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Russia Says It’s Advancing in Ukraine and Its Economy Is Stable, After Trump Calls It ‘Paper Tiger’ 

19 December 2024, Russia, Moscow: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual end-of-year press conference. (Kremlin Press Office/dpa)
19 December 2024, Russia, Moscow: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual end-of-year press conference. (Kremlin Press Office/dpa)
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Russia Says It’s Advancing in Ukraine and Its Economy Is Stable, After Trump Calls It ‘Paper Tiger’ 

19 December 2024, Russia, Moscow: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual end-of-year press conference. (Kremlin Press Office/dpa)
19 December 2024, Russia, Moscow: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual end-of-year press conference. (Kremlin Press Office/dpa)

Russia said on Wednesday it was economically stable and its army was advancing in Ukraine, rejecting comments by US President Donald Trump urging Kyiv to take advantage of Russian economic weakness and seize back all of its captured territory. 

In a sudden and striking rhetorical shift, Trump said on Tuesday that he believed Ukraine could retake all the land seized by Russia, which currently controls about a fifth of the country. 

"Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act," Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov attributed Trump's comments to the fact he had just met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. 

"Of course, President Trump heard Zelenskiy's version of events. And apparently at this point, this version is the reason for the assessment we heard," Peskov said in an interview with RBC radio. 

Peskov said the Russian army was making gains in Ukraine, where he said it was deliberately advancing with caution. Western military analysts attribute the lack of any recent Russian breakthrough to a determined and resourceful Ukrainian defense, with both sides worn down by more than three-and-a-half years of war. 

"This, of course, is more a question for our military, but overall - and the president has repeatedly stated this - we are moving forward very carefully to minimize losses... (and) so as not to undermine our offensive potential. These are very deliberate actions," Peskov said. 

"The dynamics, I repeat, show that for those who are unwilling to negotiate now, the position will be much worse tomorrow and the day after." 

Peskov brushed off a comment by Trump describing Russia as a "paper tiger", saying that Russia was a bear, not a tiger, and there was no such thing as a paper bear.  

"Russia maintains its resilience. Russia maintains macroeconomic stability," Peskov said. 

"Yes, Russia is experiencing certain tensions and problem areas in various sectors of the economy, which are inevitably connected with the myriad economic restrictions, sanctions, and so on that we face, with the global economic turmoil. It's not just sanctions." 

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World

UN Says 5.8 mn Refugee Children Out of School

Syrian refugee children attend a class at a school in Mount Lebanon, October 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Azaki
Syrian refugee children attend a class at a school in Mount Lebanon, October 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Azaki
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UN Says 5.8 mn Refugee Children Out of School

Syrian refugee children attend a class at a school in Mount Lebanon, October 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Azaki
Syrian refugee children attend a class at a school in Mount Lebanon, October 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Azaki

Some 5.8 million refugee children were out of school in 2025, the United Nations said Friday, warning that funding cuts threatened to make the situation worse.

UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said 44 percent of the world's 13.1 million school-age refugee children were out of school last year.

"Education is protection. But it is also a pathway to opportunity and self-reliance," said Barham Salih, the UN high commissioner for refugees, AFP reported.

"At a time of severe pressure on humanitarian and development financing, cuts to education risk reversing decades of collective investment and closing opportunities for a generation of young people."

The former Iraqi president, who was a refugee, said that looking back on his own life, "education gave me opportunities that displacement might otherwise have denied me".

"Displacement should not determine the limits of a child's life."

UNHCR said that while 65 percent of refugee children of primary school age were enrolled in education in 2025, only 32 percent were enrolled in secondary.

Refugee tertiary education enrolment reached a record 11 percent in 2025.

Earlier this week, UNHCR said its available funding had fallen from $5.2 billion in 2024 to $3.9 billion in 2025, while the number of people it is mandated to protect is hovering around historically high levels.

UNHCR said it needed $8.5 billion this year to protect refugees, but by the end of July had received only 32 percent of that amount ($2.7 billion).

