WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Biden announces $425 million in military aid for Ukraine U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday about efforts to surge security assistance to Ukraine and announced a new $425 million military aid package, the White House said. The security package includes air defense capability, air-to-ground munitions, armored vehicles and critical munitions, the White House said in a statement. Zelenskiy, writing on Telegram, expressed gratitude to Biden, both parties of Congress and the American people for the new package and said he spoke to Biden about Kyiv's five-point "victory plan," which he presented to…

Israel's demining near Golan signals wider front against Hezbollah, sources say In a sign Israel may expand its ground operations against Hezbollah while bolstering its own defences, its troops have cleared landmines and established new barriers on the frontier between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and a demilitarised strip bordering Syria, security sources and analysts said. The move suggests Israel may seek to strike Hezbollah for the first time from further east along Lebanon's border, at the same time creating a secure area from which it can freely reconnoitre the armed group and prevent infiltration, the sources said. While demining activity…

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Russia’s Su-25 attack aircraft disrupt rotation of Ukrainian forces in Kursk region Crews of Russia’s Su-25 ground attack aircraft have thwarted the rotation of Ukrainian forces in borderline areas of the Kursk Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said. "The strike was carried out by aircraft missiles against reconnaissance targets," the ministry said. "According to intelligence reports, the enemy’s armored hardware and manpower were destroyed." After the use of aviation weapons, the crews performed an anti-missile maneuver, releasing decoy flares, and returned to their airfield of departure. WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russia launches drone attack on Kyiv, mayor says Russia launched…

Israeli strike in northern Lebanon kills at least 21 people An Israeli airstrike hit an apartment building in northern Lebanon on Monday, killing at least 21 people, according to the Lebanese Red Cross. The Israeli military did not immediately comment and the target was not clear. The strike hit a small apartment building in the village of Aito, which is part of the country’s Christian heartland in the north and far from the Hezbollah militant group’s main areas of influence in the south and east. Rescue workers in Aito searched through the rubble of the building as ambulances stood by…