A senior Kremlin official has declared that Europe is teetering on the 'edge of an abyss', warning of the looming threat of an uncontrollable military confrontation between Russia and NATO.
Moscow's Stark Warning to the West
Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, issued the grave assessment during an address at a Moscow think tank on Tuesday, 23 December 2025. He accused Western nations of undermining continental stability, despite Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ryabkov insisted that Russia has no intention of attacking Europe or pursuing aggressive aims, but stated it could not disregard the risk of a direct military clash between nuclear powers. He cautioned that such a conflict would have catastrophic consequences.
The diplomat argued that even with a perceived shift towards a more 'balanced' US policy under President Donald Trump, the danger of a Russia-NATO clash persists due to what he termed hostile actions by European states.
Escalating Assaults on Key Ukrainian Region
As Ryabkov levelled accusations at the West, Russian military forces significantly intensified their bombardment of Ukraine's crucial Black Sea port of Odesa.
Strikes late on Monday night and into Tuesday targeted port facilities and a ship, marking the second major attack on the region in under 24 hours. Regional governor Oleh Kiper confirmed the assaults, noting emergency teams were responding to the damage. No casualties were immediately reported.
These attacks follow a pattern of systematic strikes on Odesa's port and energy infrastructure. An earlier overnight barrage caused a major fire at a port and left tens of thousands of people without power.
Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Oleksiy Kuleba, stated that Russia is deliberately trying to disrupt maritime logistics and cripple critical routes, including those near the Moldovan border.
Peace Talks and a Deadly Attack in Moscow
Amid the heightened violence, diplomatic efforts continue. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the current draft of a US-led peace proposal as 'quite solid', acknowledging it meets many of Kyiv's demands.
Following talks with American officials, Zelensky indicated on Monday that neither Ukraine nor Russia is likely to achieve all its objectives in a settlement. 'There are some things we are probably not ready for, and I'm sure there are things the Russians are not ready for either,' he told reporters in Kyiv.
Separately, a senior Russian military figure was killed in Moscow on Monday. Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, a 56-year-old veteran of conflicts in Chechnya, Syria, and Ukraine, died when an explosive device detonated under his car. Russian authorities have reportedly blamed Ukraine for the attack.
In a related development, NATO intelligence suspects Russia is developing a new 'zone-effect' weapon designed to target Elon Musk's Starlink satellite network, which has been vital for Ukrainian communications.
