The U.S. military operation in Venezuela can be seen as both a benefit and a burden for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The White House has dramatically escalated its confrontation with the Kremlin by capturing a sanctioned oil tanker that was otherwise being accompanied by Russian military vessels. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the seizure in an X post Wednesday.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin spent Christmas, which is celebrated in Russia on 6-7 January, with military personnel at a church located on the grounds of a military unit operated by Russian military intelligence GRU in the Moscow region.

According to reporting by The Moscow Times, citing the Kremlin documents, Vladimir Putin has instructed the government to deliver a “significant increase” in tax revenues by 2026, according to documents published on the Kremlin website. The order stems from discussions at the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects.

Vladimir Putin has been accused of "betrayal" and deliberately causing "carnage" in his army by a furious Russian soldier. The Kremlin's troops have struggled to achieve any significant breakthroughs on the frontlines, after almost four years of grinding war.

Why is Moscow quiet after the US capture of Venezuela’s Maduro? Russia Decoded unpacks Kremlin strategy, Trump, Putin, and “new Yalta” rumors.

Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev praised U.S. President Donald Trump's "peace efforts" after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to the White House on Sunday.

The CIA has assessed Ukraine was not targeting a residence used by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a recent drone attack in the north of his country, according to US officials, undercutting an assertion the Russian president had made to Trump in a Monday phone call.

Russia has released video claiming to show one of the 91 Ukrainian drones it alleges carried out an attack on one of Vladimir Putin's residences. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the supposed attack on Sunday night (28 December) - which Kyiv has denied and Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed as “typical Russian lies” - would lead Russia to review its position in peace negotiations.

President Vladimir Putin attended an early Wednesday Russian Orthodox Christmas service and hailed his troops' “holy mission” to defend Russia, pairing the ceremony with a holiday address on unity, charity and support for the armed forces.

"I don't think President Trump is going to walk away from Ukraine," Volker said, adding that Trump has made ending the war a high priority since returning to office, while urging Europe to shoulder more of the burden of European security matters.