Cartoon about Russian psyche

 The pig in the mud is saying, "Traitor...".

(Source) 

 

Russia and the USA pressure Ukraine together to cede land so that they would guarantee its territorial integrity once again

Ukrainian diplomat Valeriy Chaly in a Dec 27, 2025 interview to the Obozrevatel:

"Putin has a strong desire to demonstrate aggression. And, in my opinion, we see all the signs that China supports this intention to demonstrate Europe's weakness and subordination. 

This now coincides with the Trump administration's desires: to subjugate the Europeans, to make them more "comfortable." The goal is to dominate trade issues in order to gain an advantage in these negotiations. 

Things are shaping up so that China and America are at the table, and Russia wants to join them, although it has no other reason than two factors: nuclear weapons and the war in Ukraine. For Putin, war is a tool for maintaining his power in Russia and bargaining on the geopolitical stage; he still hopes to gain a foothold there. Furthermore, he's trying to keep the empire from completely disintegrating. I believe the collapse of the Soviet empire is still underway. The Soviet Union hasn't quite collapsed yet. There are still many republics in Russia that are looking for an exit, having failed to do so in 1991...

It is important that Ukrainian negotiators do not make the mistakes of Budapest, according to which nuclear disarmament actually took place. 

The first point [in the current negotiations] was a ceasefire. That was Trump's position, and he pressured Zelensky. The Ukrainian president said it wasn't acceptable. Then we agreed. [Then Putin didn't want.]  "While you're busy implementing peace agreements in parliament, I'll be fighting," says Russia. "And the longer you delay, the more I'll destroy you."

Now Russia and the United States are putting pressure on us together. For what purpose? So that we'll trade our unoccupied territories for guarantees of territorial integrity. It's no surprise that the countries that guaranteed Ukrainian territorial integrity are now forcing Ukraine to give up more territory in order to guarantee its territorial integrity again. This is nonsense... 

This is a manifestation of the weakness of Ukraine's negotiating position, and they are pressuring us in the same way as they did to achieve Ukraine's nuclear disarmament: the US is acting together with Russia...

The American president says he's ready to provide a security guarantee at the level of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. That's one sentence. The second sentence: I'm against your membership in NATO... The third sentence: I want European countries to take responsibility for Ukraine and pay for it. Where's the logic? If you want security for Ukraine, why can't Ukraine immediately be a member of the Alliance, and America not take on some of the responsibility? There's no logic, it doesn't add up. And why? One of the statements is wrong. Which one? I think it's that America is ready to provide security guarantees. 

The current negotiating track is a false start. Especially since we're now, it seems to me, at almost the highest point of escalation in the war on the ground: Ukraine is at its lowest point since 2022, and Russia is at its highest. Smart people don't negotiate under these conditions, and we're being pressured. However, there will be a window of opportunity, and it will open next year, when Ukraine's position will be stronger than it is today."

Released Israeli hostage tells horror stories about Palestinian rapists and murderers

From Novaya Gazeta Europe:

"Eli's Second Life 

The story of an Israeli hostage who, on the day of his return from captivity, learned that his family had been murdered, survived hell, but found the strength to move on. 

December 25, 2025 Mira Livadina 

2025 was a difficult year for Israel. But still, it was a big positive. The war ended. The remaining hostages were returned alive. The bodies of almost all those killed were returned. Behind each return were human destinies, unfulfilled plans and dreams. And often, upon returning, the survivors learned the most terrible thing—that their families were no longer there. This happened to Yarden Bibas, the father of the little redheads. This happened to Eli Sharabi, who at first couldn't understand why his wife and two daughters didn't meet him from captivity. This happened to dozens of others. People who had survived two years in the tunnels of Gaza, hoping to be reunited with their loved ones, found themselves in an abyss—with all meaning completely lost. And this is the tragedy that Israel is left alone to face. 

But even amidst immense grief and an ocean of despair, life cautiously triumphs over death. Not immediately—over time, through pain and emptiness. It brings miracles and hope, seemingly lost forever. "The melancholy grows stronger," wrote Elie Sharabi. "However, since my release, I choose every morning filled with life, action, and hope. We have suffered enough; we deserve a different reality. We want to begin healing."

The New Year is the perfect time to tell a story of renewed hope. This is the story of Eli Sharabi, who was able to start a new life. 

"There are no children left in Be'eri..." 

 The action takes place on Kibbutz Be'eri in southern Israel, a model of the Soviet collective farms. It was founded by young Jewish workers in 1946, two years before Israel declared independence. All the wars with its neighbors ricocheted on the small kibbutz. Be'eri, although suffering from frequent gunfire, survived. This continued for almost 80 years—until October 7, 2023.  

At that time, the kibbutz had a population of just over a thousand. On October 7, more than a hundred people—one in nine residents—were brutally murdered in Be'eri. Women and men, the elderly and children, infants. 

After the Be'eri massacre and the subsequent accusations of starting the war in Gaza, a sad phrase spread throughout Israel: "There's no water to wash children in Gaza. And in Be'eri, there are no more children to wash." 

Eli Sharabi arrived at Kibbutz Be'eri at the age of 14, in 1986. He was born in Tel Aviv, to Jews returned from Yemen and Morocco. But when he became a teenager, his parents decided to send him and his older brother, Yossi, to study at the kibbutz, which also provided them with housing and food... 

