0752GMT//Trump says he's "interested" in US-Russia tunnel; Putin proposes ceding captured regions of southern Ukraine; blast at Russian gunpowder factory kills three people
US-RUSSIA TUNNEL: Russia has suggested building a 'Putin-Trump' tunnel under the Bering Strait from Alaska to Chukotka. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's envoy for talks with the US, said that research on the project has been ongoing for six months. On Friday, media reported that Donald Trump had called the idea "interesting". (COMMENT: Once again, the Kremlin is playing to Trump's vanities. It knows which buttons to press to get his attention.)
PUTIN SAYS COULD GIVE UP SOUTHERN UKRAINE TERRITORIES: Putin has said that he would be willing to give up territory that his forces control in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in exchange for control of the Donetsk region, the Washington Post newspaper reported by quoting two US sources. (COMMENT: This could be the first time that Putin has said that he would give up large swathes of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions that his forces have captured. Kremlin officials have often said that capturing Donetsk was a core war aim, although they also included Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions as part of Novaya Rossiya. This was part of Catherine the Great's 18th-century empire that they want to re-establish. The alleged offer by Putin comes as Trump puts Volodymyr Zelensky under more pressure to "do a peace deal".)
DRONES HIT RUSSIAN GAS PLANT: Ukrainian drones hit a gas processing plant at Orenburg on the border with Kazakhstan on Saturday evening. It is one of the biggest gas condensate processing plants in the world, handling imports from Kazakhstan. More Ukrainian drones also struck a nearby oil refinery. (COMMENT: This is part of Ukraine's strategy to hit Russian energy infrastructure. Orenburg has been targeted several times.)
BLAST AT GUNPOWDER PLANT: A blast at the Avangard gunpowder factory in Russia's Bashkortostan region that produces weapons and ammunition for the Russian army killed three people. Media didn't give a cause for the blast on Saturday. (COMMENT: Ukraine has stepped up its drone strikes against energy infrastructure and military targets this year.)
MPS RESIGN FOR WAR VETS: Russian MPs are being encouraged to give up their seats to veterans of the war in Ukraine, Russian media reported. In return for giving up their seats to war veterans, MPs will be given new jobs. (COMMENT: This is part of the Kremlin's 'Time for Heroes' project. This promotes war veterans into top public positions, a way for the Kremlin to show that it rewards loyalty.)
CONSCRIPT DEATHS: Russian media reported that a Russian Army conscript killed a fellow soldier at a base near Moscow and then shot himself. Some media reported that up to five other conscripts had also been shot and wounded during the incident on Friday. (COMMENT: Hazing, a form of bullying, is still commonplace in conscription regiments in the Russian Army.)
SAMARA CUTS BONSUES FOR PREGNANT STUDENTS: Samara has become the first region of Russia to cut lucrative bonuses to girls who get pregnant. From Jan. 1, it will pay pregnant students a 100,000 rouble ($1,250) bonus instead of 200,000 roubles. (COMMENT: Bonsues for getting pregnant are controversial in Russia for obvious reasons, but have become a core part of the Kremlin's drive to boost birth rates.)