The US President has justified sending the controversial cluster bombs to Ukraine amid increasing pressure to counter Russian military advancements. Joe Biden said the decision was a very difficult one as the cluster bombs have the potential to cause widespread civilian harm, but the US has made sure the weapons will only be used in defense, White House statement said.
Thousands of people were evacuated after a major dam in Ukraine was blown up with explosives. Hundreds of towns were at risk of flooding after the destruction of a dam at Nova Kakhovka. According to the local Ukrainian media, the flood also damaged the Kazkova Dibrova zoo and killed more than 260 animals.
According to a senior member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia has lost around 50,000 scientists in the last five years. Valentin Parmon said that Russia has been constantly losing its key research scientists since 2014, when it annexed Crimea from Ukraine.
World’s military spending has reached an all-time high figure of $2.24 trillion in 2022. According to a leading military think tank, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased fears of escalation and most European countries have increased its defense budgets to unprecedent levels.
Russian pilots accidentally bombed their own city of Belgorod, near the Ukrainian border. A Russian Sukhoi-34 fighter-jet bombed a city square causing a 20-meter crater. Three people were injured, and several buildings collapsed nearby, according to the local administration.
A mysterious object that lit up the skies of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, fell from the sky, vanishing immediately after it was captured on phones. The Air Force brushed aside speculations of a possible Russian missile because it didn’t explode and had no trajectory like that of the missile.
Russia has detained a US journalist accusing him of spying for the US. The journalist Evan Gershkovich has been working as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, the international daily newspaper based in New York.
In a move to tighten the security, Moscow has told the Presidential employees to get rid of their iPhones. Putin’s administrative employees are given a one-month deadline to get rid of their iPhones and replace them with some other mobile phones.
Two Russian Su-27 fighter jets struck the US MQ-9 Reaper drone over the black sea. Russian fighter jets intercepted the US drone flying in international airspace, forcing it down into the black sea. Russian jets landed on an airbase in Crimea, which Russia took over in 2014.
Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to unleash nuclear weapons in his latest speech. In his speech, he suspended Russia’s participation in the only nuclear arms control agreement with the United States. Putin said that he had signed a decree to “put new ground-based strategic systems” on the ground.
South Africa, Russia, and China are holding joint naval exercises off the coast of South Africa. The 10-day military drills were criticized by the US as it shows indirect support to US rivals. Russia sent one of its best ships, Admiral Gorshkov, equipped with Zircon hypersonic missiles.
The US has urged its citizens in Russia to leave the country immediately over security concerns. Amid escalating situation in Ukraine, the US has issued warning to its citizens in Russia to leave at once fearing that Russia could harass or even imprison the US citizens.
