Morning Briefing: Dec. 18, 2025

​​​​​​​By Merve Berker

Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Thursday, including the Kremlin saying the deployment of a foreign military in Ukraine is "subject for discussions"; the UK threatening court action against Russian businessman Abramovich for the sale of the Chelsea football club; and the US Senate passing a $901B defense policy bill.

TOP STORIES

• Kremlin says deployment of foreign military in Ukraine 'subject for discussions'

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the issue of the deployment of foreign forces in Ukraine is "a subject for discussions."

Commenting on a statement Monday by EU leaders advocating to include in security guarantees for Kyiv the creation of a European-led multinational military force, formed within a "coalition of volunteers" and deployed on Ukraine's territory, Peskov said he would not like to discuss the topic in the media.

• UK threatens court action against Russian businessman Abramovich over Chelsea sale

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said former Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich should release £2.5 billion ($3.4 billion) from the sale of the team to help support Ukraine or face legal action.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Starmer was responding to questions from MPs on what the UK is doing to support Ukraine as the war with Russia enters its fourth winter.

He said the government has been working with Ukraine and international partners on how frozen Russian assets could be used to assist civilians affected by the war.

• US Senate passes $901B defense policy bill

The US Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) -- a $901 billion measure that outlines the Pentagon’s policies and spending for 2026.

The Senate approved the bill in a 77 – 20 vote, agreeing to adopt a version that was already passed by the House earlier this month.

The bill heads to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature.

​​​NEWS IN BRIEF

• Doctors in England began a five-day strike due to a dispute about pay and working conditions amid the National Health Service (NHS) warning about surging flu cases.
• Renewed border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia entered an 11th day, with at least 52 people killed on both sides since the conflict reignited Dec. 7.
• Six Palestinians, including two children, were pulled alive from under a roof that collapsed due to heavy storms in the northern Gaza Strip, the Civil Defense said.
• Australian police charged the surviving Bondi Beach shooter with 59 offenses, including terrorism and 15 counts of murder, authorities said in a statement.
• Russia announced that the intercontinental ballistic missile system, Yars, was deployed for combat patrol during routine training exercises in Siberia.
• French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said hackers accessed “dozens of confidential files” during a cyberattack targeting the ministry last week, confirming that sensitive law enforcement databases were accessed.
• This year has already been the UK’s sunniest on record, according to provisional figures from the country’s meteorological service, with about two weeks of the year to go.
• South Africa will deport seven Kenyan nationals after authorities found them working illegally on applications for white Afrikaners seeking refugee status in the US, the Interior Ministry said.
• Russian forces carried out three strikes on the city of Zaporizhzhia and its surroundings, injuring at least 21 people, according to regional Ukrainian authorities.
• A small chartered plane from Kaduna has crash-landed at Sam Mbakwe International Airport in Nigeria, in the southern state of Imo, leaving two of the four people onboard in critical condition, said media reports.
• Ethiopia and Russia signed a non-disclosure agreement to protect confidential information linked to the development of Ethiopia’s first nuclear power project, officials said.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared before the Tel Aviv District Court to respond to corruption charges brought against him in the so-called “Case 4000.”
• Police in the UK said they will arrest those who hold placards or chant “Globalize the intifada,” arguing that the slogan carries heightened risk in the wake of recent attacks on Jewish communities.
• Britain has committed £600 million ($802 million) to air defense capabilities, including cutting-edge turrets capable of shooting down Russian drones, to support Ukraine through the winter, the Defense Ministry said.
• At least 40 Palestinians were rounded up by the Israeli army in military raids across the occupied West Bank, a prisoners’ rights group said.
• Ukraine claimed its forces retook control of nearly 90% of the city of Kupiansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region, which Russia claimed to have captured late last month.
• A hotel in Japan refused to take a reservation from an Israeli travel agency because of "actions taken against the Palestinian people," according to media reports.
• Scientists studying polar bears in northern Canada have documented a rare case of cub adoption after spotting a mother polar bear with two offspring near the Arctic town of Churchill, according to a report.
• Eleven Palestinians were injured as the Israeli army shelled several areas in the Gaza Strip, despite a ceasefire agreement in place since Oct. 10, said medical sources.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the approval of a major natural gas agreement with Egypt worth 112 billion shekels ($35 billion).
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for "restraint" amid tensions surrounding a recent US decision to impose a "total blockade" on Venezuelan oil tankers.
• The US Senate confirmed Jared Isaacman to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
• Around 650 additional civilians fled South Kordofan state in western Sudan due to worsening insecurity, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Türkiye, Somalia to cooperate in fisheries sector

Türkiye’s industrial group OYAK and Somalia’s Fisheries and Blue Economy Ministry signed a strategic cooperation and services agreement to cooperate in the fisheries sector.

The signing ceremony, held at OYAK headquarters in Ankara, was attended by Turkish National Defense Minister Yasar Guler, Somali Ports and Marine Transport Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, Somali Fisheries and Blue Economy Minister Ahmed Hassan Aden, Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, OYAK Chair Zekai Aksakalli and Murat Yalcintas, the CEO of OYAK.

The agreement aims to ensure that fisheries activities in Somalia are carried out under a centralized, sustainable and fully registered framework.

• EU, UK agree London will rejoin Erasmus student exchange program in 2027

The EU and the UK agreed that London will rejoin the bloc's Erasmus+ education and youth exchange program from 2027, marking a key step in the ongoing reset of post-Brexit relations.

The decision follows the first-ever UK-EU summit held in May, where both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation through a new strategic partnership focused on security, people-to-people ties and economic growth.

In a statement, EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic and UK Paymaster General and Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said negotiations on the UK's association with Erasmus+ had been concluded.

• Ford terminates $6.5B battery deal with South Korea's LG Energy Solution

Ford cancelled an electric vehicle (EV) battery-supply deal worth about 9.6 trillion won ($6.5 billion) with South Korea's LG Energy Solution (LGES), according to the South Korean firm.

LGES said the termination came after Ford chose to discontinue various EV models owing to policy changes and changes in the outlook for EV demand.

In October 2024, LGES entered into two agreements to provide the Ford Motor Company with EV batteries in Europe beginning in 2026 and 2027.