UNITED24 Media Telegram Highlights
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met in Ankara with Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, the Turkish Foreign Ministry reported.
Details of the talks have not yet been disclosed.
We are seeing more and more clearly that Russia’s actions were and remain part of a plan aimed at all of Europe. 2026 could be decisive, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in his New Year’s address.
▫️ Russia’s war against Ukraine poses a direct threat to Europe’s freedom and security;
▫️ Germany faces daily acts of sabotage, espionage, and cyberattacks, many of which may be linked to Russia;
▫️ The rise of global protectionism is a serious challenge, as Europe’s dependence on imported raw materials is increasingly being used as a tool of political pressure;
▫️ The partnership with the United States has become more complex, requiring Europe to act more independently. “We must defend our interests much more strongly on our own,” Merz said;
▫️ Europe must be guided by confidence, not fear. This year could be decisive — a year in which Germany and Europe find new strength to return to decades of peace, freedom, and prosperity.
Sanctioned steel products were found on board the vessel Fitburg, which is suspected of damaging underwater cables in the Baltic Sea, Yle reports, citing Finnish Customs.
The head of the Finnish Customs Service, Mikko Grenberg, announced the launch of a preliminary investigation into a possible violation of EU sanctions, as the import and transit of such goods through EU territory are prohibited.
Law enforcement officers have questioned the crew, detained two individuals, and banned two others from leaving Finland.
The Fitburg was detained a day earlier. The vessel was en route from the Russian port of St. Petersburg to Israel and is suspected of damaging an underwater telecommunications cable between Finland and Estonia.
[more details from a few days ago - now 5 cables] Finland has reported damage to five underwater communications cables. A vessel traveling from Russia to Israel has been detained, Yle reports.
The Russians struck the locomotive depot in Kovel, Ukraine’s Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba reported.
Around seven strikes were recorded.
The enemy also attacked the railway station in Konotop, where freight cars were hit.
Damage was also reported at port facilities in the Odesa region. In the port of Izmail, berths and equipment were damaged. In the Odesa port, debris from enemy drones and the blast wave damaged port equipment, vehicles, and parts of the infrastructure.
❗️Russia is openly beginning to prepare children for war — intelligence
According to intelligence sources, drone operation training is planned to be included in the standards of the all-Russian GTO program (“Ready for Labor and Defense”).
The program is officially presented as a system of physical education for children, but in reality it is now being used to introduce military skills at an early age.
🔻 The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has denied striking a café and hotel in the temporarily occupied part of the Kherson region, where the occupiers claim civilians were killed.
⚡️ Failure of Russian special services: Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) commander Denis Kapustin is alive, and the $500,000 allocated for his liquidation will strengthen Ukraine’s special forces
The commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), Denis Kapustin, is alive. The funds allocated by Russian special services for his assassination — half a million dollars — will now be used to support Ukraine’s military intelligence.
“Welcome back,” Kyrylo Budanov said as he congratulated Kapustin and the HUR team that exposed and thwarted the Russian operation.
According to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Russian special services ordered the assassination of Denis Kapustin, commander of the RDK unit fighting against Moscow as part of the HUR’s Tymur Special Unit. The operation to eliminate him had been prepared for over a month.
As a result of a complex counterintelligence operation, HUR not only prevented the assassination but also identified those who ordered and attempted to carry it out.
This was reported by the commander of the Timur Special Unit during a briefing to the head of the Defense Intelligence Directorate, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov.
“Our side also received the funds allocated by the Russian special services for carrying out this crime. Denis Kapustin is now in Ukraine and preparing to continue his missions,” the commander said.
Budanov congratulated Kapustin, who joined the briefing via video link.
“First of all, Denis, congratulations on being alive. That is always good news. I am glad that the money intended for your liquidation will instead help our cause. I wish you success,” Budanov said.
Kapustin, call sign White Rex, confirmed his readiness to continue leading the unit.
“My temporary absence did not affect the execution of combat tasks. I am ready to return to the area of operations and continue commanding the RDK,” he said.
Kyrylo Budanov thanked the Tymur Unit and military intelligence officers for the successful completion of the operation.