Daily Updates: December 2023

Daily Updates: December 2023

Get a different perspective.

(Only those days that contained relevant reporting to the war are shown)

*** MSK = Moscow Standard Time

December 31, 2023 (17:00 MSK)

One person is killed in the latest Ukrainian shelling of the Belgorod region, after Saturday’s attack on the city’s center claimed the lives of 24 civilians, including four children. Russian forces responded by targeting military sites in Ukraine. Distressing images from central Gaza where at least a dozen people have been reportedly killed by Israeli bombing raids, with Palestinian officials sounding the alarm over an escalating humanitarian catastrophe. Renowned Australian journalist and Julian Assange supporter John Pilger has died at the age of 84. Russian diamonds are forever as India reportedly urges the G7 to delay the ban on Russian diamonds, to protect jobs in a sector vital to the country. — Back to top

December 30, 2023 (17:00 MSK)

Nine civilians, including one child, have been killed in a Ukrainian attack on the Russian city of Belgorod with forty-five more wounded as a result of the strike which occurred right before New Year celebrations in Russia. The Serbian pro-Western opposition holds a rally in Belgrade, with protesters calling for the results of the Parliamentary election, won by the incumbent president’s party, to be annulled. Disturbing images from southern Gaza as the Palestinian Red Crescent posts footage of its staff evacuating the injured from the site of yet another Israeli strike on Khan Yunis. Grief-stricken civilians mourn their loved ones, who are among the twenty plus reported victims of IDF bombs in central Gaza, including many youths. — Back to top

December 28, 2023 (17:00 MSK)

Fifty people are reported killed in the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza, as the southern city of Khan Yunis is hammered with air strikes. The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 21,000, with another 55,000 injured. A doctor in the southern city of Rafah speaks about how local residents are struggling to survive. Russia’s top diplomat asserts that while Western powers wage a hybrid war against his country, it has only become stronger.Back to top

December 26, 2023 (17:00 MSK)

Moscow says the much-hyped Ukrainian counteroffensive has been a complete failure as the Russian military takes the key city of Maryinka in the Donetsk Republic. A reporter for RT finds an 11-year-old girl’s diary under the rubble after she was killed in an Israeli air strike on a refugee camp in Gaza. With relatives of the hostages still held by Hamas losing patience, the Israeli prime minister vows to continue the war until the end. And, a series of attacks over the weekend in central Nigeria claims the lives of 113 people and leaves hundreds more wounded. — Back to top

December 26, 2023 (09:00 MSK)

The death toll from an Israeli air strike on a refugee camp in Central Gaza rises to at least 106. With relatives of the hostages still held by Hamas losing patience, the Israeli prime minister vows to continue the war until the end. No mincing her words: a member of the European Parliament slams the EU President for aiding and abetting Israel in its war on Gaza. That, as the casualties mount daily, now surpassing over 20,000. Russian forces take control of the key city of Maryinka, located in the Donetsk Republic. We report from the remains of the battleground.Back to top

December 20, 2023 (09:00 MSK)

A so-called ‘New Guantanamo’ as a European human rights group calls for an international probe into the alleged torture and execution of Palestinian detainees at an Israeli army camp. An Israeli air strike razes-to-the-ground a residential area in southern Gaza. The US State Department says it’s scraping the barrel for cash-strapped Ukraine, as Kiev demands more money to keep its war effort going amid a dwindling stream of aid from the West. Donald Trump accuses President Biden of being a threat to democracy, with the remarks coming after the Republican frontrunner is banned from contesting next year’s US election in the state of Colorado by a local court. — Back to top

December 19, 2023 (17:00 MSK)

The Russian president accuses the West of containing Moscow through its hybrid war in Ukraine pledging Russia will achieve the goals of its military operation. Raids on the Jabalia refugee camp see at least 13 people killed in bombings. This brings the death toll of the past two days there to 120, according to local health officials. Survivors are struggling with their grief. Testimonies gathered by Human rights monitor, Euro-med, confirm Palestinian civilians were subject to torture while in IDF detention. Media outlets share their own evidence. — Back to top

December 15, 2023 (09:00 MSK)

Hungary blocks 50 billion euros in aid to Ukraine, slamming the EU’s decision to open accession talks with Kiev. The IDF launches strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which now remains the only destination for humanitarian aid trucks bound for the region. Also, we have an exclusive interview with Russia’s ambassador to the UN, who has just returned from the Rafah checkpoint on the Egypt-Gaza border. — Back to top

December 14, 2023 (17:00 MSK)

Russia’s President Putin conducted his ‘end of the year’ Q&A session for four hours answering questions ranging from domestic issues to international challenges. Death and despair in southern Gaza, as IDF bombs pummel residential areas of Rafah and Khan Yunis, which Israel previously called safe zones. That’s as a UN official says Gaza seems no longer habitable. In the West Bank city of Jenin, at least eight Palestinians are killed during an IDF raid, which lasted more than a day. — Back to top

December 13, 2023 (17:00 MSK)

