Russia

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Ukraine is preparing to launch attacks to recapture Crimea by forming new military units and sending troops to train in other countries. AWC
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron told Ukrainian President Vodlymyr Zelensky that he should start thinking about peace talks with Moscow, The Wall Street Journal reported. AWC
• China on Friday released a 12-point peace plan as a potential settlement for the war in Ukraine as US officials are still claiming Beijing is considering arming Russia. AWC
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that Moscow can’t ignore all of NATO’s nuclear capabilities since NATO leaders have been calling for Russia’s defeat. AWC
• In the days after the invasion of Ukraine, the White House assessed President Vladimir Putin would end the attack if the US froze over $300 billion owned by the Russian central bank. However, the Washington-led economic war on Moscow has failed to have a major impact on the Russian economy. AWC
• The Biden administration marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday by announcing a $2 billion arms package for Ukraine and new sanctions targeting Russia. AWC
• President Biden said in an interview that aired Friday that he has ruled out sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine “for now,” suggesting he could be open to the idea in the future. AWC
• China’s representative to the UN on Thursday said that sending weapons to be used in the Ukraine war will not bring peace as the US is claiming Beijing is considering providing Moscow with military aid for the conflict. AWC
•  The head of Hungary’s ruling party in parliament said Thursday that Budapest is sending a delegation to Sweden and Finland to discuss their NATO bids. AWC
• Victoria Nuland, undersecretary of state for political affairs, told the Russian news agency TASS on Thursday that the US was ready to hold discussions with Moscow on the New START treaty “tomorrow” if Russia was willing to do the same. AWC
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday that the US will send about $10 billion in additional economic assistance to Ukraine in the coming months. AWC

China

• The Philippines is in talks with the US and Australia on conducting joint patrols in the South China Sea, a step that would raise tensions between Washington and Beijing. AWC
• The US plans to deploy between 100 and 200 troops to Taiwan in the coming months, which could quadruple the US presence on the island, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. AWC

Israel

• A former U.S. ambassador to Israel on Friday sharply criticized the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for seeking to annex Palestinian land in the illegally occupied West Bank. AWC

Iran

• In a CBS interview over the weekend, CIA Director William Burns offered an assessment which, coming from US officials, would be a huge admission and potentially of much consequence. Burns reported Iran is “not resuming” its nuclear weapons program, which it ended decades ago, and has made no decisions on even attempting to. AWC

Syria

• Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has introduced a War Powers Resolution that would order President Biden to pull all US troops out of Syria, a move that came after four US troops were reported injured in a raid against ISIS in the country. AWC

Yemen

• A container ship carrying general cargo goods entered Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah for the first time since 2016 as the port has been under a blockade imposed by the US-backed Saudi-led coalition, Reuters reported on Sunday. AWC