ISW: Russian proxies' urgent calls to join Russia causing panic

The Kremlin had earlier signaled it was preparing for Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's arrival.

According to preliminary information, on Dec. 18, Russian forces illegally detained about 50 civilians — residents of the village of Hrabovske — holding them without access to communication or adequate conditions. On Dec. 20, they were forcibly taken to Russia.

The attack targeted an airfield near the city of Lipetsk, about 340 kilometers (210 miles) from the Ukrainian border, and caused two military aircraft to catch fire.

Russian LNG deliveries to China more than doubled year-on-year to 1.6 million metric tons last month, Bloomberg reported.

An explosive device attached to the underside of Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov's car detonated on Yaseneva Street in Moscow on Dec. 22.

Drone debris hit a pipeline at a terminal in Volna, a village in the region's Temryuk district, the Krasnodar Krai Emergency Headquarters said. A fire broke out as a result of the attack.

The talks focused on a revised 20-point plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine, a framework for security guarantees, and economic development, according to Rustem Umerov, the head of the Ukrainian delegation.

"If Putin says no, we need to dramatically change the game, including giving Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine to hit the drone and missile factories that exist in Russia. I would go all in if Putin says no," U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said on Dec. 21.

The cargo ship Adler has previously been used to transport Russian weapons and its owner, M Leasing LLC, is sanctioned by the U.S. and EU.

On Dec. 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at Western leaders during an annual meeting with his defense ministry, calling European leaders "piglets" and declaring that the goals of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine would be met "unconditionally."

Ukrainian and Russian delegations have rushed to Miami to take part in yet another round of talks with the U.S. representatives in what some see as an American effort to end Russia's war against Ukraine.

Russian forces launched one Iskander-M ballistic missile from Russia’s Rostov Oblast, along with 97 drones from Russia’s Millerovo, Kursk, Orel, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and Russian-occupied Crimea overnight, according to Ukraine's Air Force.

Atesh operatives set fire at a railway hub in Bataysk, in Russia's Rostov Oblast, which Russian troops use to supply their forces in occupied parts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk oblasts, as well as Crimea.