RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Russia expands category of states subjected to nuclear deterrence — Putin The proposed updated Russian nuclear doctrine expands the list of states and military unions subject to nuclear deterrence, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. "The draft document expands the category of states and military unions subject to nuclear deterrence. It updates the list of military threats that require nuclear deterrence measures for their neutralization," Putin said during the Russian Security Council meeting on nuclear deterrence. The head of state noted that the modern military and political situation is changing rapidly, and Russia must take it into consideration, including…

Amid Israel-Hezbollah strikes, Lebanon says only US can stop fighting An Israeli airstrike on Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah commander on Tuesday as cross-border rocket attacks by both sides increased fears of a full-fledged war in the Middle East and Lebanon said only Washington could help end the fighting. Hezbollah early on Wednesday confirmed senior commander Ibrahim Qubaisi was killed by Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday on the Lebanese capital as Israel announced earlier. Israel said Qubaisi headed the group's missile and rocket force. Israel's offensive since Monday morning has killed 569 people, including 50 children, and wounded 1,835 in Lebanon,…

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russia strikes apartment block in Ukraine's Kharkiv, three killed, 34 injured Russia hit a high-rise apartment block and a bakery in Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv with guided bombs on Tuesday, killing at least three people and injuring 34, with others feared trapped under rubble, authorities said. Russian forces also launched a fresh attack further south on the city of Zaporizhzhia, the target of a series of strikes in recent days. Seven people were injured. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, writing on X, said of the Kharkiv attacks: "The targets of the Russian bombs were an apartment building, a…

Lebanon says Israeli airstrikes kill at least 492, residents flee from south Israel's military said it launched airstrikes against Hezbollah sites in Lebanon on Monday, which Lebanese authorities said had killed 492 people and sent tens of thousands fleeing for safety in the country's deadliest day in decades. After some of the heaviest cross-border exchanges of fire since hostilities flared in October, Israel warned people in Lebanon to evacuate areas where it said the armed movement was storing weapons. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a short video statement addressed to the Lebanese people. "Israel's war is not with you,…