Russia has delivered a fresh threat of a potential World War 3 to Britain, this time targeting Sir Keir Starmer as well. Dmitry Rogozin, a senior lieutenant of Vladimir Putin, criticized Starmer as “illiterate and a fool” for proposing to station British troops in Ukraine under a peace agreement. Rogozin suggested that such a move would make the UK vulnerable to missile attacks from Russia.

Rogozin, a former deputy premier and head of the space agency, asserted, “Even after Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War of 1853-1856, such ideas never crossed the minds of England, France, or the Turks and Sardinians. Of course, Starmer may be ignorant and foolish in the grand scheme of things, but he should comprehend the consequences if they proceed with this absurd plan.”

Starmer announced plans for the UK and France to establish military bases in Ukraine and construct secure facilities for weapons and military equipment to assist Kyiv in its defense. Prime Minister, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian leader Volodymr Zelensky signed a joint declaration in Paris allowing British and French military presence after a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Putin informed his troops that they are carrying out actions in Ukraine based on divine orders. The Russian leader made this assertion during Orthodox Christmas celebrations at a midnight church service attended by GRU military intelligence officers and their families.

Putin was accompanied by the highly decorated commander of military unit 92154, which was recently accused of orchestrating an explosion on a railway in NATO member state Poland.

Following his religious-toned rhetoric, Putin sanctioned nighttime assaults on Ukraine that resulted in injuries to seven individuals, including two terrified girls aged eight and 16, in Dnipro due to strikes on residential areas, schools, and kindergartens.

At the Christmas service, Putin depicted Russian soldiers as fulfilling a divine mission, framing the conflict as a sacred duty rather than a political decision of his own, using Orthodox theology to justify his military actions.

The service took place at a church located within the Senezh Special Purpose Centre, a GRU-linked special operations facility in the Moscow region, commanded by Maj Gen Alexei Galkin of unit 92154.

Putin’s presence at the GRU church and his claim of a divine mandate indicate his reluctance to stop the war and accept Donald Trump’s peace proposal, as European security agencies warn of escalating covert Russian activities across the continent.

In separate incidents, more children were wounded in Russian strikes in the Zaporizhzhia region during Christmas celebrations. Hospitals in Lviv faced power shortages after weeks of Russian missile and drone attacks on power stations.

Moreover, Ukraine witnessed a massive explosion at an oil plant in Stary Oskol, located in the Belgorod border region, resulting in a spectacular inferno and fires in multiple tanks on the premises, according to Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. Firefighters are currently working to extinguish the blaze.