In Be'eri, Eli finished school and went into the army. After serving, he returned to the kibbutz. It was there, in 1995, that he met the love of his life. Her name was Lian Brisley, a beautiful 20-year-old British volunteer who had come to the kibbutz with a large group of young people from England. They fell in love instantly. After five years of an emotionally charged, on-again, off-again relationship, they married in the bride's hometown of Bristol, England. But the newlyweds decided to live in Be'eri, the town that had brought them together. There, in the following years, the couple had two daughters: Noya (in 2007) and Yael (in 2010).

After the army, Eli earned a first and then a second degree in economics from Be'er Sheva University. He achieved success on the kibbutz: first as treasurer, then as manager of the entire kibbutz economy. The girls grew up and went to school. Eli and his wife worked, traveled the world, celebrated holidays with the entire kibbutz, thought about their daughters' future education, and made plans. This was life before.

Arabic Lessons 

 

At 6:29 a.m. on October 7, 2023, it shattered into pieces. Eli's family, like everyone else in the country, heard an alarm, followed by the sound of rockets. News of terrorists infiltrating the country spread instantly. Panic, confusion over the scale of the incident, the lack of details, and most importantly, the absence of an army, caused panic among residents of border kibbutzim and towns. The Sharabis decided not to resist or hide in a secure room. Around 10 a.m., about a dozen Hamas militants burst into their home. Lian showed the terrorists her British passport, hoping that her British citizenship would save her and her children. The militants grabbed her husband and took him away. 

 

Eli remembered the last look his girls gave him as he was led away—their eyes were filled with terror. He only managed to shout to his wife and daughters: "No matter what they do to me, I'll come back!" For some reason, he was certain the women wouldn't be touched. That Hamas only wanted men. But Eli would only learn all the details two years later.

 

As soon as the car carrying Eli and the other hostages drove away, the terrorists shot 48-year-old Lian, 13-year-old Yael, and 16-year-old Noya right there in their home. The British passport Lian showed the terrorists was of no help. 

 

Eli's brother, Yossi Sharabi, was also taken to Gaza. He would be killed in captivity. But Eli would only learn of this two years later. The brothers were kept separate and were given no news. 

As Eli Sharabi was being transported to Gaza, he heard a Hamas battalion commander say over the radio: no more Israeli women and children were to be brought into the Strip; they had no vehicles left to transport them, no places to hold them. Only men under 40 were to be taken. The rest were to be killed on sight.

He remembers how, upon arriving in Gaza, he and other Be'eri residents were led blindfolded to a mosque. Then they removed the blindfolds, forced them to strip down to their underwear, and one of the militants began interrogating them in Arabic. A specially hired man was assigned to translate the hostages' questions into Hebrew. When Eli began answering in Arabic, the terrorists hesitated. They suspected he was an Israeli counterintelligence agent. No, he wasn't. He was from a kibbutz on the southern border, where many had been friends for years with Arabs from neighboring Arab villages. His eldest daughter, Noya, was learning Arabic in school, and Eli often had to help her with her homework.

Eli Sharabi was one of the few hostages who understood what his captors were saying to each other. Sometimes, they weren't even aware that they were being understood. In his book, "Hostage," Sharabi recounts these everyday conversations: how they wanted to wipe Israel and all Jews off the face of the earth. Eli recalled that the militants would often play videos of the October 7 killings on television and proudly tell each other how many Jews each of them had killed and how many women and children they had raped..."  

How Putin manipulates Trump

From UNIAN:

"Putin is using KGB neurolinguistic technologies to influence Trump, says General 

Yuri Kobzar, 26.12.25 

After talking with Putin, Trump experiences a complete switch in consciousness and begins to do the opposite of what he was doing before the conversation. 

Russian intelligence agencies systematically employ psychological and neurolinguistic methods of influencing Western leaders, developed back in the days of the KGB. This allows them to influence, in particular, the behavior of US President Donald Trump. This was stated by Ukrainian Army General and former head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine Mykola Malomuzh in a comment to Kyiv24.

According to him, Putin's team is deliberately using Soviet practices during negotiations with Trump, modeling his behavior and adjusting his decisions. To do this, they first study the target's psychological profile, from their complete biography to their various phobias. Then, the Russians press on these "pain points," Malomuzh says.

"After our influence, when he (Trump) vowed support for Ukraine at the UN General Assembly with Zelenskyy and said he would provide all types of weapons, even Tomahawks, Putin spoke with Trump literally two days later, and he sided with Putin. That's the real influence of the intelligence services," the general cites as an example.

UNIAN previously reported how Putin effectively appointed Stephen Witkoff as Trump's top diplomat. Initially, after Trump's return to the White House, Witkoff was appointed special envoy to the Middle East, while Keith Kellogg was supposed to handle Russian-Ukrainian affairs. However, the Kremlin quickly reversed the roles: Kellogg was sidelined, and Witkoff focused on negotiations with Russia. This occurred against the backdrop of the collapse of the traditional American diplomatic system, which Trump distrusts. 

Negotiations to transfer Witkoff to the "Ukrainian track" were conducted through Saudi Arabia with the participation of Kirill Dmitriev, and the release of American Mark Fogel from a Russian prison provided additional incentive. Putin attempted to shape Witkoff's favorable perception of Russia during personal meetings, after which Witkoff repeatedly echoed Russian narratives."