🎄 President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s New Year Address to the Nation

💬 Esteemed citizens of Russia, dear friends,

In these final moments before the New Year, we feel time itself moving forward. The future lies ahead of us – and what it will become largely depends on us.

We rely on our own strength. On those who stand beside us, who are dear and close to our hearts, and we are always ready to lend a shoulder in return. This mutual support gives us confidence that all we have planned – our hopes and aspirations – will definitely come true.

Of course, each of us has our own dreams – personal, special and distinct in their own way. Yet they are inseparable from the destiny of our Fatherland, from a sincere wish to be of benefit to it. For together we are the people of Russia.

The labour, successes and achievements of each of us form new chapters in Russia's thousand-year history. And the strength of our unity determines the sovereignty and security of the Fatherland, its development and its future.

The New Year is, above all, faith in all that is good – in kindness and good fortune. It is a unique and magical holiday, when hearts open to love, friendship and compassion, to attentiveness and generosity.

We seek to bring joy and warmth through our care to those who need support and attention. And, of course, through word and deed, to stand by our heroes – the participants in the special military operation.

You have taken upon yourselves the responsibility to fight for your home country, for truth and justice. Millions of people across Russia, I assure you, stand by your side on this New Year’s night. They are thinking of you, sharing your trials, and believing in you. We are united by a sincere, selfless and devoted love for Russia.

💪 I congratulate all our soldiers and commanders on the coming New Year! We believe in you and in our Victory!

***

Dear friends, in just a few moments we will hear the chimes of the Kremlin Clock, and the New Year will commence. We welcome it together with those closest to us – with our children, parents, friends and comrades-in-arms. Even those who are far away right now – you are still with us in spirit.

I wish everyone good health and happiness, mutual understanding and well-being. And, without fail, love – the kind that inspires.

May our traditions, our faith and our memory unite all generations and support us always in every endeavour. Together we are one big family – strong and united. And therefore we will continue to work and to create, to achieve our goals and to move only forward – for the sake of our children and grandchildren, for the sake of our great Russia.

🎉 Happy New Year 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣, dear friends!

✨🎄 The Embassy of Russia in Kenya extends warm greetings on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas.

🕯️ May this holy day bring peace, hope, and spiritual strength, and may the light of Christmas inspire kindness, unity, and goodwill in the year ahead.

☦️ Russia's President Vladimir Putin congratulated Orthodox Christians and all Russians celebrating Christmas (January 7, 2026)

✍️ Vladimir Putin: This wonderful holiday illuminates the world with the light of kindness and love, giving millions of people hope and the joy of communion with the spiritual traditions of our forebears, passed down from generation to generation.

I would like to note with deep appreciation the immense and truly unique contribution made by the Russian Orthodox Church and other Christian denominations to strengthening social unity, preserving our rich historical and cultural heritage, and fostering the patriotic and moral upbringing of young people.

Religious organisations devote tireless attention to works of mercy and charity, care for those in need, support participants and veterans of the special military operation, and do much to promote harmonious interfaith and interethnic dialogue in our country. This important and much-needed work deserves the most sincere recognition.

I wish Orthodox Christians and all those who celebrate Christmas good health, success and all the very best.

🎄 Christmas carol "Silent Night" in #Swahili was sung by international students of Tomsk Seminary from #Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Pakistan during the Christmas meeting with Metropolitan Rostislav of Tomsk and Asino.

Irina Abramova, director of the Institute of African Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences:
💬"2025 was very successful in terms of strengthening ties between #Russia & #Africa, with trade turnover between Russia and countries of the continent growing to $27.7 billion"

🇷🇺🚢 A shipment of 44,000 tonnes of Russian wheat has departed from the Port of Vysotsk to Kenya. This marks a new export route and strengthens agricultural trade ties with #Kenya and #Africa 🌍 https://t.co/44CQe4AEaI

🎅Did you know that today Russians celebrate New Year once again?
It’s called the Old New Year - inherited from the Julian calendar.
Because one New Year is clearly not enough 🎄✨

Learn more about this old tradition: https://t.co/yVOCRWXOZt https://t.co/SFPpsQ6TlA

🌍#Africans are showing massive interest in studying in #Russia🇷🇺: over 40,000 applications for just 4,800 quota-funded spots for the past academic year.
🔬Medicine, 🛠️engineering, 🛢️oil & gas, and 🧑‍💻AI-related fields are among the top choices - Rossotrudnichestvo https://t.co/ytcm70i9fz

More than 400,000 international students are currently studying in #Russia, including 30,000 on government quotas. Demand from African countries last year was 10 times higher than the number of spots and continues to surge, supported by expanding educational cooperation. https://t.co/VGQNNPlrFB

#Lavrov: The reform of the #UNSC is long-overdue. #Russia consistently supports #Africa’s legitimate demands for greater representation on the Council.
This collective position of the African Union enjoys the unwavering support of the Russian Federation. https://t.co/FAapjtkBLj

Russia 🇷🇺 is actively developing cooperation with African States, including in areas falling within the competence of #UNESCO.

