Passenger planes crashed in Kazakhstan and South Korea, Ukraine received $1 billion from the US, and the German president dissolved parliament before the elections.
Babel has collected the main news of the week to keep you up to date.
Ukraine is developing a new Trembita missile
The standard version of Trembita has a speed of 400 km/h and a range of 200 km. Serial production is planned to be launched after final field tests. In order for the missile to reach Moscow, specialists are working on a more powerful version.
The cost of one "Trembita" together with a warhead weighing 20-30 kg is $15 thousand, and if only in the form of a decoy, then $3 thousand.
Ukraine received $1 billion from the US
Washington has provided Ukraine with $1 billion from frozen Russian assets. This is the first tranche of the planned $20 billion that the United States will provide from frozen Russian assets as part of the G7 initiative.
The value of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the EU is almost €211 billion. In total, the European Union, the G7 countries and Australia have frozen approximately €260 billion in securities and cash.
Massive Russian attack on Christmas morning
On Christmas morning, December 25, the Russians launched a massive attack on Ukraine with drones and missiles. The energy sector was hit, and air raids were sounded across the country.
According to the Air Force, the Russians launched a group of Tu-95MS strategic bombers into the sky at night. Caliber cruise missiles were also launched from the Black Sea, and Russian drones have been attacking some regions of Ukraine since the evening.
The shelling severely damaged DTEK thermal power plants. This was Russiaʼs 13th massive attack on the Ukrainian energy sector and the 10th massive attack on the companyʼs energy enterprises.
Individual entrepreneurs will pay increased taxes from January 1, 2025
Individual entrepreneurs (IEPs) will pay increased taxes starting January 1, 2025 — President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the relevant law.
This law regulates tax rates after their historic increase. It was developed to simplify taxation for residents of "Diya City" and their specialists.
Passenger plane crash in Kazakhstan
An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crashed in Kazakhstan near Aktau on December 25. There were 67 people on board, including five crew members. At least 38 of them died.
On December 27, Azerbaijan Airlines said that the crash was initially caused by “physical and technical external influences.” The next day, Putin apologized for the “tragic incident” with the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, but did not directly take responsibility for the crash.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev confirmed that the plane was fired upon from the ground in Russia. It was also disabled by electronic warfare.
Preparations for the elections in Germany
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolved the Bundestag and set early elections for February 23, 2025.
The coalition, which included Chancellor Olaf Scholzʼs Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Free Democratic Party, and the Alliance90/Greens party, collapsed in early November 2024.
Already on December 16, the Bundestag expressed a vote of no confidence in Scholzʼs government, which allowed Steinmeier to dissolve parliament and call early elections.
The case of the murder of Irina Farion
The suspect in the murder of the Ukrainian politician Iryna Farion, Vyacheslav Zinchenko, faces life imprisonment — the case has been reclassified.
Now Zinchenko is suspected of the premeditated murder of Farion out of national intolerance due to her performance of her public duty, and of illegal handling of weapons.
Police have established that the 18-year-old suspect joined a group on a messenger in 2022 that promotes the cult of violence and cruelty, as well as racial, national and religious intolerance and discrimination. In addition, in 2024 he joined another group associated with a Russian neo-Nazi organization.
Then the suspect allegedly developed a personal animosity towards Iryna Farion because of her active position in protecting the Ukrainian language and culture.
Professor of the Institute of Journalism Mykyta Vasylenko was dismissed from the Kyiv National University
They emphasized that the professorʼs behavior "not only contradicted the basic ethical principles of the university community, but also caused reputational damage to the university."
The rector of the institution has already signed an order on early termination of the contract with Vasylenko. The contract will be terminated on December 30, 2024.
Previously, the teacher incorrectly spoke about the possibility of involving foreign troops in Ukraine. Vasylenko appeared on the channels of Viktor Medvedchuk and Yevheniy Murayev, who are currently under sanctions. And when they were banned, he switched to political YouTube channels.
Babel found out that Vasylenkoʼs main trick is to predict a future crisis under any circumstances: the extinction of the population or an uprising "in the rear and at the front."
South Koreaʼs worst air disaster
At least 176 people have died in the deadliest plane crash in South Koreaʼs history. Three more are missing, while two crew members survived.
The tragedy occurred on December 29 at around 9 a.m. local time when a Jeju Air plane with 175 passengers and six crew members on board overshot the runway while landing at Muan International Airport, 288 kilometers southwest of Seoul.
Authorities believe the cause of the crash may have been a landing gear failure due to a bird strike. The cause is still under investigation.