The Russian Emergency Ministry evacuated survivors of a plane crash in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. Nine Russian nationals, including one child, were brought from Aktau to Moscow by a special flight.

Russia's aviation watchdog said on Friday that an Azerbaijan Airlines plane which crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday had decided to reroute from its original destination in Chechnya amid dense fog and a local alert over Ukrainian drones.

Russia sees no point in a weak ceasefire to freeze the war in Ukraine but Moscow wants a legally binding deal for a lasting peace that would ensure the security of both Russia and its neighbours, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has dismissed Donald Trump’s calls for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, labelling it a “path to nowhere.” While Lavrov expressed openness to dialogue, he emphasized security guarantees and long-term agreements as prerequisites.

Russia has said it would only accept a legally binding ceasefire deal for a lasting peace that would ensure the security of both Russia and its neighbours. Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said that a weak ceasefire to freeze the war in Ukraine would be futile and counterproductive.

The long-range missiles provided by the United States and Britain were used to strike inside Russian territory, despite concerns that their use would escalate the conflict. Kyiv’s stockpiles are running out.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday (December 26) that it had foiled several plots by Ukrainian intelligence services to kill high-ranking Russian military officers and their families in Moscow,