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and the US planned to communicate at a higher level following a meeting of the consultative commission on the New START Treaty.
Iran to help Russia manufacture 'weaponized' drones for war in Ukraine. The Washington Post reports citing some new intelligence seen by the U.S. and other Western security agencies that Iran and Russia have "quietly" reached an agreement to begin assembling "hundreds of unmanned weaponized aircraft" in Russia.
Kremlin prepares for another round of mobilization while fall conscription cycle is still underway. The Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update that the continuation of covert mobilization and preparation for a new wave of mobilization will likely worsen the overall quality of Russian troops being sent to fight in Ukraine. "This will likely lead to even lower quality training for both mobilized recruits and conscripts as they compete for insufficient training capacity, " the ISW reported.
EU freezes 68 billion euros in Russian assets. According to an internal European Commission document obtained by the media outlet Politico, most of the assets are in Belgium, which accounts for 50 billion euros out of the total figure.
EU Parliament finalizes draft resolution on designating Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. According to Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius, various political groups of the European Parliament reached a consensus after four hours of negotiations. He stated that text of the resolution will include a line recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and a state that uses terror as a weapon.
Swedish investigators discover signs of sabotage near damaged Nord Stream gas pipelines. The Swedish Security Service found explosive residue while conducting forensic examinations of the pipelines and nearby objects, the agency stated. Associate Professor in Seismology at the Swedish National Seismic Network (SNSN), Björn Lund, at the time of the incident said he had no doubts there had been explosions, and the damage to the pipelines was not geological in nature.
The EU is working on the ninth package of sanctions against Russia.
Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, which favor tougher and faster EU sanctions against the Russian Federation, are pushing other member states and the European Commission to agree on the upper limit of oil prices and the ninth package of EU sanctions at the same time. However, some EU diplomats are dissatisfied with these countries’ attempt to link oil price restrictions with new sanctions, claiming that the package is not yet ready and connecting them will only complicate the situation. The EU officials said that the ninth package
30 RUSSIA Country Report December 2022 www.intellinews.com