The US Senate on Wednesday voted 95-1 in overwhelming approval of the applications by Sweden and Finland to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Axios reports. NATO was established in 1949 by 12 countries, including the US, Canada, Italy, and France, to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
Explosions have been reported in the south and east of Ukraine as the ongoing Russian invasion of the country continued despite a mounting death toll on both sides. The clashes came as advocacy group Amnesty International expressed concerns about how Ukrainian forces are trying to stop the invasion.
The Senate on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to accept the application of Sweden and Finland to join NATO amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
NATO exercises near Russian territory, and a U.S. policy of seeking “to dominate the world’s oceans” are among the greatest threats to Russia’s national security, according to a new naval doctrine signed by President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.
President Joe Biden on Monday called on China and Russia to work with his administration on nuclear arms reduction efforts amid growing concerns over conflict with those governments and the continued development of Iran’s nuclear program.
The first grain ship to depart Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February arrived at Turkey’s Bosphorus strait, leaving behind a wartorn nation where a food tycoon was killed.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi touched down in Taiwan as part of a tour of Asia, despite China branding the landmark visit “extremely dangerous.”
Two people were killed, and 12 were wounded in a terrorist rocket attack on the Greek Orthodox Hagia Sophia Church in Al-Suqaylabiyah, Syria last week, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Russian and Ukrainian authorities say they have launched criminal investigations into strikes that reportedly killed at least 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war at a pre-trial detention center in eastern Ukraine. The attacks overshadowed attempts by Ukraine to begin exporting grain to hungry nations.
Ukraine’s military has denied responsibility for an attack on a prison in separatist-held territory that Russia’s defense ministry said killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Kyiv says Moscow is moving large numbers of troops to Ukraine’s south for battles against the country’s forces through the newly occupied territories and Crimea. The military movements came as elsewhere in Ukraine, the government told people to evacuate ahead of an expected offensive by Russia’s military there, while the Red Cross struggled to reach a prison where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed.
Ukrainian missiles struck a crucial bridge in Kherson after Russia increased attacks across southern Ukraine, despite reports of heavy casualties.
Freedom appeared a little closer Thursday to several detainees after the United States offered a prisoner swap to Russia: Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer, for Brittney Griner, the American basketball star, and Paul Whelan, a former Marine.
Israel’s Prime Minister Yair Lapid has instructed a legal delegation to prepare for talks with Moscow after Russia’s Justice Ministry last week filed a court request to shut down the Jewish Agency in the country, i24 News reports. The Jewish Agency is responsible for assisting Jews worldwide to immigrate to Israel and has operated in Russia for 30 years.
Israel said on Tuesday that its military jets came under Russian anti-aircraft fire over Syria in May but they missed their target, describing the confrontation as a “one-off incident”.
In the East, however, security and economy-focused blocs led by Beijing and Moscow are looking to take on new members of their own, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, two influential Middle Eastern rivals whose interest in shoring up cooperation on this new front could have a significant impact on global geopolitical balance.
Israeli officials said Monday that “no one knows” what President Vladimir Putin truly wants by ordering the closure of the Jewish Agency in the country as the rift between Israel and Russia deepens.
Multiple Jewish organizations in Russia have received threatening letters in recent weeks from the Russian Justice Ministry regarding their work, similar to the letter received by the Jewish Agency earlier this month, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
Russia‘s Gazprom said Monday that it would further reduce natural gas flows through a major pipeline to Europe to 20% of capacity, citing repairs of equipment.
Wheat prices rose sharply on July 25 after Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian port of Odesa over the weekend despite claims by the Kremlin that the strike targeted military installations and would not affect grain exports.