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Putin Directs Drills of Russian Nuclear Forces as His Summit with Trump is Put on Hold

(FILES) US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet during a US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
(FILES) US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet during a US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
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Putin Directs Drills of Russian Nuclear Forces as His Summit with Trump is Put on Hold

(FILES) US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet during a US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
(FILES) US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet during a US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday directed drills of the country’s strategic nuclear forces that featured practice missile launches, an exercise that came as his planned summit on Ukraine with US President Donald Trump was put on hold.
The Kremlin said that as part of the maneuvers involving all parts of Moscow's nuclear triad, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile was test-fired from the Plesetsk launch facility in northwestern Russia, and a Sineva ICBM was launched by a submarine in the Barents Sea. The drills also involved Tu-95 strategic bombers firing long-range cruise missiles, The Associated Press said.
The exercise tested the skills of military command structures, the Kremlin said in a statement.
The chief of the military's General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, reported to Putin via video link that the drills were intended to "practice procedures for authorizing the use of nuclear weapons.”
Putin, sitting alone at a round white table, faced big screens showing Gerasimov and Defense Minister Andrei Belousov. All three men would be involved in launching nuclear weapons in case of conflict.
While Putin emphasized that the maneuvers had been planned in advance, they came hours after President Donald Trump said Tuesday his plan for a swift meeting with Putin in Budapest was on hold because he didn’t want it to be a “waste of time.”
The decision about the meeting in Budapest, Hungary, which Trump had announced last week, was made following a call Monday between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Lavrov made clear in comments Tuesday that Russia is opposed to an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. Trump, meanwhile, has been shifting his stance all year on key issues in the conflict, including whether a ceasefire should come before longer-term peace talks, and whether Ukraine could win back land seized by Russia during almost four years of fighting.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday emphasized that the planned Putin-Trump summit needs to be thoroughly prepared.
“No one wants to waste time: neither President Trump nor President Putin," Peskov told reporters. "These are the two presidents who are accustomed to working efficiently with high productivity. But effectiveness always requires preparation.”

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World

Florida Governor Designates CAIR, Muslim Brotherhood as Terrorist Organizations 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks about Hurricane Helene as Adjutant General of Florida Major General John Haas looks on during a press briefing at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, Florida, US, September 26, 2024. (Reuters)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks about Hurricane Helene as Adjutant General of Florida Major General John Haas looks on during a press briefing at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, Florida, US, September 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Florida Governor Designates CAIR, Muslim Brotherhood as Terrorist Organizations 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks about Hurricane Helene as Adjutant General of Florida Major General John Haas looks on during a press briefing at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, Florida, US, September 26, 2024. (Reuters)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks about Hurricane Helene as Adjutant General of Florida Major General John Haas looks on during a press briefing at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, Florida, US, September 26, 2024. (Reuters)

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order designating one of the country’s most prominent Muslim civil rights groups, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as a “foreign terrorist organization,” becoming the second high-profile Republican governor to do so in recent weeks.

CAIR's Florida chapter announced a lawsuit challenging the order at a Tuesday press conference in Tampa, where Hiba Rahim, the chapter's interim executive director, called the order "defamatory and unconstitutional."

"To our governor: your designation has no basis in law or fact," she said.

DeSantis' order alleges that CAIR has ties to Hamas, the Palestinian group that attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people. Israel’s response on Hamas-governed Gaza has killed more than 70,000 people, according to the Gazan health ministry, and left much of the enclave in ruins.

CAIR has denied any ties to Hamas.

Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott took a similar step against CAIR, which also challenged that order in federal court in Texas as an unconstitutional effort to punish the organization simply because of its views.

DeSantis told reporters on Tuesday that he welcomed the lawsuit because it could offer the state an opportunity to examine CAIR's financial records and other documents as part of legal discovery.

As with Abbott’s order, DeSantis’ order also named the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt, as a foreign terrorist organization.

The US government has not designated CAIR or the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations, but President Donald Trump last month began the process of doing so for certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters, such as those in Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan.

The Florida order instructs agencies to take action to prevent CAIR from receiving any state contracts, employment or funding.

CAIR was founded in 1994 and has chapters in nearly two dozen US states.

World

Half of Ukraine’s Capital in the Dark After Russian Strikes, Ministry Says

People use a flashlight as they walk during a power blackout after critical civil infrastructure was hit by recent a Russian missile and drone attacks, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 8, 2025. (Reuters)
People use a flashlight as they walk during a power blackout after critical civil infrastructure was hit by recent a Russian missile and drone attacks, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 8, 2025. (Reuters)
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Half of Ukraine’s Capital in the Dark After Russian Strikes, Ministry Says

People use a flashlight as they walk during a power blackout after critical civil infrastructure was hit by recent a Russian missile and drone attacks, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 8, 2025. (Reuters)
People use a flashlight as they walk during a power blackout after critical civil infrastructure was hit by recent a Russian missile and drone attacks, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 8, 2025. (Reuters)

Power was out for roughly half of residents in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Tuesday after the latest Russian attacks on the country's energy system, the energy ministry said.

"The situation in Kyiv remains one of the most difficult – currently, up to 50% of consumers in the capital are without electricity," the ministry said on Telegram.

Russia has sharply increased both the number and intensity of attacks on Ukrainian gas and energy infrastructure in recent months, targeting both power generation facilities and electricity transmission systems.

Ukraine operates three nuclear power plants, which produce more than 50% of all electricity, but the plants are forced to reduce production due to damage to power lines.

The energy shortage is forcing power grid operator Ukrenergo to restrict supplies to consumers, plunging entire regions into darkness. Power cuts also affect heat and water supplies.

Residents of Kyiv and the Kyiv region have been getting electricity for only about 10 hours out of 24 over the past week.

World

Germany Plans Production of Advanced Taurus Missiles from 2029

A man pauses on a pedestrian bridge as a German flag flies over the Reichstag building in Berlin on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
A man pauses on a pedestrian bridge as a German flag flies over the Reichstag building in Berlin on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
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Germany Plans Production of Advanced Taurus Missiles from 2029

A man pauses on a pedestrian bridge as a German flag flies over the Reichstag building in Berlin on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
A man pauses on a pedestrian bridge as a German flag flies over the Reichstag building in Berlin on October 23, 2024. (AFP)

Germany plans to begin production of an upgraded version of its Taurus cruise missile in 2029, according to a budget proposal seen by Reuters on Tuesday, which is expected to be approved by parliament next week.

German forces currently have some 600 Taurus missiles with an official range of more than 500 km (311 miles) in their inventories, to be launched from fighter jets such as the Tornado, the F-15 or the F-18.

The weapon, built by European defence company MBDA , is designed to destroy high-value targets behind enemy lines such as command bunkers, ammunition and fuel dumps, airfields and bridges.

The German government has repeatedly denied requests by Ukraine to supply it with Taurus cruise missiles amid concerns over their long range and their potential use against targets inside Russia, according to Reuters.

The upgraded Taurus NEO missile, as outlined in the 415-million-euro ($483 million) budget proposal which is classified as confidential, will feature an extended range, improved shielding against interference, and advancements in navigation and seeker head technology.

Sweden's Saab and US-based Williams International are identified as the main subcontractors for the enhanced missile.

At a later stage, Sweden and Spain may join the contract, the document said.

According to previous information, Germany aims to purchase some 600 Taurus NEO for around 2 billion euros in total.

The Kremlin has told Germany that delivering cruise missiles to Kyiv would lead to a further round of "spiralling tension" in the Ukraine conflict.