Russia said it had successfully tested the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile during a launch overseen by the Strategic Missile Forces. President Vladimir Putin said the system would enter combat duty by the end of the year, according to a Kremlin transcript.
The Kremlin has rejected calls for a Christmas ceasefire in Ukraine, saying it wants to end the war rather than pause fighting. The response followed an appeal by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after peace talks in Berlin.
The British foreign intelligence service, MI6, has launched a new dark-web portal for informants to get in touch with it securely, and a new YouTube channel with instructional videos in eight languages, including poorly-composed Hindi.
No signals have as yet been received from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on resuming dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite statements to the effect by Scholz, according to the Kremlin.
German politicians voiced their outrage on Friday after a CNN report detailed an alleged Russian plot to assassinate the head of German arms maker Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger, as a Kremlin spokesman denied any involvement from Moscow.
