Saturday, December 27, 2025

Jesus Parade in Moscow 2025 | Powerful Live Nativity Christmas Celebrati...

Happy Holidays From WhoWhatWhy

At the end of a very long year, this holiday season provides the perfect opportunity to spend time with our loved ones, center ourselves, and recharge our batteries.

It is also a time to take stock of what really matters, not just in our personal lives but also in terms of the values we hold dear.

That is certainly what we will be doing here at WhoWhatWhy. While we are going to keep covering any major news over the holidays, you will also see a selection of some of our most important stories from 2025.

That will allow us to also take a quick breather and get ready for what will surely be another whirlwind year.

Our “best of” compilations will also give you a glimpse at what a determined group of people, many of whom are volunteers, can accomplish on a shoestring budget.

We are extremely proud of our work and love sharing it with you.

We also hope that you appreciate it and will continue to be a reader, and perhaps even a donor, next year.

We will once again do our best to cover the news in a way that is more insightful and blunter than most corporate media organizations dare to be.

For now, however, from our WhoWhatWhy family to yours, we wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.

It’s going to be a wild one.

It’s Been a Rough Year for What America Aspires to Be

Klaus Marre

This year, our Sunday editorials had more of a common theme than we would have preferred. Then again, Donald Trump poses a unique threat to the Constitution and the founding ideals of the United States, so calling out his lawlessness is our most important responsibility.

Here are some of our favorite columns from 2025.

Zelensky Ready to Put Peace Plan to Referendum if Russia Agrees to Cease...

Dec 27, 2025

Zelensky has stated that he is ready to put the entire “20 point peace plan” to a referendum in Ukraine if Russia agrees to a ceasefire lasting at least 60 days.

Zelensky and Donald Trump will meet tomorrow in the US in order to discuss the final version of the peace plan, before the US will negotiate it with Russia.

The U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that he will speak to Vladimir Putin soon and has added that Zelensky doesn’t have anything before he approves it.

The Russians have hinted at a possible rejection of the “20 point peace plan” as according to Sergei Ryabkov

The “20 point peace plan” is very different than the “27 point peace plan” which the US has agreed upon with Russia.

An official from the Elysee Palace has stated that a meeting will be scheduled in early January about finalising the security guarantees to Ukraine.

“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it. So we’ll see what he has,” --- Trump said.

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Trump Says Meeting With Zelenskiyy Will Go Well

Published: 27 Dec / 2025 14:06

U.S. President Donald Trump said he believes his upcoming meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy will go well and stressed that any peace deal between Ukraine and Russia would require his personal approval.

Speaking to Politico ahead of talks with Zelenskyy in Florida on Sunday, Trump commented on Ukraine’s proposed 20-point peace plan, UATV English informs

“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it. So we’ll see what he has,” --- Trump said.

According to the report, Ukraine’s proposal includes the creation of a demilitarized zone and discussions on US security guarantees. Trump reportedly expressed a cautious attitude toward these ideas but said he expects the talks to be constructive.

“I think it will go well with him (Zelenskyy). I think it will go well with Putin too,” Trump said, adding that he expects to speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin “soon — as soon as I want.”

Zelenskyy’s proposal on a demilitarized zone reportedly includes a key condition: Russia must withdraw its troops from the relevant territory in Donetsk region. Moscow has shown no willingness to give up full control of the area. However, Trump noted that Russia’s economy is currently in poor condition.

“Their economy is in bad shape, very bad shape,” he said.

Trump also confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit him this weekend.

“I’ll have Zelenskyy and I’ll have Bibi. Everybody’s coming. They respect our country again,” Trump said.

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Служба зовнішньої розвідки. Історія найтаємнішої спецслужби України

Uploaded: Jul 10, 2025

". . .And the fifth task – a very urgent and practical one – concerns the specifics of the work of the Foreign Intelligence Service. In times of war, there are absolutely non-public matters that the Service must ensure promptly and efficiently. This is the potential of influence operations, covert intelligence and actual warfare that Ukraine expects from you, and it is for this reason that the Foreign Intelligence Service is headed by a combat general," the Head of State summarized.

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UKRAINE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida over the weekend.https://www.wfla.com/news/national/trumps-talks-with-zelenskyy-to-address-security-guarantees-and-reconstruction ...

Alongside Preparations for a Meeting With President Trump in the United States, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Held Six Phone Calls With European Leaders and the NATO Secretary General: The Agreement Is Getting Closer

26 December 2025 - 21:33

Alongside Preparations for a Meeting With President Trump in the United States, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Held Six Phone Calls With European Leaders and the NATO Secretary General:

The Agreement Is Getting Closer

26 December 2025 - 21:33

Russian Economy Entering Phase of “Managed Chaos”

Published: 27 Dec / 2025 16:05

Russia’s financial and institutional system is sinking deeper into a state of “managed chaos,” Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) reports, according to UATV English.

The SZRU notes that Russia’s Central Bank has effectively acknowledged the collapse of transparency standards. From 2027, financial institutions are expected to publish only anonymized data on ownership structures. Since 2022, banks and insurers have been allowed to withhold information about owners and management, citing sanctions risks. As a result, only 3 out of 352 credit institutions currently disclose their ownership structure — less than 1%.

The regulator’s proposed “compromise” would limit disclosures to formal yes/no answers about the presence of influential persons, “unfriendly” non-residents, or problematic beneficiaries, with the Central Bank itself filling out the forms. Intelligence officials say this underscores the market’s inability to ensure even minimal transparency without manual state control. The legal framework is expected in 2026, with implementation no earlier than April 2027.

At the same time, the state is rolling back oversight in other areas. A package of bills submitted to the State Duma would abolish regular income declarations for Russian officials. Lawmakers have framed this as an anti-corruption measure, further highlighting the gap between rhetoric and real accountability.

Economic stress is also mounting. One-third of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia say they may shut down within six months. Banks have sharply reduced consumer lending: POS loans are approved for only one in ten applicants, with rejection rates reaching 90% in November. Meanwhile, pawnshops posted 9.6 billion rubles in net profit from January to September — 54% more year-on-year, an indirect sign of declining household purchasing power.

Financial strain has spread to the public sector as well. In 2025, state companies’ payment arrears to contractors under public procurement contracts increased 2.7-fold — from 200 cases worth 1.5 billion rubles in 2024 to 548 cases totaling nearly 4.03 billion rubles. Payment delays of one to three months have effectively turned contractors into lenders, driven by falling revenues and high borrowing costs.

Cybersecurity adds another warning sign: 73% of all data leaks in 2025 occurred in the public sector. Expectations among businesses and workers are bleak, with only 13% of Russians hoping to receive an annual bonus.

Taken together, these trends depict a market drifting further from global standards and becoming entrenched in opacity, distrust, and systemic chaos, the SZRU concluded.