UNHCR said nearly 8.3 million refugees and other forcibly displaced people faced losing vital assistance from the agency as protection services crumble due to the "severe" funding cuts.

 

 

 

 

World

Iran: Strait of Hormuz Will Not Reopen Until Conditions Are Met

Iran: Strait of Hormuz Will Not Reopen Until Conditions Are Met
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Iran: Strait of Hormuz Will Not Reopen Until Conditions Are Met

Iran: Strait of Hormuz Will Not Reopen Until Conditions Are Met

The Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until seven Iranian conditions set out in a June interim agreement with the US are met, Nournews reported Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf as saying on Sunday, a few days after Tehran received Washington's reply to its diplomatic proposal.

“The Americans, who say something different in the media, have recently put forward proposals through a mediator. ⁠But they must understand that ⁠the period of dragging out the process and dictating one-sided demands is over," Qalibaf was quoted as saying.

"The position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is completely clear and firm, and the Strait of Hormuz ⁠will not be opened until our seven conditions, based on the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, are met."

Meanwhile, army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia told Fars news on Sunday that Iran will upgrade the range of its missiles following the war with the US as American forces are now ⁠positioned as much ⁠as 1,000 km (621 miles) away from the Iranian ⁠coast.

"During this war, we concluded that we absolutely must increase the ⁠range of ⁠our missiles, and we have now moved in that direction," he said.

World

Iran Tells US There is No Military Solution to Mideast War

(FILES) Vehicles drive past a giant billboard reading 'The Strait of Hormuz remains closed' at the Revolution Square in Tehran on April 28, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
(FILES) Vehicles drive past a giant billboard reading 'The Strait of Hormuz remains closed' at the Revolution Square in Tehran on April 28, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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Iran Tells US There is No Military Solution to Mideast War

(FILES) Vehicles drive past a giant billboard reading 'The Strait of Hormuz remains closed' at the Revolution Square in Tehran on April 28, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
(FILES) Vehicles drive past a giant billboard reading 'The Strait of Hormuz remains closed' at the Revolution Square in Tehran on April 28, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran's top diplomat insisted on Sunday that there would be no military solution to the United States' war against Iran, with talks on ending the conflict apparently at an impasse.

A campaign of heavy bombardment failed to bring a decisive close to the war launched by the US and Israel in late February, and Washington in recent weeks has dialed back military operations in favor of economic pressure.

The main point of contention remains Iran's attempt to blockade the Strait of Hormuz where a UK maritime agency reported on Sunday another tanker struck by an unknown projectile.

"If our enemies again choose the path of military confrontation, our response will be stronger than before, and we will defend ourselves with even more force," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at a gathering of foreign ambassadors.

"There is no military solution, nor any solution based on new sanctions," he continued, adding "only negotiations based on justice and fairness" could end the conflict.

The two sides agreed a memorandum of understanding in June that spelled out a framework for a permanent resolution, but Iranian attacks on vessels in the Hormuz prompted a return to US military operations.

On Sunday, the British maritime security agency UKMTO said a tanker in the Hormuz "reported being struck by an unknown projectile, causing damage to the engine room", though the crew were reported safe and no environmental impact was recorded.

The agency did not specify the date of the incident, the vessel's origin or destination, or whether it was an oil tanker or LNG carrier.

Iranian and US officials last week held indirect talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, with Tehran saying it presented seven conditions for reopening the strait.

Iran has demanded, among other things, a ceasefire across the Middle East, the unfreezing of its assets abroad, the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector and an end to the US naval blockade.

Trump, however, rejected the proposal, while leaving the door open both to further talks or renewed military operations.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Sunday characterized the latest US counterproposal as being "in line with their previous proposals concerning nuclear issues".

"We have clearly indicated that we are focusing on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz," he said, adding that reopening the waterway required "an end to the disruptions to Iranian commercial maritime traffic and the lifting of sanctions".