All rules of war have been broken according to the UN Relief and Works Agency, as it confirms to RT that Israeli forces have destroyed a UN school in northern Gaza, adding that over 146 of its facilities have been demolished since war began. Twenty Palestinians are killed and dozens more wounded, including many children, as Israeli forces intensify attacks on Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. The House Speaker rebuffs the President’s request for another 60 billion dollars to Ukraine as Joe Biden gives Vladimir Zelensky a 200 million consolation instead.Back to top

December 13, 2023 (09:00 MSK)

More than 150 countries at the UN vote for an immediate ceasefire. The US and Israel are among the few nations to oppose the move. Thousands are forced to flee to a makeshift camp on the Gaza coastline, designated a ‘safe zone’ by Israel, but some of the displaced question how they can survive there. In the United States, the House Speaker in Congress pushes back the President’s request for another 60 billion dollars to Ukraine as Joe Biden gives Vladimir Zelensky a 200 million consolation instead.Back to top

December 12, 2023 (17:00 MSK)

IDF blows up the UNRWA school in the northern Gaza where it is reportedly found Hamas infrastructure. Four people are killed during an Israeli military raid on the West Bank city of Jenin. Qatar’s Prime Minister warns that an entire generation of Arabs could turn on Israel, as a result of its brutal bombing of Gaza. Meanwhile, in the US a Republican Senator makes it clear there’ll be no red carpet for Ukraine’s President on Capitol Hill as Zelensky heads to the White House to ask for more money for his war machine.Back to top

December 11, 2023 (09:00 MSK)

Israeli strikes claim dozens of lives in southern Gaza, where the IDF is dropping leaflets urging civilians to flee the area, but locals ask, where else is there to go? A ghost town in northern Gaza that once sheltered thousands of refugees — we report from the Jabalia encampment, which has been under relentless IDF fire for over two months. Russia condemns Washington’s recent veto of a UN ceasefire resolution for Gaza as Joe Biden’s top diplomat defends the US move, citing an ongoing threat posed by Hamas. And official concerns about US military funds running low and polls showing Americans being increasingly fed up with sponsoring foreign wars overshadow a scheduled White House meeting between the presidents of the US and Ukraine.Back to top

December 08, 2023 (09:00 MSK)

Mourners bury their loved ones in Rafah, after the Israeli military struck the border city, despite assurances civilians would be safer there. Meanwhile, a video said to show Israel’s mass detentions surfaces from embattled Northern Gaza. Angry scenes at Hanukkah celebrations in Jerusalem, where Israeli right-wingers were allowed to march in the Old City. At the same time, Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem cancel Christmas festivities in solidarity with Gaza. Two firefighters are killed and more than a dozen injured in the line of duty as they come under a Ukrainian missile attack. The US announces military drills with Guyana amid the South American nation’s territorial dispute with neighboring Venezuela, which has only intensified after the discovery of huge oil fields in the disputed region. — Back to top

December 07, 2023 (09:00 MSK)

Blasts ring out in the southern Gazan border city of Rafah, as Israel targets an area, many Palestinians had fled to for safety. With the west faltering in its attempts to solve the crisis in the Middle East, Vladimir Putin is given a royal welcome during a whistle stop trip to the Arabian Peninsula, defying claims of Russia’s international isolation. President Biden’s multi-billion-dollar aid package for Ukraine and Israel is blocked in the Senate, as Republicans press for tougher border policy at home instead. Anger builds at the COP climate conference, as the biggest polluters are reluctant to help developing nations wean themselves off fossil fuels. — Back to top

December 06, 2023 (09:00 MSK)

Israel says it has taken its war to the city of Khan Yunis in Southern Gaza, as civilians are forced to flee from the very areas they had previously been assured by the IDF, would be safe. Ukraine’s president scraps plans to address US lawmakers as reports emerge of a rift between Washington and Kiev, over the failures of the much-hyped counter offensive against Russia. Niger rips up its defense and security partnership with the EU as the West African nation continues to break its ties with the West. — Back to top

December 04, 2023 (09:00 MSK)

After reducing much of northern Gaza to ruins, Israel says it will now focus its attention on the south, despite having previously told Palestinians to head there for their own safety. Hospital floors become makeshift treatment areas, as doctors struggle to cope with the sheer volume of patients, with at least 700 Palestinians reportedly being killed in a single day of strikes on Gaza. A multi-national East African force pulls out of the Democratic Republic of Congo after Kinshasa questioned its effectiveness and refused to renew its mandate. Ukraine’s President faces the flak from top officials and the relatives of soldiers after the counter-offensive against Russia fails to deliver any tangible results.Back to top

December 01, 2023 (17:00 MSK)

Palestine says at least 109 people have been killed and dozens more injured, amid a renewed IDF assault on Gaza. Israel accuses Hamas of violating the truce, which expired on Friday morning. As bombs rain down all across Gaza, some of the survivors share their accounts. Somalia thanks Russia for its first delivery of 25,000 tons of grain in humanitarian aid – saying the assistance has arrived at a crucial moment. Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky publicly admits the counter-offensive was a failure. Meanwhile the Russian Defense Minister discloses the human cost of Ukraine’s bungled endeavor.Back to top