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Ukraine Calls for Russia's Removal from Security Council

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Reuters
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Ukraine Calls for Russia's Removal from Security Council

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Reuters

Ukraine called on Monday for Russia to be removed as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and accused it of violating international law.

"Ukraine calls on the member states of the UN... to deprive the Russian Federation of its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to exclude it from the UN as a whole," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The statement said that Russia "illegally occupies the seat of the USSR in the UN Security Council" since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

"From a legal and political point of view, there can be only one conclusion: Russia is a usurper of the Soviet Union's seat in the UN Security Council," the ministry added.

"Three decades of its illegal presence in the UN have been marked by wars and seizures of other countries' territories," the statement said.

The five permanent members of the 15-seat UN Security Council have veto power over UN resolutions.

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World

Khamenei Says Confrontation with the West is Over the World Order

A general view shows the Iranian capital Tehran with the snow-covered Alborz mountain range in the background on December 9, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
A general view shows the Iranian capital Tehran with the snow-covered Alborz mountain range in the background on December 9, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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Khamenei Says Confrontation with the West is Over the World Order

A general view shows the Iranian capital Tehran with the snow-covered Alborz mountain range in the background on December 9, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
A general view shows the Iranian capital Tehran with the snow-covered Alborz mountain range in the background on December 9, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said that the conflict between his country and Western powers is not on the nuclear program but opposition to Iranian plans on the international order.

He framed the confrontation as resistance to an “unjust global order and the system of domination.”

The problem between Iran and Western powers “is not the nuclear issue,” but opposition to Iran’s plan to establish a different order, Khamenei said in a message issued Saturday to the annual meeting of Islamic student associations in Europe.

“The heavy assault of the US army and its disgraceful appendage in the region was defeated by the initiative, courage and sacrifice of Iran’s young people,” Khamenei said in a reference to recent regional conflicts.

He also stressed that the killing of a number of scientists, generals, and Iranian civilians has not been able to and nor will it be able to stop the "brave Iranian youth."

“The families of those martyrs are themselves among the pioneers of the movement,” he said.

World

Lavrov: European Troops in Ukraine Would be Legitimate Targets for Russia

In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov listens to his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov listens to his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)
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Lavrov: European Troops in Ukraine Would be Legitimate Targets for Russia

In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov listens to his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov listens to his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)

Any European troop contingents deployed to Ukraine would become legitimate targets for Russia’s armed forces, Foreign Minister ⁠Sergei Lavrov said in remarks published by state news agency TASS ⁠on Sunday.

Lavrov, without providing evidence, also accused European politicians of being driven by “ambitions” in their relations with Kyiv and ⁠disregarding the people of Ukraine and of their own nations.

EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa on Saturday vowed the European Union's support for Ukraine would not falter ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's talks with US President Donald Trump.

They took part in a call with Zelensky and several leaders before the Ukrainian president's meeting with Trump in Florida on Sunday.

Zelensky on Saturday also met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax.

"We welcome all efforts leading to our shared objective -- a just and lasting peace that preserves Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," European Commission President von der Leyen said on X.

"And that strengthens the country's security and defense capabilities, as an integral part of the security of our continent," she added.

"In 2026, the EU Commission will continue to keep up the pressure on the Kremlin, sustain our support to Ukraine, and work intensely to accompany Ukraine on its path toward EU membership," she also said.

Costa, the president of the European Council, which represents the bloc's 27 member states, echoed her promise to continue backing Ukraine, saying on X: "The EU's support for Ukraine will not falter. In war, in peace, in reconstruction."

Costa warned the EU was ready to slap further sanctions on Russia if needed.

He listed EU moves which "have made Ukraine stronger" including "prolonging sanctions against Russia, with further measures under way if need be.”

Costa added: "A strong and prosperous Ukraine in the EU is a core security guarantee. We continue to work for a robust and lasting peace for Ukraine, in close cooperation with our US partners."

Trump and Zelensky will meet at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida, where the US president is spending the holidays and has an agenda mostly filled with daily rounds of golf.

Zelensky said the two planned to discuss security and economic agreements and he will raise “territorial issues” as Moscow and Kyiv remain fiercely at odds over the fate of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

World

Somalia’s Al-Shabaab Vows to Fight Any Israeli Use of Somaliland

Residents wave Somaliland flags as they gather to celebrate Israel's announcement recognizing Somaliland's statehood in downtown Hargeisa, on December 26, 2025. (AFP)
Residents wave Somaliland flags as they gather to celebrate Israel's announcement recognizing Somaliland's statehood in downtown Hargeisa, on December 26, 2025. (AFP)
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Somalia’s Al-Shabaab Vows to Fight Any Israeli Use of Somaliland

Residents wave Somaliland flags as they gather to celebrate Israel's announcement recognizing Somaliland's statehood in downtown Hargeisa, on December 26, 2025. (AFP)
Residents wave Somaliland flags as they gather to celebrate Israel's announcement recognizing Somaliland's statehood in downtown Hargeisa, on December 26, 2025. (AFP)

Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked militant group Al-Shabaab vowed Saturday to fight any attempt by Israel "to claim or use parts of Somaliland" following its recognition of the breakaway territory.

"We will not accept it, and we will fight against it," Al-Shabaab said in a statement.

Its spokesman Ali Dheere said in the statement that Israel's recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state showed it "has decided to expand into parts of the Somali territories" to support "the apostate administration in the northwest regions".

Israel said Friday it was officially recognizing Somaliland, a first for the self-proclaimed republic that in 1991 declared it had unilaterally seceded from Somalia.

Mogadishu immediately denounced a "deliberate attack" on its sovereignty, while Egypt, Türkiye, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation all condemned Israel's move.

Regional analysts believe that a rapprochement with Somaliland could allow Israel to secure better access to the Red Sea.

In addition, press reports a few months ago said Somaliland was among a handful of African territories willing to host Palestinians expelled by Israel, but neither the Somaliland authorities nor the Israeli government has ever commented on those reports.

"It is humiliation of the highest level today, to see some Somali people celebrating a recognition by the Israeli Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu" when "Israel is the biggest enemy of the Islamic society".

The territory of Somaliland is roughly a third the size of France and corresponds more or less to the former British Somaliland protectorate.

It has its own money, army and police and enjoys relative stability compared to its neighbors.

But, until now, Somaliland had not been publicly recognized by any country, which has kept it politically and economically isolated despite its location on one of the world's busiest trade routes connecting the Indian Ocean to the Suez Canal.

Somalia has been battling Al-Shabaab for nearly 20 years and while security has significantly improved in Mogadishu, the war still rages 60 kilometers from the capital.