ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

The Ukrainian Army continues to shell the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Heavy clashes have erupted between Ukrainian soldiers and fighters of the DPR People’s Militia near the village of Staromykhailivka. Photo: YouTube / Ukraine on fire Last evening and night, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched 410 artillery projectiles and mines on the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the FAN news agency reported, citing sources in the DPR security agencies. The Ukrainian Army shelled areas in the vicinity of Donetsk , Gorlovka, Yasinovataya and Dokuchaevsk, including the villages of Trudovskiye, Aleksandrovka, Staromykhailivka, Elenovka, Zaytsevo and Ozeryanovka villages near Gorlovka, as well as Kuibyshev district of the capital of the republic. An exchange of artillery fire between Ukrainian soldiers and fighters of the DPR People’s Militia was spotted near the village of Staromykhailivka. Members of the People’s Militia filmed a video, showing the exchange o

(AFP Photo/Dmitry Kostyukov) Written by Alexander Mercouris; Originally appeared at TheDuran Russia’s successful sale of 19.5% of the shares of the state oil company Rosneft for $10.5 billion to the international oil trader Glencore and to the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar is another blow to Western sanctions and a vote of confidence in Russia’s economy. Defying the predictions of some Western analysts, and despite sanctions, Russia has pulled off another coup, successfully selling for $10.5 billion a 19.5% stake in the state owned oil company Rosneft. The buyers are Glencore Plc – a major oil trader, which has ambitions to re-establish itself as the dominant international trader of Russian oil – and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. The sale of a stake in Rosneft has not been uncontroversial with some people, with some fearing – or hoping – that it is a rerun of the sort of privatisations which took place in Russia in the 1990s. As I have discussed previously, Russian President Putin

On December 8, ISIS terrorists launched multiple offensives against Syrian government forces near Palmyra and made gains south and north of the city. On December 9, clashes continued in the area with army troops, supported by the government’s airpower, were successfully repelling further ISIS attempts to deploy closer to the ancient city. By now, ISIS has failed to achieve its main goal to isolate Palmyra and to cut off the Homs-Palmyra highway. Click to see the full-size map