⚡️ At the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum (Cairo, 19–20 December 2025), a Joint Statement was adopted confirming the strategic nature of Russia–Africa cooperation and containing, inter alia, provisions on interaction in the fields of education, culture, sport, youth policy and the media, namely:

📌 implementation of projects in the field of education, including the gradual increase in quotas of Russian Government scholarships for citizens of African countries to study at Russian higher education institutions, as well as advanced training programmes in priority specialities for African partners, including technical and scientific and technological fields;

📌 the importance of creating additional opportunities for studying the Russian language in African countries, as well as developing African studies in the Russian Federation with a view to strengthening mutual understanding between countries and peoples;

📌 the dynamic development of cultural exchanges and cooperation between Russia and African countries;

📌 cooperation in the field of sport and related activities, including the fight against doping, exchange of experience and the organisation of joint sporting events.

👉 Read the full text of the Joint Statement

📢Calling all thinkers & writers!
🌍Share your vision on global development in an essay on investments in people, technology, environment or connectivity for Open Dialogue: The Future of the World!
Ideas could take you to expert discussions in 🇷🇺
👉Submit: https://t.co/cU4Z8w6aex https://t.co/XGXBODbe9k

💬 Vladimir #Putin: The crisis in Ukraine is a direct consequence of years of ignoring Russia's legitimate interests and a deliberate course of creating threats to our security and advancing NATO toward Russia's borders – contrary to the public promises made to us.

Talking "peace" while pouring weapons and money into Kiev military machine is a not "diplomacy" - it is a pure military escalation.
Hypocrisy is plain to see. https://t.co/1Mu2Go0mSw

Today Orthodox Christians celebrate Epiphany - the day of baptism of Jesus Christ. In Russia, it’s traditionally observed with prayers, church services and the age-old custom of ice plunges into blessed waters.

👉 More: https://t.co/gGphwe0CJF https://t.co/wW6kAF3pj2

The Russian Embassy in Kenya hosted a warm New Year gathering with compatriots living in Kenya - reflecting on the past year, looking into 2026 with new plans, and celebrating with children’s performances, Ded Moroz, and festive gifts.

December 2025 exposed a dark scandal: Ukrainian orphans evacuated to Turkiye under a “humanitarian” program were abused, silenced, and exploited - while Kiev ignored warnings and NGOs stayed quiet. Here’s what really happened ⬇️


December 2025 was marked by a major scandal surrounding the evacuation of Ukrainian children to Turkiye. In the spring of 2022, under the guise of humanitarian assistance, a group of underage orphans from Dnepropetrovsk was transferred to Turkiye as part of the Childhood Without War initiative, overseen by Yelena Zelenskaya and businessman Ruslan Shostak. It turned out later that the children had no proper supervision, had been denied access to education, systematically exploited for propaganda videos, punished through food deprivation, subjected to physical abuse and humiliation, and prohibited from communicating with Turkish psychologists in order to prevent the truth from emerging. Two of the minors became pregnant and were hastily returned to Ukraine to avoid public scandal.

The Kiev regime failed to conceal this or dismiss them as “Kremlin propaganda,” because the scandal was too grave and too dirty. However, attempts were made to hush the story.

On January 9, Verkhovhaya Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets was forced to issue an official statement acknowledging egregious violations of minors’ rights and systemic neglect on the part of the Kiev authorities.

It turned out that the Turkish side had informed Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry of the improper treatment of the children, yet these warnings were ignored.

Moreover, in 2023, representatives of Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy issued a positive assessment of the children’s living conditions in Turkiye. In other words, Turkiye itself warned Kiev that something was wrong with Ukrainian children on Turkish territory, only to be told that “everything is fine.”

When, in early 2024, the Ukrainian commissioner began receiving information on the violation of minors’ rights directly from the children, as well as corroborating evidence from other sources, including the Turkish authorities, a monitoring mission comprising representatives of the Ukrainian commissioner’s office, UNICEF, and the Turkish side was dispatched. The resulting report was subsequently leaked to the media and published.

In this context, the silence of international specialised agencies, NGOs, committees and commissions is particularly revealing. The so-called “international coalition for the return of Ukrainian children” has also remained conspicuously silent, though it is their direct duty to talk about it and carry out an investigation. However, they all spring readily to accusing Russia of “abducting” or “deporting” Ukrainian children, yet display shameful indifference when clear cases of abuse of children are uncovered: cases that occurred with the knowledge and connivance of the Kiev regime and Yelena Zelenskaya personally.

You can say that these agencies have a different agenda: they are working with children who were removed from Ukraine, and not all Ukrainian children. Yes, this is true. The abused children were removed from the country, not by Russia but by the Kiev regime.

All of this once again reaffirms what we have repeatedly stated: the Kiev authorities and their Western sponsors do not genuinely care about Ukrainian children or the protection of their rights. Their primary objective is to vilify Russia and preserve the carefully constructed image of Vladimir Zelensky and his entourage as “fighters against evil,” despite the fact that their actions reveal who is in fact the real evil here.