Russia

President Joe Biden signed a $40 billion bill providing aid to Ukraine on Saturday in South Korea after it passed in Congress.

Former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder has quit his role on the supervisory board of the Russian oil company Rosneft after pressure from the European Union.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has promised to give military aid to both Finland and Sweden if either country is attacked.

The Vatican has begun minting a commemorative 50-euro silver “Peace” coin, the entire proceeds of which will be destined to charitable works in Ukraine.

Britain froze assets of three Russian airlines, preventing them from selling landing slots at UK airports that are worth up to £50 million.

Turkey will oppose Sweden and Finland joining NATO, the country’s president flatly stated in a video released Thursday.

The Russian military opened fire on Israeli jets with advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles after an alleged Israeli strike on Iranian targets in northwestern Syria last Friday, Israeli media reported Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of worsening the global food crisis by using “hunger as a weapon” at a G7 meeting on Wednesday.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Tuesday that the league is working with “hostage negotiators” and “every level of government” for the release of WNBA center and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner. The WNBA star has sat for nearly four months in a Russian prison after being charged with drug trafficking.

Months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has not been as successful for Russia as many had expected, which according to Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, was due, in part, to the United States and NATO’s training of the Ukrainian army.

India plans to use units of a Russian-purchased S-400 air defense system — which utilizes a mobile, surface-to-air missile system — to defend itself against potential threats posed by neighboring China as soon as June, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported on Wednesday.

NATO envoys failed to reach a consensus on Wednesday about starting membership talks with Finland and Sweden, as Turkey raised objections.

Ukrainian Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said Tuesday that despite Russia’s sham justifications for its invasion of Ukraine, the real reason is its longstanding “imperial ambitions.”

The Australian Bishops sent a letter of solidarity to Ukrainian Catholics this week, condemning Russia’s aggression as “genocide.”

Nigel Farage warned that it may be a mistake for NATO to accept the applications from Finland and Sweden into the Western military alliance.

CANNES, France (AP) — The 75th Cannes Film Festival kicked off Tuesday with an eye turned to Russia’s war in Ukraine and a live satellite video address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called on a new generation of filmmakers to confront dictators as Charlie Chaplin satirized Adolf Hitler.

Congress is poised to approve $40 billion in American taxpayer funds for the Ukraine war this week, with little debate.

Ukrainian Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk has denounced Russia’s use of phosphorous and cluster bombs in their ongoing aggression against the people of Ukraine.

The leader of a Turkish nationalist party is expressing concern that NATO´s expansion to include Sweden and Finland will provoke Russia.

Sweden on Tuesday signed a formal request to join NATO, a day after the country announced it would seek membership in the military alliance.

Russia shut off electricity supplies to Finland over the weekend, claiming that it had not received payments from Finland due to sanctions.

The U.S. Air Force announced Monday it has successfully tested a hypersonic missile against a backdrop of China, Russia, and North Korea racing to develop the same advanced military technology.

India’s Directorate-General of Foreign Trade banned wheat exports on Friday, causing market prices to skyrocket around the world and prompting expressions of grave concern from humanitarian groups

Chinese state media jumped on the weekend’s mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, with gusto, touting it as evidence that America is the “source of white terrorism,” a world-threatening problem the U.S. government is supposedly covering up by “focusing instead on marshalling allies” against friendly nations like Russia and China.

McDonald’s said it plans to start removing golden arches and other symbols and signs with the company’s name.

Sweden announced it will seek NATO membership in the wake of Russia´s invasion of Ukraine, ending 200 years of military nonalignment.

Canada says it supports plans from Finland and Sweden to join NATO amid Russia´s war in Ukraine.

Belarusian forces on the border may force Ukrainian troops to stay put instead of going to support operations in the eastern Donbas region.

Ukrainian Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk has denounced Vladimir Putin’s sham “de-Nazification” of Ukraine as an excuse for genocide.

WNBA player Brittney Griner has spent nearly four months in detention in Russia after being charged with drug trafficking.

Pro-government protesters in the Malian capital of Bamako unfurled Russian flags and banners with slogans such as “Down with France” in a bizarre demonstration on Friday. 

KYIV, Ukraine – The deputy commander of the Azov Regiment, the last Ukrainian army unit holding out in the ruined port of Mariupol, said on Friday that his troops will resist Moscow’s forces “as long as they can,” despite shortages of ammunition, food, water and medicine.

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest, a clear show of popular support for the group’s war-ravaged nation that went beyond music. The band and its song “Stefania” beat 24 other performers early Sunday

Young Swedish men aged 18 to 29 are the most critical of their country joining the NATO military alliance, while elderly Swedes unlikely to be drafted into a war are far more likely to support the proposition.

Ukrainian Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk decried the ongoing Russian offensive Saturday while praying that God grant victory to Ukraine.

German citizens should be willing to endure hardship and deprivation to help in the war effort against Russia, a Ukrainian minister has said.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Fresh off his country’s Eurovision win, a defiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed early Sunday to one day host the song contest in the embattled city of Mariupol, which is almost entirely in Russian hands aside from a stalwart group of a few hundred Ukrainian fighters who continue to hold out in a steel factory.

BERLIN (AP) – A senior NATO official said Sunday that Russia’s military advance in Ukraine appears to be faltering and he expressed hope that Kyiv can win the war, as Russia’s neighbour Finland announced it wants to join the Western military alliance.

Vice President Kamala Harris will return to the world stage as the face of U.S. diplomacy Monday when she heads to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following the death of ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

A senior NATO official says Russia’s military advance in Ukraine appears to be faltering and he expressed hope that Kyiv (Kiev) can win the war.