-powered submarine technology, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
Following a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, South Korea’s national security adviser, Wi Sung-lac, announced that US law forbids the transfer of nuclear weapons for military use.
According to Wi, Australia and the US are pursuing similar agreements to build their own nuclear-powered submarines, and negotiations are expected to start in the spring of next year.
[KCNA via Reuters] A long-range surface-to-air missile is fired near the Sea of Japan on December 24, 2025.
Vladimir Putin, the leader of Russia, also emailed Kim a New Year’s greeting on Wednesday, thanking him for his persistent military support for the Ukrainian conflict. Since 2024, North Korea has deployed thousands of soldiers to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine and some of Russia’s roughest regions.
According to a report from KCNA, Putin said, “The heroic entry of Korean soldiers into the battles for liberating the Kursk region from occupiers and the subsequent activities of Korean engineers in the land of Russia demonstrated the invincible friendship and militant fraternity” between Russia and North Korea.
On Thursday, December 25, 2018, this is how things are going.
Fighting
Just days after a high-ranking Russian general was killed in the same area of the capital by a car bomb, three people were killed in Moscow, including two police officers.
The two police officers were targeted because they participated in Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, according to a GUR official from Ukraine’s military intelligence agency.
According to the capital’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin, Russian air defense units flew 16 Ukrainian drones into Moscow throughout the day.
No damage was reported, despite Sobyanin claiming that the drones were repelled over a period of about 17 hours and that emergency personnel were examining the fragments that had hit the ground.
According to the Russian government’s civil aviation authority, two of the four major airports that serve Moscow were forced to temporarily halt operations.
Nearly half of the 172 Ukrainian drones that were destroyed by Russia’s Ministry of Defense’s air defense units flew over Ukraine’s borders overnight.
Ukraine claimed that its drones had struck a storage facility for marine drones in Russian-occupied Crimea and the Yefremov synthetic rubber factory in the Tula region of Russia.
Dmitry Milyaev, the regional governor of Tula, claimed 12 Ukrainian drones had been destroyed over the region after debris from a downed Ukrainian drone caught fire at an industrial site.
Wildlife were killed and conservationists were alerted by a sunflower oil spill brought on by Russian aerial bombardments that had contaminated the shoreline of Odesa, southern Ukraine, according to the AFP news agency.
Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper stated in a statement that “some of the oil … spilled due to massive enemy attacks on port infrastructure.” On Wednesday, the Pivdenny port temporarily closed in the area to assist with the cleanup.
A Colombian man was given a 19-year prison sentence for fighting for Kyiv’s army by a Russian-backed court in occupied Ukraine.
Oscar Mauricio Blanco Lopez, 42, was sentenced to 19 years in prison by the Supreme Court in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, according to the prosecutor general of Russia. The Colombian, who had been “taken prisoner by Russian servicemen” in December 2025, arrived in Ukraine in May of that year in order to sign up for the Ukrainian army.
talks on a ceasefire
For the first time, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, disclosed details of a deal reached by the negotiators of the US and Ukraine to end the conflict with Russia. After extensive negotiations, the US and Ukrainian negotiators agreed on a 20-point plan. Mosco has now reviewed it.
In line with the government’s strategy, President Zelenskyy stated that if Moscow also backed down and the region was transformed into a demilitarized zone under international surveillance, Ukraine would be prepared to withdraw its troops from the nation’s eastern industrial heartland.
According to Zelenskyy, a similar arrangement might be made for the region that is currently under Russian control around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Any peace plan in Ukraine would need to be put to a vote, according to the Ukrainian leader.
Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who met with US envoys in Florida over the weekend, reportedly received information from Russian envoys, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who asked about the most recent developments in the ceasefire talks.
Russia has not indicated whether it will support any form of reunification of Ukrainian territory. Ukraine has also urged that the Donbass, which it currently controls, be given over to it. The two Donbass regions, which are largely made up of Luhansk and Donetsk, are now largely under Russian control.
diplomacy and politics
According to Russian state pollster VTsIOM, the majority of Russians anticipate the end of the conflict in 2026, which suggests the Kremlin might be putting pressure on the public as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict get worse.
During the pollster’s year-end presentation, VTsIOM Deputy Head Mikhail Mamonov claimed that 55% of the 1,600 people concerned about the potential end of Russia’s conflict in Ukraine said they were optimistic about 2026.
The first public hearing in a criminal case against German sculptor Jacques Tilly, who is accused of discrediting the Russian military with his satirical Carnival floats, is scheduled for March 1 in a Russian court.
Due to the fact that Tilly is not a resident of Russia and faces up to 10 years in jail or a fine, the trial will begin on December 30 and proceedings will take place in absentia.
Zelenskyy claimed in his Christmas speech on Wednesday that despite marking the holiday with a “difficult” period, the spirit of the country is still present. The Ukrainian people are all together tonight, Zelenskyy said, adding that the war had “without a doubt” altered the country. He said, “It hardly matters what dishes are on the table; what matters is who is at the table.”
In Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, on December 24, 2025, artillerymen from the 44th Separate Artillery Brigade fire an M777 Howitzer at Russian troops.
Regional security
Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, stated that he had spoken with NATO’s Mark Rutte to talk about the “coalition of the willing” and the situation in Ukraine. We will continue the work that was begun in this framework, which Macron stated on social media, “to provide solid security guarantees to Ukraine,” starting in January.
Democratic US senators have urged President Trump to reverse the recall of nearly 30 of his former aides, warning that it will create a dangerous leadership vacuum that allows rivals like Russia and China to gain influence. In recent days, the Trump administration has directed career diplomats working in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe back to Washington to make sure that US missions abroad adhere to its “America First” priorities.
Economics
Due to bad weather, which slowed efforts to repair Russia’s loading infrastructure following last month’s drone strikes by Ukraine, Kazakhstan’s exports of its flagship CPC Blend oil will be at their lowest level in 14 months in December, according to two sources.
One of three jetties, operated by Ukrainian drones, were hit by Ukrainian drones on November 29 at Novorossiysk, near Russia’s Black Sea port, causing export delays. The difficulty of carrying out maintenance tasks that will help exports recover has grown due to the bad weather.
The Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance announced the settlement of a deal to restructure $2.6 billion in growth-linked debt.
