Eurasia

Ukrainian officials defiantly rejected a Russian demand that their forces in Mariupol lay down their arms and raise white flags Monday in exchange for safe passage out of the besieged port city. As Russia intensified its effort to pound Mariupol into submission, its ground offensive in other parts of Ukraine …

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said the United States would send a contingent of troops to the country to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank amid the war in Ukraine. Petkov made the announcement after holding talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Sofia on Saturday. The US Stryker army contingent …

China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment and fighter jets in an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby, a top U.S. military commander said …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday as Russian forces pushed deeper into the beleaguered southern port city of Mariupol, with heavy street battles shutting down a major steel plant and hampering rescue efforts. Military skirmishes erupted across the heart of Mariupol’s …

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday said his country will invest $42 billion in India over the next five years in a deal that is expected to boost bilateral trade. Kishida met his counterpart, Narendra Modi, in New Delhi during his maiden visit to India since assuming office. The …

US president questions Chinese counterpart’s support of Putin, lack of denunciation of Moscow; Beijing pushes back, calling Washington’s accusations ‘overbearing’ Key figures for a war half a world away, US President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping spoke for nearly two hours on Friday as the White House looked to …

Soldier at military facility in Mykolaiv estimates that death toll from Russian bombing on Friday could be around 100, as rescue operation continues at destroyed site Dozens of soldiers were killed when Russian troops bombed a Ukrainian military barracks in the southern city of Mykolaiv, witnesses told AFP on Saturday …

Over 3 million Ukrainian refugees have fled the country in only three weeks, and Russia’s war has already taken over 1,800 civilian lives. On average, more than 75,000 children have become refugees each day since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three weeks ago. Following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy’s speech to U.S. …

Ballistic missile threats from Iran and its proxies are deeply concerning to nations in the Middle East, the commander of U.S. Central Command said. Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. briefed the media from Centcom Headquarters in Tampa, Florida. “Iran’s ballistic missile threat has continued to advance and expand …

The signs are abundant of how Ukraine frustrated Vladimir Putin’s hopes for a swift victory, and how Russia’s military proved far from ready for the fight. A truck carrying Russian troops crashes, its doors blown open by a rocket-propelled grenade. Foreign-supplied drones target Russian command posts. Orthodox priests in trailing …