Europe

MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/: Russian forces carried out 39 high-precision strikes on Ukrainian military sites this week, the Russian Defense Ministry has said in a daily bulletin of the special military operation.

The military utilized high-precision weapons and drones to inflict the group strikes "on military airfield infrastructure, equipment for navigational support of flights, fuel depots and artillery ammunition, weapons and military equipment storage sites," the ministry said.

MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/: The idea that Russia is allegedly destroying Ukraine’s cultural heritage is baseless, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a joint meeting of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO.

"Attempts to disparage Russia for the so-called destruction of Ukraine’s cultural heritage are along the same lines. Even though nobody can present any evidence toward this end; it simply does not exist," he said.

MOSCOW, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The Kremlin accused the Wall Street Journal of publishing "pulp fiction" on Friday after it reported that the death of mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash had been orchestrated by Russian security official Nikolai Patrushev.

The WSJ reported that Prigozhin's private jet was downed by a small bomb placed under a wing. Its report cited unnamed Western intelligence officials and a former Russian intelligence officer.

VIENNA, Dec 22 (Reuters) - A new reactor at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex appears to be operating for the first time, the U.N. nuclear watchdog and independent experts said on Thursday, which would mean an additional potential source of plutonium for nuclear weapons.

North Korea has for years used spent fuel from a 5-megawatt nuclear reactor at Yongbyon to produce plutonium for its nuclear arsenal but a telltale discharge of warm water from a larger light-water reactor suggests it is coming online, too, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

COPENHAGEN, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The Norwegian cruise ship MS Maud suffered a power outage after a rogue wave shattered windows on the bridge while it sailed in the North Sea, causing the vessel to lose its ability to navigate, Danish authorities and the ship's owner said on Thursday.

The 266 passengers and 131 crew members were safe, according to the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.

AMSTERDAM, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The Netherlands will deliver 18 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to help its battle against Russia's invasion, the Dutch government said on Friday.

"Today I informed President Zelenskiy of our government's decision to prepare an initial 18 F-16 fighter aircraft for delivery to Ukraine," caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a post on social media platform X.

"The delivery of F-16s is one of the most important elements of the agreements made on military support for Ukraine."

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Thursday paid the final tranche of a multibillion-euro support package to Ukraine to help keep its war-ravaged economy afloat this year, leaving the country without a financial lifeline from Europe as of next month.

The EU has sent 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) each month in 2023 to ensure macroeconomic stability and rebuild critical infrastructure destroyed in the war. It’s also helping to pay wages and pensions, keep hospitals and schools running, and provide shelter for people forced from their homes.

PRAGUE (AP) — A student opened fire Thursday at a university in Prague, killing at least 14 people, officials said, and injuring more than 20 in the Czech Republic’s worst mass shooting.

The bloodshed took place in the philosophy department building of Charles University, where the shooter was a student, Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said. The gunman also died, authorities said. His name has not been released.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s chief prosecutor has appealed a court verdict that largely dismantled his theory of a grand conspiracy to defraud the Holy See of millions of euros but found a cardinal guilty of embezzlement.

Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi filed his appeal earlier this week, days after the three-judge tribunal issued its verdict in a complicated financial trial that aired the Vatican’s dirty laundry and tested the peculiar legal system in an absolute monarchy in the center of Europe.

BUDAPEST, December 21. /TASS/: Hungary proposes the European Union refrain from providing financial aid to Ukraine from the bloc’s budget for five years, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said at a news conference recapping the results of the past year.

He said EU leaders will reconvene for a special summit in late January or early February to discuss amending the EU budget for 2024-2027, which provides for the allocation of 50 billion euros to Ukraine.