Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow would achieve its goals in Ukraine either through diplomacy or on the battlefield, days after U.S. and European officials met with Ukraine’s leadership to try to hammer out a deal to end nearly four years of war. Speaking to Defense Ministry officials, Putin lashed out against the previous Biden administration’s stance toward Russia and called European leaders backing Ukraine “piglets” who wanted to feast on the collapse of Russia. Read more: https://on.wsj.com/3YysXqp

Vladimir Putin used his annual end-of-year question and answer session to rally the Russian people behind continuing the war in Ukraine while setting out Moscow’s red lines in President Trump’s peace process. The tightly-choreographed back and forth between the Russian president and average citizens comes as talks continue on finding a path to end the conflict, and the event was heavily focused on events in Ukraine. At one point, Putin invited a military commander to describe progress on the front line as the conflict approaches its fourth year, and said the momentum on the battlefield lies solidly with Russia’s forces. In reality, Ukraine is continuing to put up a robust defense, and Russia is increasingly using U.S.-brokered peace talks to extract a wider range of concessions from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Read more: https://on.wsj.com/4s6sObp

European leaders rallying support for Kyiv say they are working to defend a democratic country, safeguard international law and counter Russian aggression. But there is another motivation rooted in self-interest: Europe believes a deal that favors Moscow risks a wider war that could engulf the whole continent. Read more: https://on.wsj.com/4s36L5s

The U.S. launched strikes on Islamic State targets in Nigeria to protect the country’s Christian population from the terrorist group, President Trump said Thursday. Read more: https://on.wsj.com/4qx8eQ1

Most investment bankers barely have time for life outside of work. Then there is Ralf Etienne, a banking associate with one leg, who is training to compete in the Winter Paralympics for his home country, Haiti. Etienne, 36 years old, works for Bank of America in London. He spends most of his waking days in Excel and PowerPoint, building financial models and helping pitch deals to big companies and the bank’s private-equity clients. But on the weekends, he uses the limited free time he has to train with the Swiss Paralympic ski team in the Alps. If he makes it, Etienne will be one of just a few Paralympians who also work on Wall Street, where hard-charging bosses and long hours are the norm. Read more: https://on.wsj.com/45pBxeU

On the day the money was distributed, staffers stared at their bonus letters in disbelief. A few thought they were being pranked. Many were emotional. Since then, they’ve used the cash to slash debt, buy cars, pay college tuition and fund retirements. The cash has lifted spirits and boosted business in Minden, a city of roughly 12,000 people located about 30 minutes east of Shreveport, La. Read more: https://on.wsj.com/4qlLYIv

The attacker who killed three Americans in an ambush on U.S. forces in Syria on Saturday was a member of the Syrian security forces, Syrian and U.S. officials say. Read more: http://on.wsj.com/3MC3LwH

Breaking: The U.S. began a large-scale attack against targets in Syria as the Trump administration retaliated for the deaths of three Americans last week. Read more: https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-strikes-syria-targets-in-response-to-fatal-attack-on-americans-a116f257?mod=WhatsApp

The Trump administration expanded its travel ban to cover five additional countries, and added partial bans on 15 additional countries, in a move to formalize President Trump’s promised crackdown on “third-world countries.” Read more: https://on.wsj.com/3MKgL3d

Attractive women started showing up in summer 2024 at a fertility clinic in southern Moscow in response to an unusual marketing campaign: free sperm. The sperm belonged to Pavel Durov, billionaire founder of the messaging app Telegram. Read more: https://on.wsj.com/44Dsln1